El Salvador (2006) | Martinique (2005) | |
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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 department of France) |
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 49,112/female 47,697)
15-64 years: 67.2% (male 145,531/female 145,250) 65 years and over: 10.5% (male 20,423/female 24,887) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, sugar, corn, rice, beans, oilseed, cotton, sorghum; beef, dairy products; shrimp | pineapples, avocados, bananas, flowers, vegetables, sugarcane |
Airports | 75 (2006) | 2 (2004 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 (2006) |
total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
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
under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 21,040 sq km
land: 20,720 sq km water: 320 sq km |
total: 1,100 sq km
land: 1,060 sq km water: 40 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Massachusetts | slightly more than six 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. | Colonized by France in 1635, the island has subsequently remained a French possession except for three brief periods of foreign occupation. |
Birth rate | 26.61 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 14.14 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $2.84 billion
expenditures: $3.167 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 est.) |
revenues: $900 million
expenditures: $2.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $140 million (1996) |
Capital | name: San Salvador
geographic coordinates: 13 42 N, 89 12 W time difference: UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Fort-de-France |
Climate | tropical; rainy season (May to October); dry season (November to April); tropical on coast; temperate in uplands | tropical; moderated by trade winds; rainy season (June to October); vulnerable to devastating cyclones (hurricanes) every eight years on average; average temperature 17.3 degrees C; humid |
Coastline | 307 km | 350 km |
Constitution | 23 December 1983 | 4 October 1958 (French Constitution) |
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: Department of Martinique
conventional short form: Martinique local long form: Departement de la Martinique local short form: Martinique |
Death rate | 5.78 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 6.44 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $8.087 billion (2005 est.) | $180 million (1994) |
Dependency status | - | overseas department of France |
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 department of France) |
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 department of France) |
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; note - substantial annual aid from France (1998) |
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 is based on sugarcane, bananas, tourism, and light industry. Agriculture accounts for about 6% of GDP and the small industrial sector for 11%. Sugar production has declined, with most of the sugarcane now used for the production of rum. Banana exports are increasing, going mostly to France. The bulk of meat, vegetable, and grain requirements must be imported, contributing to a chronic trade deficit that requires large annual transfers of aid from France. Tourism, which employs more than 11,000 people, has become more important than agricultural exports as a source of foreign exchange. |
Electricity - consumption | 4.45 billion kWh (2004) | 1.095 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 91 million kWh (2004) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 473 million kWh (2004) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 4.158 billion kWh (2004) | 1.178 billion kWh (2002) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Cerro El Pital 2,730 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Montagne Pelee 1,397 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution; contamination of soils from disposal of toxic wastes | NA |
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% | African and African-white-Indian mixture 90%, white 5%, East Indian, Chinese less than 5% |
Exchange rates | the US dollar became El Salvador's currency in 2001 | euros per US dollar - 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000) |
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: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995); Prefect Yves DASSONVILLE (since 14 January 2004); note - took office 8 February 2004
head of government: President of the General Council Claude LISE (since 22 March 1992); President of the Regional Council Alfred MARIE-JEANNE (since NA March 1998) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; the presidents of the General and Regional Councils are elected by the members of those councils |
Exports | NA bbl/day | NA |
Exports - commodities | offshore assembly exports, coffee, sugar, shrimp, textiles, chemicals, electricity | refined petroleum products, bananas, rum, pineapples (2001 est.) |
Exports - partners | US 61%, Guatemala 12.1%, Honduras 7.4%, Nicaragua 4.2% (2005) | France 45%, Guadeloupe 28% (2000) |
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 | a light blue background is divided into four quadrants by a white cross; in the center of each rectangle is a white snake; the flag of France is used for official occasions |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 9.9%
industry: 30.2% services: 59.9% (2005 est.) |
agriculture: 6%
industry: 11% services: 83% (1997 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $14,400 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.8% (2005 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 13 50 N, 88 55 W | 14 40 N, 61 00 W |
Geography - note | smallest Central American country and only one without a coastline on Caribbean Sea | the island is dominated by Mount Pelee, which on 8 May 1902 erupted and completely destroyed the city of Saint Pierre, killing 30,000 inhabitants |
Heliports | 1 (2006) | - |
Highways | - | total: 2,105 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 cocaine and marijuana bound for the US and Europe |
Imports | NA bbl/day | NA |
Imports - commodities | raw materials, consumer goods, capital goods, fuels, foodstuffs, petroleum, electricity | petroleum products, crude oil, foodstuffs, construction materials, vehicles, clothing and other consumer goods |
Imports - partners | US 43.4%, Guatemala 8.2%, Mexico 7.8% (2005) | France 62%, Venezuela 6%, Germany 4%, Italy 4%, US 3% (2000) |
Independence | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) | none (overseas department of France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 1.5% (2005 est.) | NA% |
Industries | food processing, beverages, petroleum, chemicals, fertilizer, textiles, furniture, light metals | construction, rum, cement, oil refining, sugar, tourism |
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.) |
total: 7.09 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 4.73 deaths/1,000 live births female: 9.51 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4.7% (2005 est.) | 3.9% (1990) |
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 | UPU, WCL, WFTU |
Irrigated land | 450 sq km (2003) | 30 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (judges are selected by the Legislative Assembly) | Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel |
Labor force | 2.81 million (2005 est.) | 165,900 (1998) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 17.1%
industry: 17.1% services: 65.8% (2003 est.) |
agriculture 10%, industry 17%, services 73% (1997) |
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: 10.38%
permanent crops: 9.43% other: 80.19% (2001) |
Languages | Spanish, Nahua (among some Amerindians) | French, Creole patois |
Legal system | based on civil and Roman law with traces of common law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court | French legal system |
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 General Council or Conseil General (45 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Assembly or Conseil Regional (41 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held NA March 2000 (next to be held NA 2006); Regional Assembly - last held on 28 March 2004 (next to be held by March 2010) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - left-wing candidates 13, PPM 11, RPR 6, right-wing candidates 5, PCM 3, UDF 3, PMS 2, independents 2; note - the PPM won a plurality; Regional Assembly (second round) - percent of vote by party - MIM 53.8%, PPM 30.6%; seats by party - MIM 28, PPM 9, other 4 note: Martinique elects 2 seats to the French Senate; elections last held NA September 2001 (next to be held September 2004); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PPM 2; Martinique also elects 4 seats to the French National Assembly; elections last held, first round - 9 June 2002, second round - 16 June 2002 (next to be held not later than June 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UMP-RPR 1, PS 1, MIM 1, left-wing candidate 1 (candidacy of the left-wing candidate was found invalid by the Constitutional Council; new elections will be called) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 71.49 years
male: 67.88 years female: 75.28 years (2006 est.) |
total population: 79.04 years
male: 79.43 years female: 78.64 years (2005 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: 97.7% male: 97.4% female: 98.1% (2003 est.) |
Location | Central America, bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Guatemala and Honduras | Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 200 nm | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of France |
Military branches | Salvadoran Army (ES), Salvadoran Navy (FNES), Salvadoran Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Salvadorena, FAS) (2006) | no regular military forces; Gendarmerie |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $161.7 million (2005 est.) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1% (2005 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
Nationality | noun: Salvadoran(s)
adjective: Salvadoran |
noun: Martiniquais (singular and plural)
adjective: Martiniquais |
Natural hazards | known as the Land of Volcanoes; frequent and sometimes destructive earthquakes and volcanic activity; extremely susceptible to hurricanes | hurricanes, flooding, and volcanic activity (an average of one major natural disaster every five years) |
Natural resources | hydropower, geothermal power, petroleum, arable land | coastal scenery and beaches, cultivable land |
Net migration rate | -3.61 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | -0.04 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 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] | Martinique Communist Party or PCM [Georges ERICHOT]; Martinique Independence Movement or MIM [Alfred MARIE-JEANNE]; Martinique Progressive Party or PPM [Pierre SUEDILE]; Martinique Socialist Party or PMS [Ernest WAN-AJOUHU]; Movement of Democrats and Ecologists for a Sovereign Martinique or Modemas [Garcin MALSA]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Michel CHARLONE]; Socialist Revolution Group or GRS [Philippe PIERRE-CHARLES]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Jean MAREN] |
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 | Caribbean Revolutionary Alliance or ARC; Central Union for Martinique Workers or CSTM [Marc PULVAR]; Frantz Fanon Circle; League of Workers and Peasants; Proletarian Action Group or GAP |
Population | 6,822,378 (July 2006 est.) | 432,900 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 36.1% (2003 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.72% (2006 est.) | 0.76% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Fort-de-France, La Trinite, Marin |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 61 (plus 24 repeaters), FM 30, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 0, FM 14, shortwave 0 (1998) |
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) |
- |
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 |
Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant 10.5%, Muslim 0.5%, Hindu 0.5%, other 3.5% (1997) |
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: 1.02 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2005 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: domestic facilities are adequate
domestic: NA international: country code - 596; microwave radio relay to Guadeloupe, Dominica, and Saint Lucia; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 971,500 (2005) | 172,000 est (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2.412 million (2005) | 319,900 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 5 (1997) | 11 (plus nine repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly mountains with narrow coastal belt and central plateau | mountainous with indented coastline; dormant volcano |
Total fertility rate | 3.12 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 1.79 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 6.5% official rate; but the economy has much underemployment (2005 est.) | 27.2% (1998) |
Waterways | Rio Lempa partially navigable (2004) | - |