El Salvador (2002) | Guam (2004) | |
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Administrative divisions | 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 | none (territory of the US) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 37.4% (male 1,211,156; female 1,162,317)
15-64 years: 57.5% (male 1,735,744; female 1,922,395) 65 years and over: 5.1% (male 144,864; female 177,205) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 29.8% (male 25,577; female 23,850)
15-64 years: 64% (male 54,220; female 52,026) 65 years and over: 6.3% (male 4,912; female 5,505) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, sugar, corn, rice, beans, oilseed, cotton, sorghum; shrimp; beef, dairy products | fruits, copra, vegetables; eggs, pork, poultry, beef |
Airports | 83 (2001) | 5 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 4
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2002) |
total: 4
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 78
914 to 1,523 m: 17 under 914 m: 61 (2002) |
total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 21,040 sq km
land: 20,720 sq km water: 320 sq km |
total: 549 sq km
land: 549 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Massachusetts | three times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | 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. | Guam was ceded to the US by Spain in 1898. Captured by the Japanese in 1941, it was retaken by the US three years later. The military installation on the island is one of the most strategically important US bases in the Pacific. |
Birth rate | 28.3 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 19.31 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $2.1 billion
expenditures: $2.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) (2001 est.) |
revenues: $340 million
expenditures: $445 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | San Salvador | Hagatna (Agana) |
Climate | tropical; rainy season (May to October); dry season (November to April); tropical on coast; temperate in uplands | tropical marine; generally warm and humid, moderated by northeast trade winds; dry season from January to June, rainy season from July to December; little seasonal temperature variation |
Coastline | 307 km | 125.5 km |
Constitution | 23 December 1983 | Organic Act of 1 August 1950 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of El Salvador
conventional short form: El Salvador local long form: Republica de El Salvador local short form: El Salvador |
conventional long form: Territory of Guam
conventional short form: Guam local long form: Guahan |
Currency | Salvadoran colon (SVC); US dollar (USD) | US dollar (USD) |
Death rate | 6.1 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 4.35 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $4.9 billion (2001 est.) | NA (2003 est.) |
Dependency status | - | organized, unincorporated territory of the US with policy relations between Guam and the US under the jurisdiction of the Office of Insular Affairs, US Department of the Interior |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Rose M. LIKINS
embassy: Final Boulevard Santa Elena Sur, Urbanizacion Santa Elena, Antiguo Cuscatlan, La Libertad, San Salvador mailing address: Unit 3116, APO AA 34023 telephone: [503] 278-4444 FAX: [503] 278-6011 |
none (territory of the US) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Rene Antonio LEON Rodriguez
chancery: 2308 California Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 265-9671 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and San Francisco |
none (territory of the US) |
Disputes - international | El Salvador claims tiny Conejo Island off Honduras in the Golfo de Fonseca; many of the "bolsones" (disputed areas) along the El Salvador-Honduras boundary remain undemarcated despite ICJ adjudication in 1992; 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 | none |
Economic aid - recipient | total $252 million; $57 million from US (1999 est.) | Guam receives large transfer payments from the US Federal Treasury ($143 million in 1997) into which Guamanians pay no income or excise taxes; under the provisions of a special law of Congress, the Guam Treasury, rather than the US Treasury, receives federal income taxes paid by military and civilian Federal employees stationed in Guam (2001 est.) |
Economy - overview | 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. Growth in 2002 will depend largely on the speed of recovery in the US. | The economy depends on US military spending, tourism, and the export of fish and handicrafts. Total US grants, wage payments, and procurement outlays amounted to $1 billion in 1998. Over the past 20 years, the tourist industry has grown rapidly, creating a construction boom for new hotels and the expansion of older ones. More than 1 million tourists visit Guam each year. The industry had recently suffered setbacks because of the continuing Japanese slowdown; the Japanese normally make up almost 90% of the tourists. Most food and industrial goods are imported. Guam faces the problem of building up the civilian economic sector to offset the impact of military downsizing. |
Electricity - consumption | 4.07 billion kWh (2000) | 771.9 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 112 million kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 750 million kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 3.69 billion kWh (2000) | 830 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 42%
hydro: 36% nuclear: 0% other: 22% (2000) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Cerro El Pital 2,730 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Lamlam 406 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution; contamination of soils from disposal of toxic wastes | extirpation of native bird population by the rapid proliferation of the brown tree snake, an exotic, invasive species |
Environment - international agreements | 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 | mestizo 90%, Amerindian 1%, white 9% | Chamorro 37%, Filipino 26%, white 10%, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and other 27% |
Exchange rates | Salvadoran colones per US dollar - 8.750 (fixed since January 2001), 8.755 (fixed rate since 1993)
note: since January 2001 the US dollar has also become legal tender; the exchange rate has been fixed at 8.75 colones per US dollar |
the US dollar is used |
Executive branch | 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: Council of Ministers 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 (CD) 7.5%, other (no individual above 3%) 11.5% |
chief of state: President George W. BUSH of the US (since 20 January 2001); Vice President Richard B. CHENEY (since 20 January 2001)
head of government: Governor Felix P. P. CAMACHO (since 6 January 2003) and Lieutenant Governor Kaleo MOYLAN (since 6 January 2003) cabinet: executive departments; heads appointed by the governor with the consent of the Guam legislature elections: US president and vice president elected on the same ticket for a four-year term; governor and lieutenant governor elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year term; election last held 5 November 2002 (next to be held NA November 2006) election results: Felix P. P. CAMACHO elected governor; percent of vote - Felix P. P. CAMACHO (Republican Party) 55.4%, Robert A. UNDERWOOD (Democratic Party) 44.6% |
Exports | $2.9 billion (2001) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | offshore assembly exports, coffee, sugar, shrimp, textiles, chemicals, electricity | mostly transshipments of refined petroleum products; construction materials, fish, food and beverage products |
Exports - partners | US 65%, Guatemala 11%, Honduras 8%, EU 5% (2000) | Japan 70.1%, South Korea 17.9%, Singapore 6% (2003) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 October - 30 September |
Flag description | 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 | territorial flag is dark blue with a narrow red border on all four sides; centered is a red-bordered, pointed, vertical ellipse containing a beach scene, outrigger canoe with sail, and a palm tree with the word GUAM superimposed in bold red letters; US flag is the national flag |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $28.4 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $3.2 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 10%
industry: 30% services: 60% (2000) (2000) |
agriculture: 7%
industry: 15% services: 78% (2002 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $4,600 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $21,000 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1.4% (2001 est.) | NA |
Geographic coordinates | 13 50 N, 88 55 W | 13 28 N, 144 47 E |
Geography - note | smallest Central American country and only one without a coastline on Caribbean Sea | largest and southernmost island in the Mariana Islands archipelago; strategic location in western North Pacific Ocean |
Heliports | 1 (2002) | - |
Highways | total: 10,029 km
paved: 1,986 km (including 327 km of expressways) unpaved: 8,043 km (1997) |
total: 885 km
paved: 675 km unpaved: 210 km note: there are also 685 km of roads classified non-public, including roads located on federal government installations |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1%
highest 10%: 39% (2001) (2001) |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for cocaine; small amounts of marijuana produced for local consumption; domestic cocaine abuse on the rise | - |
Imports | $5 billion (2001) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | raw materials, consumer goods, capital goods, fuels, foodstuffs, petroleum, electricity | petroleum and petroleum products, food, manufactured goods |
Imports - partners | US 50%, Guatemala 10%, EU 7%, Mexico 5%, (2000) | Singapore 35.8%, Japan 22.2%, South Korea 17.5%, Hong Kong 11.4% (2003) |
Independence | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) | none (territory of the US) |
Industrial production growth rate | 3% (2001 est.) | NA |
Industries | food processing, beverages, petroleum, chemicals, fertilizer, textiles, furniture, light metals | US military, tourism, construction, transshipment services, concrete products, printing and publishing, food processing, textiles |
Infant mortality rate | 27.58 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 7.15 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 7.8 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.46 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.8% (2001 est.) | 0% (1999 est.) |
International organization participation | BCIE, CACM, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), MINURSO, NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | Interpol (subbureau), IOC, UPU |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 4 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 360 sq km (1998 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (judges are selected by the Legislative Assembly) | Federal District Court (judge is appointed by the president); Territorial Superior Court (judges appointed for eight-year terms by the governor) |
Labor force | 2.35 million (1999) (1999) | 60,000 (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 30%, industry 15%, services 55% (1999 est.) | private 74% (industry 10%, trade 24%, other services 40%), federal and territorial government 26% (2000 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 545 km
border countries: Guatemala 203 km, Honduras 342 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 27.27%
permanent crops: 12.11% other: 60.62% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 9.09%
permanent crops: 16.36% other: 74.55% (2001) |
Languages | Spanish, Nahua (among some Amerindians) | English, Chamorro, Japanese |
Legal system | 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 | modeled on US; US federal laws apply |
Legislative branch | unicameral Legislative Assembly or Asamblea Legislativa (84 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 16 March 2003 (next to be held NA March 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - FMLN 31, ARENA 27, PCN 16, PDC 5, CD 5 |
unicameral Legislature (15 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms)
elections: last held 5 November 2002 (next to be held 2 November 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Democratic Party 9, Republican Party 6 note: Guam elects one nonvoting delegate to the US House of Representatives; election last held 5 November 2002 (next to be held 2 November 2004); results - Madeleine BORDALLO (Democratic Party) was elected as delegate; percent of vote by party - Democratic Party 64.6%, Republican Party 35.4%; seats by party - Democratic Party 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 70.32 years
male: 66.72 years female: 74.11 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 78.12 years
male: 75.08 years female: 81.34 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 10 and over can read and write
total population: 71.5% male: 73.5% female: 69.8% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (1990 est.) |
Location | Middle America, bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Guatemala and Honduras | Oceania, island in the North Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to the Philippines |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Oceania |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 200 NM | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | none (2002 est.) | none |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the US |
Military branches | Army, Navy (FNES), Air Force | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $112 million (FY99) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.7% (FY99) | - |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 1,500,712 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 951,715 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 68,103 (2002 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) | Discovery Day, first Monday in March (1521) |
Nationality | noun: Salvadoran(s)
adjective: Salvadoran |
noun: Guamanian(s)
adjective: Guamanian |
Natural hazards | known as the Land of Volcanoes; frequent and sometimes very destructive earthquakes and volcanic activity; extremely susceptible to hurricanes | frequent squalls during rainy season; relatively rare, but potentially very destructive typhoons (June - December) |
Natural resources | hydropower, geothermal power, petroleum, arable land | fishing (largely undeveloped), tourism (especially from Japan) |
Net migration rate | -3.88 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Christian Democratic Party or PDC [Rodolfo PARKER]; Democratic Convergence or CD [Ruben ZAMORA, secretary general] (includes Social Democratic Party or PSD [Juan MEDRANO, leader); 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] | Democratic Party (controls the legislature) [speaker, Vicente (Ben) PANGELINAN]; Republican Party (party of Governor CAMACHO) [leader NA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | 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 | NA |
Population | 6,353,681 (July 2002 est.) | 166,090 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 48% (1999 est.) | 23% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.83% (2002 est.) | 1.5% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Acajutla, Puerto Cutuco, La Libertad, La Union, Puerto El Triunfo | Apra Harbor |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 61 (plus 24 repeaters), FM 30, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 4, FM 7, shortwave 2 (2003) |
Radios | 2.75 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total: 562 km
narrow gauge: 562 km 0.914-m gauge note: length of operational route is reduced to 283 km by disuse and lack of maintenance (2001 est.) |
- |
Religions | Roman Catholic 83%
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 |
Roman Catholic 85%, other 15% (1999 est.) |
Sex ratio | 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 (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal; US citizens, but do not vote in US presidential elections |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: nationwide microwave radio relay system international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); connected to Central American Microwave System |
general assessment: modern system, integrated with US facilities for direct dialing, including free use of 800 numbers
domestic: modern digital system, including cellular mobile service and local access to the Internet international: country code - 1-671; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean); submarine cables to US and Japan (Guam is a trans-Pacific communications hub for MCI, Sprint, AT&T, IT&E, and GTE, linking the US and Asia) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 380,000 (1998) | 84,134 (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 40,163 (1997) | 32,600 (2001) |
Television broadcast stations | 5 (1997) | 5 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly mountains with narrow coastal belt and central plateau | volcanic origin, surrounded by coral reefs; relatively flat coralline limestone plateau (source of most fresh water), with steep coastal cliffs and narrow coastal plains in north, low hills in center, mountains in south |
Total fertility rate | 3.29 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 2.61 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 10% (2001 est.) | 15% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | Rio Lempa partially navigable | - |