Barbados (2003) | El Salvador (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 11 parishes; Christ Church, Saint Andrew, Saint George, Saint James, Saint John, Saint Joseph, Saint Lucy, Saint Michael, Saint Peter, Saint Philip, Saint Thomas; note - the city of Bridgetown may be given parish status | 14 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Ahuachapan, Cabanas, Chalatenango, Cuscatlan, La Libertad, La Paz, La Union, Morazan, San Miguel, San Salvador, Santa Ana, San Vicente, Sonsonate, Usulutan |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 21.2% (male 29,621; female 29,207)
15-64 years: 70% (male 94,840; female 99,230) 65 years and over: 8.8% (male 9,355; female 15,011) (2003 est.) |
0-14 years:
37.68% (male 1,198,623; female 1,151,584) 15-64 years: 57.27% (male 1,693,865; female 1,878,254) 65 years and over: 5.05% (male 142,345; female 172,991) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugarcane, vegetables, cotton | coffee, sugar, corn, rice, beans, oilseed, cotton, sorghum; shrimp; beef, dairy products |
Airports | 1 (2002) | 83 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2002) |
total:
4 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total:
79 914 to 1,523 m: 17 under 914 m: 62 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 431 sq km
land: 431 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
21,040 sq km land: 20,720 sq km water: 320 sq km |
Area - comparative | 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Massachusetts |
Background | The island was uninhabited when first settled by the British in 1627. Slaves worked the sugar plantations established on the island until 1834 when slavery was abolished. The economy remained heavily dependent on sugar, rum, and molasses production through most of the 20th century. The gradual introduction of social and political reforms in the 1940s and 1950s led to complete independence from the UK in 1966. In the 1990s, tourism and manufacturing surpassed the sugar industry in economic importance. | El Salvador achieved independence from Spain in 1821 and from the Central American Federation in 1839. A 12-year civil war, which cost the lives of some 75,000 people, was brought to a close in 1992 when the government and leftist rebels signed a treaty that provided for military and political reforms. |
Birth rate | 13.15 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 28.67 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $847 million (including grants)
expenditures: $886 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues:
$1.8 billion expenditures: $2.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
Capital | Bridgetown | San Salvador |
Climate | tropical; rainy season (June to October) | tropical; rainy season (May to October); dry season (November to April); tropical on coast; temperate in uplands |
Coastline | 97 km | 307 km |
Constitution | 30 November 1966 | 23 December 1983 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Barbados |
conventional long form:
Republic of El Salvador conventional short form: El Salvador local long form: Republica de El Salvador local short form: El Salvador |
Currency | Barbadian dollar (BBD) | Salvadoran colon (SVC); US dollar (USD) |
Death rate | 9.02 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 6.18 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $692 million (2002) | $4.1 billion (2000 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Earl N. PHILLIPS, Jr.
embassy: Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Building, Broad Street, Bridgetown; (courier) ALICO Building-Cheapside, Bridgetown mailing address: P. O. Box 302, Bridgetown; FPO AA 34055 telephone: [1] (246) 436-4950 FAX: [1] (246) 429-5246, 429-3379 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Rose M. LIKINS embassy: Boulevard Santa Elena Final, Antiguo Cuscatlan, La Libertad, San Salvador mailing address: Unit 3116, APO AA 34023 telephone: [503] 278-4444 FAX: [503] 278-6011 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Michael Ian KING
chancery: 2144 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 339-9201 FAX: [1] (202) 332-7467 consulate(s) general: Miami and New York consulate(s): Los Angeles |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Rene Antonio LEON Rodriguez chancery: 2308 California Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 265-9671 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, and San Francisco consulate(s): Boston |
Disputes - international | none | with respect to the maritime boundary in the Golfo de Fonseca, the ICJ referred to the line determined by the 1900 Honduras-Nicaragua Mixed Boundary Commission and advised that some tripartite resolution among El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua likely would be required |
Economic aid - recipient | $9.1 million (1995) | total $252 million; $57 million from US (1999 est.) |
Economy - overview | Historically, the Barbadian economy had been dependent on sugarcane cultivation and related activities, but production in recent years has diversified into manufacturing and tourism. Offshore finance and information services are important foreign exchange earners, and there is also a light-manufacturing sector. The government continues its efforts to reduce unemployment, to encourage direct foreign investment, and to privatize remaining state-owned enterprises. The economy contracted in 2002 mainly due to a 3% decline in tourism. Growth should be positive in 2003, the precise level largely dependent on economic conditions in the US and Europe. | El Salvador is a struggling Central American economy which has been suffering from a weak tax collection system, factory closings, the aftermaths of Hurricane Mitch of 1998 and the devastating earthquakes of early 2001, and weak world coffee prices. On the bright side, in recent years inflation has fallen to single digit levels, and total exports have grown substantially. The trade deficit has been offset by remittances (an estimated $1.6 billion in 2000) from Salvadorans living abroad and by external aid. As of 1 January 2001, the US dollar was made legal tender alongside the colon. |
Electricity - consumption | 725.4 million kWh (2001) | 3.638 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 208 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 460 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 780 million kWh (2001) | 3.641 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
fossil fuel:
45.65% hydro: 41.01% nuclear: 0% other: 13.34% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Hillaby 336 m |
lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Cerro El Pital 2,730 m |
Environment - current issues | pollution of coastal waters from waste disposal by ships; soil erosion; illegal solid waste disposal threatens contamination of aquifers | deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution; contamination of soils from disposal of toxic wastes; Hurricane Mitch damage |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: Biodiversity |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | black 90%, white 4%, Asian and mixed 6% | mestizo 90%, Amerindian 1%, white 9% |
Exchange rates | Barbadian dollars per US dollar - 2 (2002), 2 (2001), 2 (2000), 2 (1999), 2 (1998) | Salvadoran colones per US dollar - 8.755 (fixed rate since 1993) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir Clifford Straughn HUSBANDS (since 1 June 1996)
head of government: Prime Minister Owen Seymour ARTHUR (since 6 September 1994); Deputy Prime Minister Mia MOTTLEY (since 26 May 2003) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; the prime minister recommends the deputy prime minister |
chief of state:
President Francisco FLORES Perez (since 1 June 1999); Vice President Carlos QUINTANILLA Schmidt (since 1 June 1999); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Francisco FLORES Perez (since 1 June 1999); Vice President Carlos QUINTANILLA Schmidt (since 1 June 1999); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: cabinet selected by the president elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for five-year terms; election last held 7 March 1999 (next to be held NA March 2004) election results: Francisco FLORES Perez elected president; percent of vote - Francisco FLORES (ARENA) 52%, Facundo GUARDADO (FMLN) 29%, Ruben ZAMORA (CDU) 7.5%, other (no individual above 3%) 11.5% |
Exports | NA (2001) | $2.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
Exports - commodities | sugar and molasses, rum, other foods and beverages, chemicals, electrical components | offshore assembly exports, coffee, sugar, shrimp, textiles, chemicals, electricity |
Exports - partners | US 14.7%, Trinidad and Tobago 12%, UK 10.6%, Jamaica 6.2%, Saint Lucia 4.7% (2002) | US 63%, Guatemala 11%, Honduras 7%, Costa Rica 4% (1999) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), gold, and blue with the head of a black trident centered on the gold band; the trident head represents independence and a break with the past (the colonial coat of arms contained a complete trident) | 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; 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 |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $4.153 billion (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $24 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 6%
industry: 16% services: 78% (2000 est.) |
agriculture:
12% industry: 28% services: 60% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $15,000 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $4,000 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | -2.8% (2002 est.) | 2.5% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 13 10 N, 59 32 W | 13 50 N, 88 55 W |
Geography - note | easternmost Caribbean island | smallest Central American country and only one without a coastline on Caribbean Sea |
Heliports | - | 1 (2000 est.) |
Highways | total: 1,793 km
paved: 1,719 km unpaved: 74 km (1999) |
total:
10,029 km paved: 1,986 km (including 327 km of expressways) unpaved: 8,043 km (1997) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
1.2% highest 10%: 38.3% (1995) |
Illicit drugs | one of many Caribbean transshipment points for narcotics bound for Europe and the US; offshore financial center | transshipment point for cocaine; marijuana produced for local consumption; domestic drug abuse on the rise |
Imports | NA (2001) | $4.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
Imports - commodities | consumer goods, machinery, foodstuffs, construction materials, chemicals, fuel, electrical components | raw materials, consumer goods, capital goods, fuels, foodstuffs, petroleum, electricity |
Imports - partners | US 41.1%, Trinidad and Tobago 17%, UK 7.3%, Japan 4.2% (2002) | US 52%, Guatemala 9%, Mexico 6%, Costa Rica 3% (1999) |
Independence | 30 November 1966 (from UK) | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | -3.2% (2000 est.) | 5% (2000 est.) |
Industries | tourism, sugar, light manufacturing, component assembly for export | food processing, beverages, petroleum, chemicals, fertilizer, textiles, furniture, light metals |
Infant mortality rate | total: 12.72 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 14.39 deaths/1,000 live births female: 11.04 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
28.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | -0.6% (2002 est.) | 2.5% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO | BCIE, CACM, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), MINURSO, NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 19 (2000) | 4 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 10 sq km (1998 est.) | 1,200 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court of Judicature (judges are appointed by the Service Commissions for the Judicial and Legal Services) | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (judges are selected by the Legislative Assembly) |
Labor force | 128,500 (2001 est.) | 2.35 million (1999) |
Labor force - by occupation | services 75%, industry 15%, agriculture 10% (1996 est.) | agriculture 30%, industry 15%, services 55% (1999 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total:
545 km border countries: Guatemala 203 km, Honduras 342 km |
Land use | arable land: 37.21%
permanent crops: 2.33% other: 60.46% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
27% permanent crops: 8% permanent pastures: 29% forests and woodland: 5% other: 31% (1993 est.) |
Languages | English | Spanish, Nahua (among some Amerindians) |
Legal system | English common law; no judicial review of legislative acts | based on civil and Roman law, with traces of common law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (21-member body appointed by the governor general) and the House of Assembly (30 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Assembly - last held 21 May 2003 (next to be held by May 2008) election results: House of Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - BLP 23, DLP 7 |
unicameral Legislative Assembly or Asamblea Legislativa (84 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 12 March 2000 (next to be held NA March 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - ARENA 36.1%, FMLN 35.14%, PCN 8.76%, PDC 7.08%, CD 5.32%, PAN 3.75%, USC 1.47%, PLD 1.29%; seats by party - ARENA 28, FMLN 31, PCN 14, PDC 5, CD 3, PAN 1, independent 2 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 71.84 years
male: 69.56 years female: 74.14 years (2003 est.) |
total population:
70.03 years male: 66.43 years female: 73.81 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 97.4% male: 98% female: 96.8% (1995 est.) |
definition:
age 10 and over can read and write total population: 71.5% male: 73.5% female: 69.8% (1995 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, island in the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela | Middle America, bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Guatemala and Honduras |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea:
200 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 34 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 284,222 GRT/439,810 DWT
ships by type: bulk 8, cargo 22, combination bulk 1, container 1, petroleum tanker 2 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Australia 1, The Bahamas 1, Canada 4, Germany 1, Greece 2, Hong Kong 7, Norway 7, UK 18 (2002 est.) |
none (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Royal Barbados Defense Force (including Ground Forces and Coast Guard), Royal Barbados Police Force | Army, Navy, Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | $112 million (FY99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 0.7% (FY99) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 77,862 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49:
1,464,898 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 53,282 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49:
929,263 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
68,103 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 30 November (1966) | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) |
Nationality | noun: Barbadian(s) or Bajan (colloquial)
adjective: Barbadian or Bajan (colloquial) |
noun:
Salvadoran(s) adjective: Salvadoran |
Natural hazards | infrequent hurricanes; periodic landslides | known as the Land of Volcanoes; frequent and sometimes very destructive earthquakes and volcanic activity |
Natural resources | petroleum, fish, natural gas | hydropower, geothermal power, petroleum, arable land |
Net migration rate | -0.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | -3.95 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Barbados Labor Party or BLP [Owen ARTHUR]; Democratic Labor Party or DLP [Clyde Mascoll] | Christian Democratic Party or PDC [Rene AGUILUZ]; Democratic Convergence or CD (includes PSD, MNR, MPSC) [Ruben ZAMORA, secretary general]; Democratic Party or PD [Jorge MELENDEZ]; Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front or FMLN [Fabio CASTILLO]; Liberal Democratic Party or PLD [Kirio Waldo SALGADO, president]; National Action Party or PAN [Gustavo Rogelio SALINAS, secretary general]; National Conciliation Party or PCN [Ciro CRUZ Zepeda, president]; National Republican Alliance or ARENA [Walter ARAUJO]; Social Christian Union or USC (formed by the merger of Christian Social Renewal Party or PRSC and Unity Movement or MU) [Abraham RODRIGUEZ, president] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Barbados Workers Union [Leroy TROTMAN]; Clement Payne Labor Union [David COMMISSIONG]; People's Progressive Movement [Eric SEALY]; Worker's Party of Barbados [Dr. George BELLE] | 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 |
Population | 277,264 (July 2003 est.) | 6,237,662 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 48% (1999 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.38% (2003 est.) | 1.85% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bridgetown, Speightstown (Port Charles Marina) | Acajutla, Puerto Cutuco, La Libertad, La Union, Puerto El Triunfo |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 61 (plus 24 repeaters), FM 30, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | - | 2.75 million (1997) |
Railways | 0 km | total:
562 km narrow gauge: 562 km 0.914-m gauge note: length of route which is operational is reduced to 283 km by disuse and lack of maintainance (2001) |
Religions | Protestant 67% (Anglican 40%, Pentecostal 8%, Methodist 7%, other 12%), Roman Catholic 4%, none 17%, other 12% | Roman Catholic 86%
note: there is extensive activity by Protestant groups throughout the country; by the end of 1992, there were an estimated 1 million Protestant evangelicals in El Salvador |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.01 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.62 male(s)/female total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.9 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: island-wide automatic telephone system international: satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); tropospheric scatter to Trinidad and Saint Lucia |
general assessment:
NA domestic: nationwide microwave radio relay system international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); connected to Central American Microwave System |
Telephones - main lines in use | 108,000 (1997) | 380,000 (1998) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 8,013 (1997) | 40,163 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (plus two cable channels) (1997) | 5 (1997) |
Terrain | relatively flat; rises gently to central highland region | mostly mountains with narrow coastal belt and central plateau |
Total fertility rate | 1.65 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 3.34 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 10% (2001 est.) | 10% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | none | Rio Lempa partially navigable |