El Salvador (2006) | British Virgin Islands (2002) | |
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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, San Vicente, Santa Ana, Sonsonate, Usulutan | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 36.3% (male 1,265,080/female 1,212,216)
15-64 years: 58.5% (male 1,900,372/female 2,092,251) 65 years and over: 5.2% (male 156,292/female 196,167) (2006 est.) |
0-14 years: 22.4% (male 2,401; female 2,351)
15-64 years: 72.7% (male 7,962; female 7,509) 65 years and over: 4.9% (male 565; female 484) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, sugar, corn, rice, beans, oilseed, cotton, sorghum; beef, dairy products; shrimp | fruits, vegetables; livestock, poultry; fish |
Airports | 75 (2006) | 3 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 4
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2006) |
total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 71
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 14 under 914 m: 56 (2006) |
total: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002) |
Area | total: 21,040 sq km
land: 20,720 sq km water: 320 sq km |
total: 153 sq km
land: 153 sq km water: 0 sq km note: comprised of 16 inhabited and more than 20 uninhabited islands; includes the island of Anegada |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Massachusetts | about 0.9 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. | First settled by the Dutch in 1648, the islands were annexed in 1672 by the English. The economy is closely tied to the larger and more populous US Virgin Islands to the west; the US dollar is the legal currency. |
Birth rate | 26.61 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 15.09 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $2.84 billion
expenditures: $3.167 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 est.) |
revenues: $121.5 million
expenditures: $115.5 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997) |
Capital | name: San Salvador
geographic coordinates: 13 42 N, 89 12 W time difference: UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Road Town |
Climate | tropical; rainy season (May to October); dry season (November to April); tropical on coast; temperate in uplands | subtropical; humid; temperatures moderated by trade winds |
Coastline | 307 km | 80 km |
Constitution | 23 December 1983 | 1 June 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: none
conventional short form: British Virgin Islands abbreviation: BVI |
Currency | - | US dollar (USD) |
Death rate | 5.78 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 4.42 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $8.087 billion (2005 est.) | $36.1 million (1997) |
Dependency status | - | overseas territory of the UK; internal self-governing |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador H. Douglas BARCLAY
embassy: Final Boulevard Santa Elena Sur, Antiguo Cuscatlan, La Libertad, San Salvador mailing address: Unit 3116, APO AA 34023 telephone: [503] 2278-4444 FAX: [503] 2278-5522 |
none (overseas territory of the UK) |
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 FAX: [1] (202) 234-3834 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Dallas, Elizabeth (New Jersey), Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York (2), Nogales (Arizona), Santa Ana (California), San Francisco, Washington, DC consulate(s): Boston |
none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Disputes - international | in 1992, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled on the delimitation of "bolsones" (disputed areas) along the El Salvador-Honduras boundary, but despite Organization of American States (OAS) intervention and a further ICJ ruling in 2003, full demarcation of the border remains stalled; the 1992 ICJ ruling advised a tripartite resolution to a maritime boundary in the Gulf of Fonseca advocating Honduran access to the Pacific; El Salvador continues to claim tiny Conejo Island, not identified in the ICJ decision, off Honduras in the Gulf of Fonseca | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $125 million of which, $53 million from US (2003) | NA |
Economy - overview | The smallest country in Central America, El Salvador has the third largest economy, but growth has been minimal in recent years. Hoping to stimulate the sluggish economy, the government is striving to open new export markets, encourage foreign investment, and modernize the tax and healthcare systems. Implementation in 2006 of the Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement, which El Salvador was the first to ratify, is viewed as a key policy to help achieve these objectives. The trade deficit has been offset by annual remittances from Salvadorans living abroad - 16.6% of GDP in 2005 - and external aid. With the adoption of the US dollar as its currency in 2001, El Salvador has lost control over monetary policy and must concentrate on maintaining a disciplined fiscal policy. | The economy, one of the most stable and prosperous in the Caribbean, is highly dependent on tourism, generating an estimated 45% of the national income. An estimated 350,000 tourists, mainly from the US, visited the islands in 1998. In the mid-1980s, the government began offering offshore registration to companies wishing to incorporate in the islands, and incorporation fees now generate substantial revenues. Roughly 400,000 companies were on the offshore registry by yearend 2000. The adoption of a comprehensive insurance law in late 1994, which provides a blanket of confidentiality with regulated statutory gateways for investigation of criminal offenses, is expected to make the British Virgin Islands even more attractive to international business. Livestock raising is the most important agricultural activity; poor soils limit the islands' ability to meet domestic food requirements. Because of traditionally close links with the US Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands has used the dollar as its currency since 1959. |
Electricity - consumption | 4.45 billion kWh (2004) | 39.1 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 91 million kWh (2004) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 473 million kWh (2004) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 4.158 billion kWh (2004) | 42 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Cerro El Pital 2,730 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Sage 521 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution; contamination of soils from disposal of toxic wastes | limited natural fresh water resources (except for a few seasonal streams and springs on Tortola, most of the islands' water supply comes from wells and rainwater catchments) |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
- |
Ethnic groups | mestizo 90%, white 9%, Amerindian 1% | black 83%, white, Indian, Asian and mixed |
Exchange rates | the US dollar became El Salvador's currency in 2001 | the US dollar is used |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Elias Antonio SACA Gonzalez (since 1 June 2004); Vice President Ana Vilma DE ESCOBAR (since 1 June 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Elias Antonio SACA Gonzalez (since 1 June 2004); Vice President Ana Vilma DE ESCOBAR (since 1 June 2004) cabinet: Council of Ministers selected by the president elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for a single five-year term; election last held 21 March 2004 (next to be held March 2009) election results: Elias Antonio SACA Gonzalez elected president; percent of vote - Elias Antonio SACA Gonzalez (ARENA) 57.7%, Schafik HANDAL (FMLN) 35.6%, Hector SILVA (CDU-PDC) 3.9%, other 2.8% |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor Tom MACAN (since 14 October 2002)
head of government: Chief Minister Ralph T. O'NEAL (since 15 May 1995) cabinet: Executive Council appointed by the governor from members of the Legislative Council elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed chief minister by the governor |
Exports | NA bbl/day | $6.2 million |
Exports - commodities | offshore assembly exports, coffee, sugar, shrimp, textiles, chemicals, electricity | rum, fresh fish, fruits, animals; gravel, sand |
Exports - partners | US 61%, Guatemala 12.1%, Honduras 7.4%, Nicaragua 4.2% (2005) | Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
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 | blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Virgin Islander coat of arms centered in the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms depicts a woman flanked on either side by a vertical column of six oil lamps above a scroll bearing the Latin word VIGILATE (Be Watchful) |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $311 million (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 9.9%
industry: 30.2% services: 59.9% (2005 est.) |
agriculture: 2%
industry: 6% services: 92% (1996 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $16,000 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.8% (2005 est.) | 4.4% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 13 50 N, 88 55 W | 18 30 N, 64 30 W |
Geography - note | smallest Central American country and only one without a coastline on Caribbean Sea | strong ties to nearby US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico |
Heliports | 1 (2006) | - |
Highways | - | total: 177 km
paved: 177 km unpaved: 0 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1.4%
highest 10%: 39.3% (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 | transshipment point for South American narcotics destined for the US and Europe; large offshore financial center |
Imports | NA bbl/day | $230 million (2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | raw materials, consumer goods, capital goods, fuels, foodstuffs, petroleum, electricity | building materials, automobiles, foodstuffs, machinery |
Imports - partners | US 43.4%, Guatemala 8.2%, Mexico 7.8% (2005) | Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US |
Independence | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 1.5% (2005 est.) | 4% (1985) |
Industries | food processing, beverages, petroleum, chemicals, fertilizer, textiles, furniture, light metals | tourism, light industry, construction, rum, concrete block, offshore financial center |
Infant mortality rate | total: 24.39 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 27.27 deaths/1,000 live births female: 21.37 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
19.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4.7% (2005 est.) | 3.3% (2000) |
International organization participation | BCIE, CACM, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, MIGA, MINURSO, NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | Caricom (associate), CDB, ECLAC (associate), Interpol (subbureau), IOC, OECS (associate), UNESCO (associate) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 16 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 450 sq km (2003) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (judges are selected by the Legislative Assembly) | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, consisting of the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal (one judge of the Supreme Court is a resident of the islands and presides over the High Court); Magistrate's Court; Juvenile Court; Court of Summary Jurisdiction |
Labor force | 2.81 million (2005 est.) | 4,911 (1980) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 17.1%
industry: 17.1% services: 65.8% (2003 est.) |
agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% |
Land boundaries | total: 545 km
border countries: Guatemala 203 km, Honduras 342 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 31.37%
permanent crops: 11.88% other: 56.75% (2005) |
arable land: 20%
permanent crops: 6.67% other: 73.33% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Spanish, Nahua (among some Amerindians) | English (official) |
Legal system | based on civil and Roman law with traces of common law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court | English law |
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 12 March 2006 (next to be held in March 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - ARENA 34, FMLN 32, PCN 10, PDC 6, CD 2 |
unicameral Legislative Council (13 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote, one member from each of 9 electoral districts, four at-large members; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 17 May 1999 (next to be held NA 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - VIP 7, CCM 1, NDP 5 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 71.49 years
male: 67.88 years female: 75.28 years (2006 est.) |
total population: 75.85 years
male: 74.9 years female: 76.84 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 10 and over can read and write
total population: 80.2% male: 82.8% female: 77.7% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97.8% (1991 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Central America, bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Guatemala and Honduras | Caribbean, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 200 nm | exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 3 NM |
Merchant marine | - | total: 1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 70,285 GRT/6,946 DWT
ships by type: passenger 1 (2002 est.) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the UK |
Military branches | Salvadoran Army (ES), Salvadoran Navy (FNES), Salvadoran Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Salvadorena, FAS) (2006) | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $161.7 million (2005 est.) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1% (2005 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) | Territory Day, 1 July |
Nationality | noun: Salvadoran(s)
adjective: Salvadoran |
noun: British Virgin Islander(s)
adjective: British Virgin Islander |
Natural hazards | known as the Land of Volcanoes; frequent and sometimes destructive earthquakes and volcanic activity; extremely susceptible to hurricanes | hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October) |
Natural resources | hydropower, geothermal power, petroleum, arable land | NEGL |
Net migration rate | -3.61 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 10.91 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Christian Democratic Party or PDC [Rodolfo PARKER, secretary general]; Democratic Convergence or CD (formerly United Democratic Center or CDU) [Ruben ZAMORA, secretary general]; Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front or FMLN [Medardo GONZALEZ, coordinator general]; National Conciliation Party or PCN [Ciro CRUZ ZEPEDA, president]; National Republican Alliance or ARENA [Elias Antonio SACA Gonzalez]; Popular Social Christian Party or PPSC [Rene AGUILUZ]; Revolutionary Democratic Front or FDR [Julio Cesar HERNANDEZ Carcamo, coordinator general] | Concerned Citizens Movement or CCM [Ethlyn SMITH]; National Democratic Party or NDP [Orlando SMITH]; United Party or UP [Gregory MADURO]; Virgin Islands Party or VIP [Ralph T. O'NEAL] |
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 | 6,822,378 (July 2006 est.) | 21,272 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 36.1% (2003 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.72% (2006 est.) | 2.16% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Road Town |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 61 (plus 24 repeaters), FM 30, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 1, FM 4, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | - | 9,000 (1997) |
Railways | total: 283 km
narrow gauge: 283 km 0.914-m gauge note: length of operational route reduced from 562 km to 283 km by disuse and lack of maintenance (2005) |
0 km |
Religions | Roman Catholic 83%, other 17%
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 |
Protestant 86% (Methodist 33%, Anglican 17%, Church of God 9%, Seventh-Day Adventist 6%, Baptist 4%, Jehovah's Witnesses 2%, other 2%), Roman Catholic 10%, none 2%, other 2% (1991) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.17 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: nationwide microwave radio relay system international: country code - 503; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); connected to Central American Microwave System |
general assessment: worldwide telephone service
domestic: NA international: submarine cable to Bermuda |
Telephones - main lines in use | 971,500 (2005) | 10,000 (1996) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2.412 million (2005) | NA |
Television broadcast stations | 5 (1997) | 1 (plus one cable company) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly mountains with narrow coastal belt and central plateau | coral islands relatively flat; volcanic islands steep, hilly |
Total fertility rate | 3.12 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 1.72 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 6.5% official rate; but the economy has much underemployment (2005 est.) | 3% (1995) |
Waterways | Rio Lempa partially navigable (2004) | none |