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El Salvador Country Guide
Explore El Salvador in North America
El Salvador with the capital city San Salvador is located in North America (Central America, bordering the North Pacific Ocean). It covers some 21,040 square kilometres (slightly smaller than Massachusetts) with 7,066,000 citizens.
The terrain features mostly mountains with narrow coastal belt and central plateau. The average density of population is approximately 336 per km². The notable climate conditions in El Salvador can be described as tropical with rainy season (May to October), dry season (November to April), tropical on coast and temperate in uplands. Potential natural disasters are known as the Land of Volcanoes or frequent and sometimes destructive earthquakes and volcanic activity or extremely susceptible to hurricanes.
To reach someone in El Salvador dial +503 prior to a number. There are 1,099,000 installed telephones. And there are 7,566,000 registered mobile phones. The cellular networks commonly support frequencies of 850/900/1900 MHz. Websites registered in this country end with the top level domain ".sv". If you want to bring electric equipment on your trip (e.g. laptop power supply), note the local power outlet of 115V - 60Hz.
About the flag and history of El Salvador
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; the banner is based on the former blue-white-blue flag of the Federal Republic of Central America; the blue bands symbolize the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, while the white band represents the land between the two bodies of water, as well as peace and prosperity note: 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.
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.
Geography Quick-Facts
| Summary | Continent: North America Neighbours: Guatemala, Honduras Capital: San Salvador |
| Size | 21,040 square kilometers (km² or sqkm) or 8,123 square miles (mi² or sqmi) slightly smaller than Massachusetts |
| Population | 7,066,000 |
| Currency | Name Dollar, Currency Code:USD |
| Country Top Level Domain (cTLD) | .sv |
| Telephone Country Prefix | +503 |
| Mobile Phone Connections | 7,566,000 |
| Landline Phone Connections | 1,099,000 |
Country Position in World Rankings
Information about single country attributes and how these compare against the rest of the world. The information below is compiled with data from 2013. As such, it may differ a bit to the Information above in the text (which is from 2010).
Geography
| Value name | Value | World Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 21,041 (sq km) | 153 |
People and Society
| Value name | Value | World Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 6,108,590 | 107 |
| Population growth rate | 0.29 (%) | 169 |
| Birth rate | 17.12 (births/1,000 population) | 114 |
| Death rate | 5.65 (deaths/1,000 population) | 173 |
| Net migration rate | -8.61 (migrant(s)/1,000 population) | 205 |
| Maternal mortality rate | 81.00 (deaths/100,000 live births) | 81 |
| Infant mortality rate | 19.05 (deaths/1,000 live births) | 97 |
| Life expectancy at birth | 73.93 (years) | 117 |
| Total fertility rate | 1.99 (children born/woman) | 130 |
| Health expenditures | 6.90 (% of GDP) | 87 |
| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate | 0.80 (%) | 58 |
| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS | 34,000 | 67 |
| HIV/AIDS - deaths | 1,400 | 61 |
| Obesity - adult prevalence rate | 25.80 (%) | 51 |
| Children under the age of 5 years underweight | 6.60 (%) | 78 |
| Education expenditures | 3.40 (% of GDP) | 130 |
| Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 | 11.40 (%) | 100 |
Economy
| Value name | Value | World Rank |
|---|---|---|
| GDP (purchasing power parity) | 47,090,000,000 | 99 |
| GDP - real growth rate | 1.60 (%) | 145 |
| GDP - per capita (PPP) | 7,600 | 138 |
| Labor force | 2,593,000 | 112 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.90 (%) | 74 |
| Distribution of family income - Gini index | 46.90 | 31 |
| Investment (gross fixed) | 14.70 (% of GDP) | 136 |
| Taxes and other revenues | 20.30 (% of GDP) | 162 |
| Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-) | -2.90 (% of GDP) | 108 |
| Public debt | 57.40 (% of GDP) | 48 |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.40 (%) | 48 |
| Commercial bank prime lending rate | 5.99 (%) | 141 |
| Stock of narrow money | 2,942,000,000 | 117 |
| Stock of broad money | 9,527,000,000 | 109 |
| Stock of domestic credit | 11,110,000,000 | 94 |
| Market value of publicly traded shares | 4,227,000,000 | 86 |
| Industrial production growth rate | 1.80 (%) | 120 |
| Current account balance | -1,035,000,000 | 112 |
| Exports | 5,804,000,000 | 107 |
| Imports | 10,440,000,000 | 95 |
| Reserves of foreign exchange and gold | 2,623,000,000 | 114 |
| Debt - external | 12,840,000,000 | 91 |
| Stock of direct foreign investment - at home | 8,747,000,000 | 84 |
| Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad | 12,400,000 | 90 |
Energy
| Value name | Value | World Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Electricity - production | 5,728,000,000 (kWh) | 113 |
| Electricity - consumption | 5,756,000,000 (kWh) | 109 |
| Electricity - exports | 101,600,000 (kWh) | 71 |
| Electricity - imports | 215,800,000 (kWh) | 86 |
| Electricity - installed generating capacity | 1,501,000 (kW) | 113 |
| Electricity - from fossil fuels | 53.00 (% of total installed capacity) | 152 |
| Electricity - from hydroelectric plants | 31.40 (% of total installed capacity) | 71 |
| Electricity - from other renewable sources | 15.60 (% of total installed capacity) | 10 |
| Crude oil - imports | 13,160 (bbl/day) | 75 |
| Refined petroleum products - production | 16,750 (bbl/day) | 99 |
| Refined petroleum products - consumption | 44,040 (bbl/day) | 105 |
| Refined petroleum products - exports | 2,158 (bbl/day) | 104 |
| Refined petroleum products - imports | 26,860 (bbl/day) | 92 |
| Carbon dioxide emissions from consumption of energy | 6,484,000 (Mt) | 117 |
Communications
| Value name | Value | World Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Telephones - main lines in use | 1,030,000 | 77 |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 8,316,000 | 86 |
| Internet hosts | 24,070 | 113 |
| Internet users | 746,000 | 107 |
Transportation
| Value name | Value | World Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Airports | 65 | 78 |
| Railways | 283 (km) | 121 |
| Roadways | 10,886 (km) | 134 |
Military
| Value name | Value | World Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Military expenditures | 0.60 (% of GDP) | 158 |
Data based on CIA facts book 2010 & 2013, wikipedia, national statistical offices and their census releases
List of current world heritage sites
| Name | Since |
|---|---|
| Joya de Cerén Archaeological Site Joya de Cerén was a pre-Hispanic farming community that, like Pompeii and Herculaneum in Italy, was buried under an eruption of the Laguna Caldera volcano c. AD 600. Because of the exceptional condition of the remains, they provide an insight into th ... | 1993 |