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El Salvador

Republic of El Salvador

Geography
Area: 20,742. (8,008 sq. mi.); about the size of Massachusetts.
Cities: Capital--San Salvador (pop. 2.2 million). Other cities--Santa Ana, San Miguel, Soyapango, and Apopa.
Terrain: Mountains separate country into three distinct regions--southern coastal belt, central valleys and plateaus, and northern mountains.
Climate: Semitropical, distinct wet and dry seasons.

People
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Salvadoran(s).
Population (2007 est.): 5.7 million.
Annual growth rate (2005 est.): 1.7%.
Ethnic groups: Mestizo 90%, indigenous 1%, Caucasian 9%.
Religion: About 52% Roman Catholic, with significant and growing numbers of Protestant groups.
Language: Spanish.
Education: Free through ninth grade. Attendance (grades 1-9)-90.4%. Literacy--84.5% nationally; 76.3% in rural areas.
Health: Infant mortality rate (2003)--24.6/1,000. Life expectancy at birth (2006)--71.8 years.
Work force (about 2.5 million, 2004): Agriculture--19.1%; services--49.8%; industry--16.8%; construction--6.4%; government--7.3%; other--0.6%.

Government
Type: Republic.
Constitution: December 20, 1983.
Independence: September 15, 1821.
Branches: Executive--president and vice president. Legislative--84-member Legislative Assembly. Judicial--independent (Supreme Court).
Administrative subdivisions: 14 departments.
Political parties (represented in the legislature): Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN), Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA), National Conciliation Party (PCN), Christian Democratic Party (PDC), and the United Democratic Center (CDU).
Suffrage: Universal at 18.

Economy
GDP (2006): $18.57 billion, PPP GDP (2006) $38.62 billion (IMF estimate)
GDP annual real growth rate (2006): 4.2%.
Per capita income (2006): $2,656.9, PPP per capita income $5,514.97 (IMF estimate)
Agriculture (9.8% of GDP, 2006): Products--coffee, sugar, livestock, corn, poultry, and sorghum. Arable, cultivated, or pasture land--68% (2005).
Industry (21.2% of GDP, 2006): Types--textiles and apparel, medicines, food and beverage processing, clothing, chemical products, petroleum products, electronics.
Trade (2006): Exports--$3.5 billion: textiles and apparel, coffee, sugar, medicines, iron and steel products, tuna, light manufacturing, and paper products. Major markets--U.S. 57.1%, Central American Common Market (CACM) 29.2%. Imports--$7.6 billion: petroleum, iron products, machines and mechanical devices, cars, medicines, consumer goods, foodstuffs, capital goods, and raw industrial materials. Major suppliers--U.S. 40.46%, CACM 15.1%, Mexico 7.7%.

PEOPLE
El Salvador's population numbers about 5.7 million. Almost 90% is of mixed Indian and Spanish extraction. About 1% is indigenous; very few Indians have retained their customs and traditions. The country's people are largely Roman Catholic and Protestant. Spanish is the language spoken by virtually all inhabitants. The capital city of San Salvador has about 2.2 million people; an estimated 40.3% of El Salvador's population lives in rural areas.

HISTORY
The Pipil Indians, descendants of the Aztecs , and the Pocomames and Lencas were the original inhabitants of El Salvador,

The first Salvadoran territory visited by Spaniards was on Meanguera Island, located in the Gulf of Fonseca, where Spanish Admiral, Andrés Niño, lead an expedition to Central America and disembarked on May 31, 1522. In June 1524 the Spanish Captain Pedro de Alvarado started a war to conquest Cuzcatlan. His cousin Diego de Alvarado established the village of San Salvador in April 1525. In 1546, Charles I of Spain granted San Salvador the title of city.

During the subsequent years, the country evolved under Spanish rule; however, towards the end of the year 1810 many people began to express discontent. On November 5, 1811, when the Priest José Matias Delgado, clang the bells of La Merced Church in San Salvador, calling for insurrection, the people began to officially band together for freedom.

In 1821, El Salvador and the other Central American provinces declared their independence from Spain. When these provinces were joined with Mexico in early 1822, El Salvador resisted, insisting on autonomy for the Central American countries. In 1823, the United Provinces of Central America was formed of the five Central American states under Gen. Manuel Jose Arce. When this federation was dissolved in 1838, El Salvador became an independent republic. El Salvador's early history as an independent state--as with others in Central America--was marked by frequent revolutions; not until the period 1900-30 was relative stability achieved. Following a deterioration in the country's democratic institutions in the 1970s a period of civil war followed from 1980-1992. More than 75,000 people are estimated to have died in the conflict. In January 1992, after prolonged negotiations, the opposing sides signed peace accords which ended the war, brought the military under civilian control, and allowed the former guerillas to form a legitimate political party and participate in elections.

El Salvador