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Quiché has historically been one of the most populous departments of Guatemala. At the 2018 census it had a population of 949,261.[1]Mayans account for 88.6% of the department's population.[2]Kʼicheʼ people are the largest Mayan ethnic group in the department, and account for 65.1% of the total population.[2] The department is named after them.
The topographical composition of Quiché is dominated by the central highlands and the mountain ranges of the Sierra de los Cuchumatanes, Sierra de Chuacús, and the foothills of the volcanic mountain range on the department's South-Western border with Chimaltenango, which together make up for 79% of the department's territory. The northern part of the department is formed by tropical lowlands which cover 21% of the department's territory.[4]
Though not as well known as the Santo Tomás church in Chichicastenango most other towns in the department have catholic churches dating from the colonial era.
Crime in the Quiché department is low, the homicide rate of 3 per 100,000 people is more akin to Western Europe than to the Guatemalan region in general.[8]