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

slightly smaller than Massachusetts

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

hydropower, geothermal power, petroleum, arable land

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

smallest Central American country and only one without a coastline on Caribbean Sea

mestizo 90%, white 9%, Amerindian 1%

Spanish (official), Nahua (among some Amerindians)

Roman Catholic 57.1%, Protestant 21.2%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1.9%, Mormon 0.7%, other religions 2.3%, none 16.8% (2003 est.)

6,090,646 (July 2012 est.)

17.44 births/1,000 population (2012 est.)

5.63 deaths/1,000 population (July 2012 est.)

-8.78 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2012 est.)

SAN SALVADOR (capital) 1.534 million (2009)

81 deaths/100,000 live births (2010)

2.04 children born/woman (2012 est.)

1.596 physicians/1,000 population (2008)

1.1 beds/1,000 population (2009)

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)

civil law system with minor common law influence; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court

has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

18 years of age; universal

unicameral Legislative Assembly or Asamblea Legislativa (84 seats; members elected by direct, popular vote to serve three-year terms)

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)

Democratic Change (Cambio Democratico) or PCD; Democratic Convergence or CD [Oscar KATTAN] (formerly United Democratic Center or CDU); Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front or FMLN [Medardo GONZALEZ]; Great Alliance for National Unity or GANA [Andres ROVIRA]; National Conciliation or CN [Ciro CRUZ ZEPEDA] (formerly the National Conciliation Party or PCN); Nationalist Republican Alliance or ARENA [Alfredo CRISTIANI]; Party of Hope or PES [Rodolfo PARKER] (formerly the Christian Democratic Party or PDC)

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, CD, CELAC, FAO, G-11, 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, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MINURSO, NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, SICA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, Union Latina, UNMIL, UNMISS, UNWTO, UPU, 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; 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

turquoise-browed motmot (bird)

The smallest country in Central America geographically, El Salvador has the third largest economy in the region. With the global recession in 2009, real GDP contracted by 3.1%. The economy began a slow recovery in 2010 on the back of improved export and remittances figures. Remittances accounted for 17% of GDP in 2011 and were received by about a third of all households. In 2006, El Salvador was the first country to ratify the Dominican Republic-Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR), which has bolstered the export of processed foods, sugar, and ethanol, and supported investment in the apparel sector amid increased Asian competition. El Salvador has promoted an open trade and investment environment and has embarked on a wave of privatizations extending to telecom, electricity distribution, banking, and pension funds. The Salvadoran Government maintained fiscal discipline during post-war reconstruction and reconstruction following earthquakes in 2001 and hurricanes in 1998 and 2005. Taxes levied by the government include a value added tax (VAT) of 13%, income tax of 30%, excise taxes on alcohol and cigarettes, and import duties. The VAT accounted for about 51.7% of total tax revenues in 2011. Calculated according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) standards, El Salvador's public external debt in December 2011 was about $12.95 billion or 57.3% of GDP. El Salvador's total public debt includes non-financial public sector debt, financial public sector debt, and central bank debt. In 2006, El Salvador and the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) - a United States Government agency - signed a five-year, $461 million compact to stimulate economic growth and reduce poverty in the country's northern region, the primary conflict zone during the civil war, through investments in education, public services, enterprise development, and transportation infrastructure. In December 2011, the MCC approved El Salvador's eligibility to develop a proposal for a second compact for consideration.

$45.15 billion (2011 est.)

$44.52 billion (2010 est.)

$43.9 billion (2009 est.)

$22.76 billion (2011 est.)

2.577 million (2011 est.)

13.5% of GDP (2011 est.)

19.4% of GDP (2011 est.)

-4% of GDP (2011 est.)

57.3% of GDP (2011 est.)

54.1% of GDP (2010 est.)

7% (31 December 2011 est.)

7.62% (31 December 2010 est.)

$2.386 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$2.433 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$1.15 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$9.388 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$10.34 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$10.04 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$5.474 billion (31 December 2011)

$4.227 billion (31 December 2010)

$4.432 billion (31 December 2009)

coffee, sugar, corn, rice, beans, oilseed, cotton, sorghum; beef, dairy products

food processing, beverages, petroleum, chemicals, fertilizer, textiles, furniture, light metals

-$1.205 billion (2011 est.)

-$488.3 million (2010 est.)

$5.309 billion (2011 est.)

$4.577 billion (2010 est.)

offshore assembly exports, coffee, sugar, textiles and apparel, gold, ethanol, chemicals, electricity, iron and steel manufactures

US 44.6%, Guatemala 13.2%, Honduras 9.8%, Nicaragua 5.1%, Germany 4.1% (2011)

$9.75 billion (2011 est.)

$8.189 billion (2010 est.)

raw materials, consumer goods, capital goods, fuels, foodstuffs, petroleum, electricity

US 39.4%, Guatemala 9.9%, Mexico 9%, China 5.2% (2011)

$2.504 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$2.883 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$12.95 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$11.77 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$8.41 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$7.76 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$7 million (31 December 2011 est.)

$7 million (31 December 2010 est.)

5.728 billion kWh (2011 est.)

5.756 billion kWh (2011 est.)

101.6 million kWh (2011 est.)

215.8 million kWh (2011 est.)

1.501 million kW (2009 est.)

53% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

31.4% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

15.6% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

0 bbl/day (2011 est.)

0 bbl/day (2009 est.)

13,160 bbl/day (2009 est.)

0 bbl (1 January 2012 est.)

16,750 bbl/day (2008 est.)

44,040 bbl/day (2011 est.)

2,158 bbl/day (2008 est.)

26,860 bbl/day (2008 est.)

0 cu m (1 January 2012 est.)

6.484 million Mt (2010 est.)

7.837 million (2011)

multiple privately-owned national terrestrial TV networks, supplemented by cable TV networks that carry international channels; hundreds of commercial radio broadcast stations and 1 government-owned radio broadcast station (2007)

(Rio Lempa is partially navigable for small craft) (2011)

Salvadoran Armed Forces (FAES): Salvadoran Army (ES), Salvadoran Navy (FNES), Salvadoran Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Salvadorena, FAS) (2011)

18 years of age for selective compulsory military service; 16-22 years of age for voluntary male or female service; service obligation - 12 months, with 11 months for officers and NCOs (2009)

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 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