El Salvador

El Salvador 

Geography                 Economy                 Defense Forces
 

People                    Transportation          Government



Communications            History      	          Travel

GEOGRAPHY

Location

Middle America, bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Guatemala and Honduras

Area

Land Boundaries

Total 545 km, Guatemala 203 km, Honduras 342 km

Coastline

307 km

Maritime Claims

International Disputes

Land boundary dispute with Honduras mostly resolved by 11 September 1992 Interna.html Court of Justice (ICJ) decision; with respect to the maritime boundary in the Golfo de Fonseca, ICJ referred to an earlier agreement in this century and advised that some tripartite resolution among El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua likely would be required

Climate

Tropical; rainy season (May to October); dry season (November to April)

Terrain

Mostly mountains with narrow coastal belt and central plateau
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Cerro El Pital 2,730 m

Natural Resources

Land Use

Irrigated Land

1,200 sq km (1989)

Environment

Note: Smallest Central American country and only one without a coastline on Caribbean Sea

PEOPLE

Population

5,828,987 (July 1996 est.)
5,870,481 (July 1995 est.)

Age Structure

0-14 Years

38% (male 1,137,804; female 1,097,774) (July 1996 est.)
40% (male 1,200,759; female 1,165,152) (July 1995 est.)

15-64 Years

57% (male 1,627,519; female 1,716,261) (July 1996 est.)
56% (male 1,602,230; female 1,677,958) (July 1995 est.)

65 Years and Over

5% (male 115,973; female 133,656) (July 1996 est.)
4% (male 102,014; female 122,368) (July 1995 est.)

Population Growth Rate

1.81% (1996 est.)
2.02% (1995 est.)

Birth Rate

28.3 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
32.39 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Death Rate

5.81 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
6.19 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Net Migration Rate

-4.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
-5.96 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.87 male(s)/female
all ages: 0.98 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant Mortality Rate

31.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
38.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Life Expectancy at Birth

Total Fertility Rate

3.2 children born/woman (1996 est.)
3.69 children born/woman (1995 est.)

Nationality

Ethnic Divisions

Religions

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

Languages

Spanish, Nahua (among some Indians)

Literacy

Age 15 and over that can read and write (1995 est.)

Labor Force

1.7 million (1982 est.)

By occupation:

GOVERNMENT

Names

Digraph

ES

Type

Republic

Capital

San Salvador

Administrative Divisions

14 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Ahuachapan, Cabanas, Chalatenango, Cuscatlan, La Libertad, La Paz, La Union, Morazan, San Miguel, San Salvador, Santa Ana, San Vicente, Sonsonate, Usulutan

Independence

15 September 1821 (from Spain)

National Holiday

Independence Day, 15 September (1821)

Constitution

20 December 1983

Legal System

Based on civil and Roman law, with traces of common law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Executive Branch

Legislative Branch

Unicameral

Legislative Assembly (Asamblea Legislativa)

Elections last held 20 March 1994 (next to be held March 1997); results - ARENA 46.4%, FMLN 25.0%, PDC 21.4%, PCN 4.8%, other 2.4%; seats - (84 total) ARENA 39, FMLN 21, PDC 18, PCN 4, other 2

Judicial Branch

Supreme Court (Corte Suprema)

Political Parties and Leaders

National Republican Alliance (ARENA), Juan Jose DOMENECH, president; Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN), Salvador SANCHEZ Ceren (aka Leonel GONZALEZ), general coordinator; Christian Democratic Party (PDC), Ronal UMANA, secretary general; National Conciliation Party (PCN), Ciro CRUZ Zepeda, secretary general; Democratic Convergence (CD), Juan Jose MARTEL, secretary general; Unity Movement, Jorge MARTINEZ Menendez, president

Note: newly formed parties not yet officially recognized by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal: Liberal Democratic Party (PLD), Kirio Waldo SALGADO, founder; Social Democratic Party (breakaway from FMLN), Joaquin VILLALOBOS, founder; Social Christian Renovation Movement (MRSC) (breakaway from PDC), Abraham RODRIGUEZ, founder

Other Political or Pressure Groups

Member of

BCIE, CACM, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), MINURSO, NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

National Anthem

Flag

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

ECONOMY

Overview

El Salvador possesses a fast-growing entrepreneurial economy in which 90% of economic activity is in private hands, with growth averaging 5% since 1990. Yet, because the 1980s were a decade of civil war and stagnation, per capita GDP has not regained the level of the late 1970s. The rebound in the 1990s stems from the government program, in conjunction with the IMF, of privatization, deregulation, and fiscal stabilization. The economy now is oriented more toward manufacturing and services compared with agriculture. The sizable trade deficits are in the main covered by remittances from the large number of Salvadorans abroad.

National Product

GDP - purchasing power parity - $11.4 billion (1995 est.); $9.8 billion (1994 est.)

National Product Real Growth Rate

6.3% (1995 est.)
5% (1994 est.)

National Product Per Capita

$1,950 (1995 est.)
$1,710 (1994 est.)

Inflation Rate (consumer Prices)

11.4% (1995 est.)
10% (1994 est.)

Unemployment Rate

6.7% (1993)

Budget

Exports

$1.6 billion (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
$823 million (f.o.b., 1994 est.)

Commodities:

Partners:

Imports

$3.3 billion (c.i.f., 1995 est.)
$2.1 billion (c.i.f., 1994 est.)

Commodities:

Partners:

External Debt

$2.6 billion (December 1992)

Industrial Production

Growth rate 7.6% (1993)

Electricity

Industries

Agriculture

Accounts for 24% of GDP and 40% of labor force (including fishing and forestry); coffee most important commercial crop; other products - sugarcane, corn, rice, beans, oilseeds, beef, dairy products, shrimp; not self-sufficient in food

Illicit Drugs

Transshipment point for cocaine; marijuana produced for local consumption

Economic Aid

Currency

1 Salvadoran colon (C) = 100 centavos

Exchange Rates

Salvadoran colones (C) per US$1 - 8.755 (December 1995), 8.755 (1995), 8.750 (1994), 8.670 (1993), 9.170 (1992), 8.080 (1991), 8.0300 (1990)

Fiscal Year

Calendar year

TRANSPORTATION

Railroads

Highways

Inland Waterways

Rio Lempa partially navigable

Ports

Acajutla, Puerto Cutuco, La Libertad, La Union, Puerto El Triunfo

Merchant Marine

None

Airports

Heliports

1 (1995 est.)

COMMUNICATIONS

Telephone System

116,000 telephones (1984 est.)

Radio

Television

DEFENSE FORCES

Branches

Army, Navy, Air Force

Manpower Availability

Males age 15-49 1,415,691; males fit for military service 905,938; males reach military age (18) annually 78,660 (1996 est.)

Defense Expenditures

Exchange rate conversion - $100 million, 1% of GDP (1995); $103 million, 0.7% of GDP (1994)

History
World Atlas

Last modified: 2 january 1998