El Salvador

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. El Salvador is beset by one of the world's highest homicide rates and pervasive criminal gangs.

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

13 50 N, 88 55 W

Central America and the Caribbean

about the same size as New Jersey

307 km

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

240 sq km (2022)

high population density country-wide, with particular concentration around the capital of San Salvador

known as the Land of Volcanoes; frequent and sometimes destructive earthquakes and volcanic activity; extremely susceptible to hurricanes <br><br><strong>volcanism:</strong> significant volcanic activity; San Salvador (1,893 m), which last erupted in 1917, has the potential to cause major harm to the country's capital, which lies just below the volcano's slopes; San Miguel (2,130 m) is one of the most active volcanoes in the country; other historically active volcanoes include Conchaguita, Ilopango, Izalco, and Santa Ana

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

Mestizo 86.3%, White 12.7%, Indigenous 0.2% (includes Lenca, Kakawira, Nahua-Pipil), Black 0.1%, other 0.6% (2007 est.)

Roman Catholic 43.9%, Protestant 39.6% (Evangelical - unspecified 38.2%, Evangelical - Methodist 1.3%, Evangelical - Baptist 0.1%), none 16.3%, unspecified 0.2% (2023 est.)

0.34% (2025 est.)

12.46 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)

5.93 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)

-3.16 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)

high population density country-wide, with particular concentration around the capital of San Salvador

1.116 million SAN SALVADOR (capital) (2023)

20.8 years (2008 est.)

39 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)

1.4 children born/woman (2025 est.)

0.68 (2025 est.)

1.62 physicians/1,000 population (2023)

1.2 beds/1,000 population (2021 est.)

24.6% (2016)

5% (2021 est.)

50.7% (2021 est.)

deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution; contamination of soils from disposal of toxic wastes

tropical; rainy season (May to October); dry season (November to April); tropical on coast; temperate in uplands

23.8 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

26.27 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

presidential republic

14 departments (<em>departamentos</em>, singular - <em>departamento</em>); Ahuachapán, Cabanas, Chalatenango, Cuscatlán, La Libertad, La Paz, La Union, Morazán, San Miguel, San Salvador, San Vicente, Santa Ana, Sonsonate, Usulután

civil law system with minor common law influence; Supreme Court reviews legislative acts

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

18 years of age; universal

Christian Democratic Party or PDC<br>Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front or FMLN<br>Great Alliance for National Unity or GANA<br>National Coalition Party or PCN<br>Nationalist Republican Alliance or ARENA<br>New Ideas (Nuevas Ideas) or NI<br>Our Time (Nuestro Tiempo) or NT<br>Vamos or V

ACS, BCIE, CACM, CD, CELAC, FAO, G-11, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSTAH, NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, Pacific Alliance (observer), PCA, Petrocaribe, SICA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, Union Latina, UNISFA, UNMISS, UNOCI, UNOOSA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

15 September 1821 (from Spain)

Independence Day, 15 September (1821)

<strong>description:</strong> three equal horizontal bands of cobalt blue (top), white, and cobalt blue, with the national coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms has a round emblem with the words REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL around it<br><br><strong>meaning:</strong> the blue bands stand for the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, and the white for the land, as well as peace and prosperity<br><br><strong>history:</strong> the banner is based on the former blue-white-blue flag of the Federal Republic of Central America

turquoise-browed motmot (bird)

blue, white

upper-middle-income, dollarized Central American economy; reliant on remittances from US; recent growth linked to infrastructure investment, consumption, and crime reduction; $1.3 billion IMF loan to address fiscal imbalances; Bitcoin adopted as legal tender; persistent poverty and large informal sector

$35.365 billion (2024 est.)

sugarcane, maize, milk, chicken, sorghum, beans, oranges, coconuts, eggs, mangoes/guavas (2023)

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

0.4% (2024 est.)

2.89 million (2024 est.)

26.6% (2022 est.)

20.7% (of GDP) (2023 est.)

USA 36%, Guatemala 17%, Honduras 15%, Nicaragua 8%, Costa Rica 5% (2023)

garments, plastic products, electrical capacitors, raw sugar, toilet paper (2023)

USA 28%, China 15%, Guatemala 11%, Mexico 8%, Honduras 5% (2023)

refined petroleum, natural gas, garments, packaged medicine, plastics (2023)

the US dollar is used as a medium of exchange and circulates freely in the economy

multiple privately owned national terrestrial TV networks, supplemented by cable TV networks that carry international channels; hundreds of commercial radio stations and 2 government-owned radio stations; transition to digital transmission was set to begin in 2018, along with adoption of the Japanese-Brazilian Digital Standard (ISDB-T) (2022)

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27 (2025)

The Armed Forces of El Salvador (La Fuerza Armada de El Salvador, FAES): Army of El Salvador (Ejercito de El Salvador, ES), Naval Force of El Salvador (Fuerza Naval de El Salvador, FNES), Salvadoran Air Force (Fuerza Aérea Salvadoreña, FAS)<br><br>Ministry of Justice and Public Safety: National Civil Police (Policia Nacional Civil, PNC) (2025)

approximately 25,000 active FAES (2025)

the FAES is lightly armed with an inventory of mostly older or secondhand arms and equipment, largely provided by the US (2025)

18-30 years of age for voluntary military service for men and women (17-22 for military schools); men are subject to selective compulsory military service; service obligation up to 18 months (2025)

the Armed Force of El Salvador (FAES) is responsible for defending national sovereignty and ensuring territorial integrity but also has considerable domestic security responsibilities; while the National Civil Police (PNC) are responsible for maintaining public security, the country’s constitution allows the president to use the FAES “in exceptional circumstances” to maintain internal peace and public security; in 2016, the government created a special joint unit of Army commandos and police to fight criminal gangs; more military personnel were devoted to internal security beginning in 2019 when President BUKELE signed a decree authorizing military involvement in police duties to combat rising gang violence, organized crime, and narcotics trafficking, as well as assisting with border security<br><br>the military led the country for much of the 20th century; from 1980 to 1992, it fought a bloody civil war against guerrillas from the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front or FMLN, the paramilitary arm of the Democratic Revolutionary Front (Frente Democrático Revolucionario), a coalition of left-wing dissident political groups backed by Cuba and the Soviet Union; the FAES received considerable US support during the conflict; significant human rights violations occurred during the war and approximately 75,000 Salvadorans, mostly civilians, were killed (2025)

La Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13)