With a population of around 14 million, Guatemala is the largest and most populous country in Central America. After almost three centuries as a Spanish colony, Guatemala won its independence in 1821. From the mid-19th century until the mid-1990s, the country passed through a series of dictatorships, insurgencies, coups, stretches of military rule, as well as a 36-year guerrilla war, with only occasional periods of representative government. In 1996, the government signed a peace agreement formally ending the conflict. The advent of political stability following the 1996 peace agreement also resulted in significant economic stability and progress.