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.

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

• known as the Land of Volcanoes;
• frequent and sometimes destructive earthquakes and volcanic activity;
• extremely susceptible to hurricanes

volcanism:

• 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

noun:

Salvadoran(s)

adjective:

Salvadoran

total:

31.2 years (2025 est.)

male:

28.2 years

female:

31.2 years

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

0.9 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.74 male(s)/female

total population:

0.92 male(s)/female (2024 est.)

total:

10 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)

male:

13.3 deaths/1,000 live births

female:

10 deaths/1,000 live births

total population:

75.9 years (2024 est.)

male:

72.4 years

female:

79.5 years

total:

2.94 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

beer:

1.5 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

wine:

0.06 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

spirits:

1.37 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

other alcohols:

0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

total:

7.8% (2025 est.)

male:

14.7% (2025 est.)

female:

1.7% (2025 est.)

women married by age 15:

4.3% (2021)

women married by age 18:

19.7% (2021)

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

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:

Law of the Sea

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

urban population:

75.4% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization:

1.33% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

municipal solid waste generated annually:

1.649 million tons (2024 est.)

percent of municipal solid waste recycled:

15.2% (2022 est.)

municipal:

433.229 million cubic meters (2022)

industrial:

94.316 million cubic meters (2022)

agricultural:

1.411 billion cubic meters (2022)

conventional long form:

Republic of El Salvador

conventional short form:

El Salvador

local long form:

República de El Salvador

local short form:

El Salvador

etymology:

• means "the Savior" in Spanish and is a shortened form of "the Divine Savior of the World" (el Divino Salvador del Mundo), referring to Jesus Christ;
• 16th-century Spanish colonists gave the name "San Salvador" to the fort located where the country's capital of San Salvador now stands, and the name was later used for the city and the surrounding region;
• the country was officially named El Salvador in 1824

name:

San Salvador

geographic coordinates:

13 42 N, 89 12 W

time difference:

UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

etymology:

Spanish colonists founded the city in 1526 on the feast day of the Transfiguration of the Savior (Jesus Christ), and the name means "Holy Savior" in Spanish

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

history:

many previous; latest drafted 16 December 1983, enacted 23 December 1983

amendment process:

• proposals require agreement by absolute majority of the Legislative Assembly membership;
• passage requires at least two-thirds majority vote of the Assembly;
• constitutional articles on basic principles, and citizen rights and freedoms cannot be amended

citizenship by birth:

yes

citizenship by descent only:

yes

dual citizenship recognized:

yes

residency requirement for naturalization:

5 years

highest court(s):

Supreme Court or Corte Suprema de Justicia (consists of 15 judges, including its president, and 15 substitute judges organized into Constitutional, Civil, Penal, and Administrative Conflict Chambers)

judge selection and term of office:

• judges elected by the Legislative Assembly on the recommendation of both the National Council of the Judicature, an independent body elected by the Legislative Assembly, and the Bar Association;
• judges elected for 9-year terms, with renewal of one third of membership every 3 years;
• consecutive reelection is allowed

subordinate courts:

• Appellate Courts;
• Courts of First Instance;
• Courts of Peace

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

chief of mission:

Ambassador (vacant); Chargé d’Affaires Naomi C. FELLOWS (since August 2025)

embassy:

Final Boulevard Santa Elena, Antiguo Cuscatlan, La Libertad, San Salvador

mailing address:

3450 San Salvador Place, Washington, DC 20521-3450

telephone:

[503] 2501-2999

FAX:

[503] 2501-2150

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://sv.usembassy.gov/

description:

• 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

meaning:

the blue bands stand for the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, and the white for the land, as well as peace and prosperity

history:

the banner is based on the former blue-white-blue flag of the Federal Republic of Central America

note: similar to the flag of Nicaragua, which has a different coat of arms centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Honduras, which has five blue stars arranged in an "X" pattern and centered in the white band

title:

"Himno Nacional de El Salvador" (National Anthem of El Salvador)

lyrics/music:

Juan Jose CANAS/Juan ABERLE

history:

officially adopted 1953, in use since 1879; at four minutes and 20 seconds, the anthem is one of the world's longest

total World Heritage Sites:

1 (cultural)

selected World Heritage Site locales:

Joya de Cerén Archaeological Site

• 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

agriculture:

4.4% (2024 est.)

industry:

22.4% (2024 est.)

services:

61% (2024 est.)

note: figures may not total 100% due to non-allocated consumption not captured in sector-reported data

total:

6.7% (2024 est.)

male:

5.2% (2024 est.)

female:

9.5% (2024 est.)

note: % of labor force ages 15-24 seeking employment

on food:

26.7% of household expenditures (2023 est.)

on alcohol and tobacco:

0.5% of household expenditures (2023 est.)

lowest 10%:

1.9% (2023 est.)

highest 10%:

29.7% (2023 est.)

note: % share of income accruing to lowest and highest 10% of population

consumption:

500 metric tons (2022 est.)

imports:

2,000 metric tons (2023 est.)

total petroleum production:

3 bbl/day (2023 est.)

refined petroleum consumption:

56,000 bbl/day (2023 est.)

consumption:

486.291 million cubic meters (2023 est.)

imports:

486.291 million cubic meters (2023 est.)

• 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)

total:

12.5 km (2014)

narrow gauge:

12.5 km (2014) 0.914-mm gauge

total:

5 (2023)

by type:

other 5

total ports:

3 (2024)

large:

0

medium:

0

small:

0

very small:

3

ports with oil terminals:

3

key ports:

Acajutla, Acajutla Offshore Terminal, La Union

• 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)

note: in 2024, women comprised over 11% of the active military

refugees:

392 (2024 est.)

IDPs:

35,391 (2024 est.)