Human Development Reports have been published since 1990 by the UNDP to track world progress and development trends. These reports are based on the calculation of the Human Development Index (HDI), a composite indicator based primarily on health, education, and income. The 2014 report ranks 187 countries. Although overall global trends are positive, the 2014 report indicates that "signs of a slowdown are emerging," as shown in Figure 2.1 from the report.
As can be seen, Guatemala's HDI of 0.628 corresponds to a Medium Human Development classification, but it ranks low when compared to other Latin American and Caribbean countries (average HDI = 0.740), and is below the World average of 0.702. Only 61 of the 187 countries on the list rank lower than Guatemala, and all Latin American and Caribbean countries rank higher, except for Honduras, Nicaragua, and Haiti.
The relatively low ranking for Guatemala is driven primarily by education, which the report indicates provides people with better skills for managing and adapting to vulnerabilities, such as economic or natural disasters, and therefore makes these populations more resilient.