El Salvador achieved independence from Spain in 1821 and from the Central American Federation in 1839. A 12-year civil war, which cost about 75,000 lives, was brought to a close in 1992 when the government and leftist rebels signed a treaty that provided for military and political reforms.

Central America, bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Guatemala and Honduras
13 50 N, 88 55 W
Central America and the Caribbean
total: 21,040 sq km ; land: 20,720 sq km ; water: 320 sq km
slightly smaller than Massachusetts
total: 545 km ; border countries: Guatemala 203 km, Honduras 342 km
307 km
territorial sea: 12 nm ; contiguous zone: 24 nm ; exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
tropical; rainy season (May to October); dry season (November to April); tropical on coast; temperate in uplands
mostly mountains with narrow coastal belt and central plateau
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m ; highest point: Cerro El Pital 2,730 m
hydropower, geothermal power, petroleum, arable land
arable land: 31.37% ; permanent crops: 11.88% ; other: 56.75% (2005)
450 sq km (2003)
25.2 cu km (2001)
Total: 1.28 cu km/yr (25%/16%/59%) ; Per capita: 186 cu m/yr (2000)
known as the Land of Volcanoes; frequent and sometimes destructive earthquakes and volcanic activity; extremely susceptible to hurricanes
deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution; contamination of soils from disposal of toxic wastes
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands ; signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea
smallest Central American country and only one without a coastline on Caribbean Sea
6,948,073 (July 2007 est.)
0-14 years: 36.1% (male 1,281,889/female 1,228,478) ; 15-64 years: 58.7% (male 1,942,674/female 2,134,154) ; 65 years and over: 5.2% (male 158,276/female 202,602) (2007 est.)
total: 22 years ; male: 20.9 years ; female: 23.2 years (2007 est.)
1.699% (2007 est.)
26.13 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
5.6 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
-3.54 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female ; under 15 years: 1.043 male(s)/female ; 15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female ; 65 years and over: 0.781 male(s)/female ; total population: 0.949 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
total: 22.88 deaths/1,000 live births ; male: 25.76 deaths/1,000 live births ; female: 19.86 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
total population: 71.78 years ; male: 68.18 years ; female: 75.57 years (2007 est.)
3.08 children born/woman (2007 est.)
0.7% (2003 est.)
29,000 (2003 est.)
2,200 (2003 est.)
noun: Salvadoran(s) ; adjective: Salvadoran
mestizo 90%, white 9%, Amerindian 1%
Roman Catholic 83%, other 17% ; note: there is extensive activity by Protestant groups throughout the country; by the end of 1992, there were an estimated 1 million Protestant evangelicals in El Salvador
Spanish, Nahua (among some Amerindians)
definition: age 10 and over can read and write ; total population: 80.2% ; male: 82.8% ; female: 77.7% (2003 est.)


conventional long form: Republic of El Salvador ; conventional short form: El Salvador ; local long form: Republica de El Salvador ; local short form: El Salvador
republic
name: San Salvador ; geographic coordinates: 13 42 N, 89 12 W ; time difference: UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC during Standard Time)
14 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Ahuachapan, Cabanas, Chalatenango, Cuscatlan, La Libertad, La Paz, La Union, Morazan, San Miguel, San Salvador, San Vicente, Santa Ana, Sonsonate, Usulutan

15 September 1821 (from Spain)
Independence Day, 15 September (1821)
20 December 1983
based on civil and Roman law with traces of common law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court
18 years of age; universal
chief of state: President Elias Antonio SACA Gonzalez (since 1 June 2004); Vice President Ana Vilma Albanez DE ESCOBAR (since 1 June 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government ; head of government: President Elias Antonio SACA Gonzalez (since 1 June 2004); Vice President Ana Vilma Albanez DE ESCOBAR (since 1 June 2004) ; cabinet: Council of Ministers selected by the president ; elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for a single five-year term; election last held 21 March 2004 (next to be held in March 2009) ; election results: Elias Antonio SACA Gonzalez elected president; percent of vote - Elias Antonio SACA Gonzalez 57.7%, Schafik HANDAL 35.6%, Hector SILVA 3.9%, other 2.8%
unicameral Legislative Assembly or Asamblea Legislativa (84 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve three-year terms) ; elections: last held 12 March 2006 (next to be held in March 2009) ; election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - ARENA 34, FMLN 32, PCN 10, PDC 6, CD 2
Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (15 judges are selected by the Legislative Assembly; the 15 judges are assigned to four Supreme Court chambers - constitutional, civil, penal, and administrative conflict)
Christian Democratic Party or PDC [Rodolfo PARKER]; Democratic Convergence or CD [Ruben ZAMORA] (formerly United Democratic Center or CDU); Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front or FMLN [Medardo GONZALEZ]; National Conciliation Party or PCN [Ciro CRUZ ZEPEDA]; National Republican Alliance or ARENA [Elias Antonio SACA Gonzalez]; Popular Social Christian Party or PPSC [Rene AGUILUZ]; Revolutionary Democratic Front or FDR [Julio Cesar HERNANDEZ Carcamo]
labor organizations - Electrical Industry Union of El Salvador or SIES; Federation of the Construction Industry, Similar Transport and other activities, or FESINCONTRANS; National Confederation of Salvadoran Workers or CNTS; National Union of Salvadoran Workers or UNTS; Port Industry Union of El Salvador or SIPES; Salvadoran Union of Ex-Petrolleros and Peasant Workers or USEPOC; Salvadoran Workers Central or CTS; Workers Union of Electrical Corporation or STCEL; business organizations - National Association of Small Enterprise or ANEP; Salvadoran Assembly Industry Association or ASIC; Salvadoran Industrial Association or ASI
BCIE, CACM, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAES, MIGA, MINURSO, NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and blue with the national coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms features a round emblem encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL; similar to the flag of Nicaragua, which has a different coat of arms centered in the white band - it features a triangle encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom; also similar to the flag of Honduras, which has five blue stars arranged in an X pattern centered in the white band
chief of mission: Ambassador Rene Antonio LEON Rodriguez ; chancery: 1400 16th Street, Washington, DC 20036 ; telephone: [1] (202) 265-9671 ; FAX: [1] (202) 234-3834 ; consulate(s) general: Chicago, Dallas, Elizabeth (New Jersey), Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York (2), Nogales (Arizona), Santa Ana (California), San Francisco, Washington, DC ; consulate(s): Boston
chief of mission: Ambassador Charles L. GLAZER ; embassy: Final Boulevard Santa Elena Sur, Antiguo Cuscatlan, La Libertad, San Salvador ; mailing address: Unit 3116, APO AA 34023 ; telephone: [503] 2278-4444 ; FAX: [503] 2278-5522





The smallest country in Central America, El Salvador has the third largest economy, but growth has been modest in recent years. Robust growth in non-traditional exports have offset declines in the maquila exports, while remittances and external aid offset the trade deficit from high oil prices and strong import demand for consumer and intermediate goods.. El Salvador leads the region in remittances per capita with inflows equivalent to nearly all export income. Implementation in 2006 of the Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), which El Salvador was the first to ratify, has strengthened an already positive export trend. With the adoption of the US dollar as its currency in 2001, El Salvador lost control over monetary policy and must concentrate on maintaining a disciplined fiscal policy. The current government has pursued economic diversification, with some success in promoting textile production, international port services, and tourism through tax incentives. It is committed to opening the economy to trade and investment, and has embarked on a wave of privatizations extending to telecom, electricity distribution, banking, and pension funds.
$35.97 billion (2007 est.)
$16.06 billion (2007 est.)
3.4% (2007 est.)
$5,200 (2007 est.)
agriculture: 10.2% ; industry: 29.3% ; services: 60.5% (2007 est.)
2.913 million (2007 est.)
agriculture: 19% ; industry: 23% ; services: 58% (2006 est.)
6.2% official rate; but the economy has much underemployment (2007 est.)
35.2% (2005 est.)
lowest 10%: 0.7% ; highest 10%: 38.8% (2002)
52.4 (2002)
4.3% (2007 est.)
17% of GDP (2007 est.)
revenues: $3.464 billion ; expenditures: $3.605 billion (2007 est.)
38.3% of GDP (2007 est.)
coffee, sugar, corn, rice, beans, oilseed, cotton, sorghum; beef, dairy products; shrimp
food processing, beverages, petroleum, chemicals, fertilizer, textiles, furniture, light metals
2% (2007 est.)
5.293 billion kWh (2006)
fossil fuel: 44% ; hydro: 30.9% ; nuclear: 0% ; other: 25.1% (2001)
5.204 billion kWh (2006)
95.5 million kWh (2006)
322 million kWh (2005)
0 bbl/day (2005)
43,200 bbl/day (2005 est.)
5,194 bbl/day (2004)
47,310 bbl/day (2004)
0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)
0 cu m (2005 est.)
0 cu m (2005 est.)
0 cu m (2005 est.)
0 cu m (2005)
0 cu m (1 January 2006 est.)
-$929 million (2007 est.)
$3.96 billion (2007 est.)
offshore assembly exports, coffee, sugar, shrimp, textiles, chemicals, electricity
US 49.6%, Guatemala 14.4%, Honduras 8.8%, Nicaragua 5% (2006)
$8.099 billion (2007 est.)
US 32.2%, Guatemala 9.3%, Mexico 7.4%, Germany 6.3%, China 4.7% (2006)

$2.314 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
$9.991 billion (30 June 2007)
$4.377 billion (2006 est.)
$293 million (2006 est.)
$3.623 billion (2005)
US dollar (USD)
USD
the US dollar became El Salvador's currency in 2001
calendar year
$199.4 million of which $55 million from US (2005)
1.037 million (2006)
3.852 million (2006)
general assessment: the four mobile-cellular service providers are expanding services rapidly and in 2006 mobile-cellular density stood at roughly 55 per 100 persons; growth in fixed-line services has slowed in the face of mobile-cellular competition ; domestic: nationwide microwave radio relay system ; international: country code - 503; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); connected to Central American Microwave System
AM 52, FM 144, shortwave 0 (2005)
2.75 million (1997)
5 (1997)
600,000 (1990)
.sv
12,519 (2007)
4 (2000)
637,000 (2005)

65 (2007)
total: 4 ; over 3,047 m: 1 ; 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 ; 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2007)
total: 61 ; 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 ; 914 to 1,523 m: 12 ; under 914 m: 48 (2007)
1 (2007)

total: 562 km ; narrow gauge: 562 km 0.914-m gauge ; note: railways not in operation since 2005 because of disuse and lack of maintenance due to high costs (2007)
total: 10,886 km ; paved: 2,827 km ; unpaved: 8,059 km (2000)
Rio Lempa partially navigable for small craft (2007)

Acajutla, Puerto Cutuco

Salvadoran Army (ES), Salvadoran Navy (FNES), Salvadoran Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Salvadorena, FAS) (2006)
18 years of age for selective compulsory military service; 16 years of age for voluntary service; 12-month service obligation (2006)
males age 18-49: 1,391,278 ; females age 18-49: 1,542,323 (2005 est.)
males age 18-49: 960,315 ; females age 18-49: 1,310,466 (2005 est.)
males age 18-49: 70,286 ; females age 18-49: 69,526 (2005 est.)
5% (2006)

International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled on the delimitation of "bolsones" (disputed areas) along the El Salvador-Honduras boundary, in 1992, with final agreement by the parties in 2006 after an Organization of American States (OAS) survey and a further ICJ ruling in 2003; the 1992 ICJ ruling advised a tripartite resolution to a maritime boundary in the Gulf of Fonseca advocating Honduran access to the Pacific; El Salvador continues to claim tiny Conejo Island, not identified in the ICJ decision, off Honduras in the Gulf of Fonseca

transshipment point for cocaine; small amounts of marijuana produced for local consumption; significant use of cocaine

