El Salvador (2002) | Libya (2003) | |
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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 | 25 municipalities (baladiyat, singular - baladiyah); Ajdabiya, Al 'Aziziyah, Al Fatih, Al Jabal al Akhdar, Al Jufrah, Al Khums, Al Kufrah, An Nuqat al Khams, Ash Shati', Awbari, Az Zawiyah, Banghazi, Darnah, Ghadamis, Gharyan, Misratah, Murzuq, Sabha, Sawfajjin, Surt, Tarabulus, Tarhunah, Tubruq, Yafran, Zlitan; note - the 25 municipalities may have been replaced by 13 regions |
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: 34.5% (male 970,026; female 929,174)
15-64 years: 61.4% (male 1,744,992; female 1,630,399) 65 years and over: 4.1% (male 109,262; female 115,221) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, sugar, corn, rice, beans, oilseed, cotton, sorghum; shrimp; beef, dairy products | wheat, barley, olives, dates, citrus, vegetables, peanuts, soybeans; cattle |
Airports | 83 (2001) | 136 (2002) |
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: 58
over 3,047 m: 23 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 22 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 78
914 to 1,523 m: 17 under 914 m: 61 (2002) |
total: 78
over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 914 to 1,523 m: 39 under 914 m: 18 (2002) |
Area | total: 21,040 sq km
land: 20,720 sq km water: 320 sq km |
total: 1,759,540 sq km
land: 1,759,540 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Massachusetts | slightly larger than Alaska |
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. | Since he took power in a 1969 military coup, Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI has espoused his own political system - a combination of socialism and Islam - which he calls the Third International Theory. Viewing himself as a revolutionary leader, he used oil funds during the 1970s and 1980s to promote his ideology outside Libya, even supporting subversives and terrorists abroad to hasten the end of Marxism and capitalism. Libyan military adventures failed, e.g., the prolonged foray of Libyan troops into the Aozou Strip in northern Chad was finally repulsed in 1987. Libyan support for terrorism decreased after UN sanctions were imposed in 1992. Those sanctions were suspended in April 1999. |
Birth rate | 28.3 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 27.43 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $2.1 billion
expenditures: $2.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) (2001 est.) |
revenues: $13.7 billion
expenditures: $8.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
Capital | San Salvador | Tripoli |
Climate | tropical; rainy season (May to October); dry season (November to April); tropical on coast; temperate in uplands | Mediterranean along coast; dry, extreme desert interior |
Coastline | 307 km | 1,770 km |
Constitution | 23 December 1983 | 11 December 1969, amended 2 March 1977 |
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: Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
conventional short form: Libya local long form: Al Jumahiriyah al Arabiyah al Libiyah ash Shabiyah al Ishtirakiyah al Uzma local short form: none |
Currency | Salvadoran colon (SVC); US dollar (USD) | Libyan dinar (LYD) |
Death rate | 6.1 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 3.49 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $4.9 billion (2001 est.) | $4.4 billion (2001 est.) |
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 |
the US suspended all embassy activities in Tripoli on 2 May 1980 |
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 |
Libya does not have an embassy in 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 | Libya has claimed more than 32,000 sq km in southeastern Algeria and about 25,000 sq km in Niger in currently dormant disputes; various Chadian rebels from the Aozou region reside in southern Libya |
Economic aid - recipient | total $252 million; $57 million from US (1999 est.) | $15 million (2000) |
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 socialist-oriented economy depends primarily upon revenues from the oil sector, which contribute practically all export earnings and about one-quarter of GDP. These oil revenues and a small population give Libya one of the highest per capita GDPs in Africa, but little of this income flows down to the lower orders of society. Import restrictions and inefficient resource allocations have led to periodic shortages of basic goods and foodstuffs. The nonoil manufacturing and construction sectors, which account for about 20% of GDP, have expanded from processing mostly agricultural products to include the production of petrochemicals, iron, steel, and aluminum. Climatic conditions and poor soils severely limit agricultural output, and Libya imports about 75% of its food. Higher oil prices in the last three years led to an increase in export revenues, which has improved macroeconomic balances but has done little to stimulate broad-based economic growth. Libya is making slow progress toward economic liberalization and the upgrading of economic infrastructure, but truly market-based reforms will be slow in coming. |
Electricity - consumption | 4.07 billion kWh (2000) | 18.77 billion 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) | 20.18 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 42%
hydro: 36% nuclear: 0% other: 22% (2000) |
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Cerro El Pital 2,730 m |
lowest point: Sabkhat Ghuzayyil -47 m
highest point: Bikku Bitti 2,267 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution; contamination of soils from disposal of toxic wastes | desertification; very limited natural fresh water resources; the Great Manmade River Project, the largest water development scheme in the world, is being built to bring water from large aquifers under the Sahara to coastal cities |
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 |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban |
Ethnic groups | mestizo 90%, Amerindian 1%, white 9% | Berber and Arab 97%, Greeks, Maltese, Italians, Egyptians, Pakistanis, Turks, Indians, Tunisians |
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 |
Libyan dinars per US dollar - 1.2 (2003), 0.6 (2002), 0.51 (2001), 0.5 (2000), 0.39 (1999) |
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: Revolutionary Leader Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI (since 1 September 1969); note - holds no official title, but is de facto chief of state
head of government: Secretary of the General People's Committee (Premier) Mubarak al-SHAMEKH (since 2 March 2000) cabinet: General People's Committee established by the General People's Congress elections: national elections are indirect through a hierarchy of people's committees; head of government elected by the General People's Congress; election last held 2 March 2000 (next to be held NA) election results: Mubarak al-SHAMEKH elected premier; percent of General People's Congress vote - NA% |
Exports | $2.9 billion (2001) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | offshore assembly exports, coffee, sugar, shrimp, textiles, chemicals, electricity | crude oil, refined petroleum products (1999) |
Exports - partners | US 65%, Guatemala 11%, Honduras 8%, EU 5% (2000) | Italy 42.6%, Germany 14.1%, Spain 13.6%, Turkey 6.9%, Switzerland 4.4% (2002) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
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 | plain green; green is the traditional color of Islam (the state religion) |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $28.4 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $33.36 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 10%
industry: 30% services: 60% (2000) (2000) |
agriculture: 9%
industry: 45% services: 46% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $4,600 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $6,200 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1.4% (2001 est.) | 1.2% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 13 50 N, 88 55 W | 25 00 N, 17 00 E |
Geography - note | smallest Central American country and only one without a coastline on Caribbean Sea | more than 90% of the country is desert or semidesert |
Heliports | 1 (2002) | 1 (2002) |
Highways | total: 10,029 km
paved: 1,986 km (including 327 km of expressways) unpaved: 8,043 km (1997) |
total: 83,200 km
paved: 47,590 km unpaved: 35,610 km (1999 est.) |
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 | machinery, transport equipment, food, manufactured goods (1999) |
Imports - partners | US 50%, Guatemala 10%, EU 7%, Mexico 5%, (2000) | Italy 25.6%, Germany 9.8%, South Korea 6.6%, UK 6.6%, Tunisia 6.5%, Japan 6.4%, France 5.7% (2002) |
Independence | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) | 24 December 1951 (from Italy) |
Industrial production growth rate | 3% (2001 est.) | NA% |
Industries | food processing, beverages, petroleum, chemicals, fertilizer, textiles, furniture, light metals | petroleum, food processing, textiles, handicrafts, cement |
Infant mortality rate | 27.58 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 26.8 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 29.16 deaths/1,000 live births female: 24.33 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.8% (2001 est.) | 1% (2001 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 | ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, AMU, CAEU, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OAU, OIC, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 4 (2000) | 1 (2002) |
Irrigated land | 360 sq km (1998 est.) | 4,700 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (judges are selected by the Legislative Assembly) | Supreme Court |
Labor force | 2.35 million (1999) (1999) | 1.5 million (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 30%, industry 15%, services 55% (1999 est.) | services 54%, industry 29%, agriculture 17% (1997 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 545 km
border countries: Guatemala 203 km, Honduras 342 km |
total: 4,348 km
border countries: Algeria 982 km, Chad 1,055 km, Egypt 1,115 km, Niger 354 km, Sudan 383 km, Tunisia 459 km |
Land use | arable land: 27.27%
permanent crops: 12.11% other: 60.62% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 1.03%
permanent crops: 0.17% other: 98.8% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Spanish, Nahua (among some Amerindians) | Arabic, Italian, English, all are widely understood in the major cities |
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 | based on Italian civil law system and Islamic law; separate religious courts; no constitutional provision for judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
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 General People's Congress (NA seats; members elected indirectly through a hierarchy of people's committees) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 70.32 years
male: 66.72 years female: 74.11 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 76.07 years
male: 73.91 years female: 78.34 years (2003 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: 82.6% male: 92.4% female: 72% (2003 est.) |
Location | Middle America, bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Guatemala and Honduras | Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Tunisia |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 200 NM | territorial sea: 12 NM
note: Gulf of Sidra closing line - 32 degrees, 30 minutes north |
Merchant marine | none (2002 est.) | total: 21 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 130,081 GRT/115,480 DWT
ships by type: cargo 9, liquefied gas 3, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 4, short-sea passenger 4 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Algeria 1, Kuwait 1, UAE 1 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Navy (FNES), Air Force | Armed Peoples on Duty (Army), Navy, Air and Air Defense Command (includes Air Force) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $112 million (FY99) | $1.3 billion (FY99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.7% (FY99) | 3.9% (FY99) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 1,500,712 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 1,546,432 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 951,715 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 914,649 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2002 est.) | 17 years of age (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 68,103 (2002 est.) | males: 61,511 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) | Revolution Day, 1 September (1969) |
Nationality | noun: Salvadoran(s)
adjective: Salvadoran |
noun: Libyan(s)
adjective: Libyan |
Natural hazards | known as the Land of Volcanoes; frequent and sometimes very destructive earthquakes and volcanic activity; extremely susceptible to hurricanes | hot, dry, dust-laden ghibli is a southern wind lasting one to four days in spring and fall; dust storms, sandstorms |
Natural resources | hydropower, geothermal power, petroleum, arable land | petroleum, natural gas, gypsum |
Net migration rate | -3.88 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | - | condensate 225 km; gas 3,196 km; oil 6,872 km (2003) |
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] | none |
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 | various Arab nationalist movements with almost negligible memberships may be functioning clandestinely, as well as some Islamic elements |
Population | 6,353,681 (July 2002 est.) | 5,499,074
note: includes 166,510 non-nationals (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 48% (1999 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.83% (2002 est.) | 2.39% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Acajutla, Puerto Cutuco, La Libertad, La Union, Puerto El Triunfo | Al Khums, Banghazi, Darnah, Marsa al Burayqah, Misratah, Ra's Lanuf, Tobruk, Tripoli, Zuwarah |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 61 (plus 24 repeaters), FM 30, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 16, FM 3, shortwave 3 (2002) |
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.) |
0 km |
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 |
Sunni Muslim 97% |
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: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.95 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
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: telecommunications system is being modernized; mobile cellular telephone system became operational in 1996
domestic: microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, cellular, tropospheric scatter, and a domestic satellite system with 14 earth stations international: satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat, NA Arabsat, and NA Intersputnik; submarine cables to France and Italy; microwave radio relay to Tunisia and Egypt; tropospheric scatter to Greece; participant in Medarabtel (1999) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 380,000 (1998) | 500,000 (1998) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 40,163 (1997) | 20,000 (1998) |
Television broadcast stations | 5 (1997) | 12 (plus one low-power repeater) (1999) |
Terrain | mostly mountains with narrow coastal belt and central plateau | mostly barren, flat to undulating plains, plateaus, depressions |
Total fertility rate | 3.29 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 3.49 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 10% (2001 est.) | 30% (2001) |
Waterways | Rio Lempa partially navigable | none |