Greenland (2002) | El Salvador (2005) | |
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Administrative divisions | 3 districts (landsdele); Avannaa (Nordgronland), Tunu (Ostgronland), Kitaa (Vestgronland)
note: there are 18 municipalities in Greenland |
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: 26.3% (male 7,561; female 7,284)
15-64 years: 68.1% (male 20,880; female 17,489) 65 years and over: 5.6% (male 1,442; female 1,720) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 36.5% (male 1,250,901/female 1,198,589)
15-64 years: 58.3% (male 1,860,084/female 2,051,140) 65 years and over: 5.1% (male 153,133/female 191,085) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | forage crops, garden and greenhouse vegetables; sheep, reindeer; fish | coffee, sugar, corn, rice, beans, oilseed, cotton, sorghum; shrimp; beef, dairy products |
Airports | 15 (2001) | 73 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 9
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 5 (2002) |
total: 4
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 5
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
total: 69
914 to 1,523 m: 15 under 914 m: 54 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 2,166,086 sq km
land: 2,166,086 sq km (410,449 sq km ice-free, 1,755,637 sq km ice-covered) (est.) |
total: 21,040 sq km
land: 20,720 sq km water: 320 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than three times the size of Texas | slightly smaller than Massachusetts |
Background | The world's largest non-continental island, about 84% ice-capped, Greenland was granted self-government in 1978 by the Danish parliament. The law went into effect the following year. Denmark continues to exercise control of Greenland's foreign affairs. | 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. |
Birth rate | 16.27 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 27.04 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $646 million
expenditures: $629 million, including capital expenditures of $85 million (1999) (1999) |
revenues: $2.491 billion
expenditures: $2.782 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
Capital | Nuuk (Godthab) | San Salvador |
Climate | arctic to subarctic; cool summers, cold winters | tropical; rainy season (May to October); dry season (November to April); tropical on coast; temperate in uplands |
Coastline | 44,087 km | 307 km |
Constitution | 5 June 1953 (Danish constitution) | 23 December 1983 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Greenland local long form: none local short form: Kalaallit Nunaat |
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 | Danish krone (DKK) | - |
Death rate | 7.61 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 5.85 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $25 million (1999) (1999) | $4.792 billion (September 2004 est.) |
Dependency status | part of the Kingdom of Denmark; self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark since 1979 | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark) | 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] 278-4444 FAX: [503] 278-5522 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark) | 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, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York (2), San Francisco, and Washington, DC consulate(s): Boston |
Disputes - international | none | in 1992, the ICJ ruled on the delimitation of "bolsones" (disputed areas) along the El Salvador-Honduras boundary, but despite 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 |
Economic aid - recipient | $380 million subsidy from Denmark (1999) | $125 million of which, $53 million from US (2003) |
Economy - overview | The economy remains critically dependent on exports of fish and substantial support from the Danish Government, which supplies about half of government revenues. The public sector, including publicly owned enterprises and the municipalities, plays the dominant role in the economy. Despite several interesting hydrocarbon and minerals exploration activities, it will take several years before production can materialize. Tourism is the only sector offering any near-term potential, and even this is limited due to a short season and high costs. | GDP per capita is roughly half that of Brazil, Argentina, and Chile, and the distribution of income is highly unequal. The government is striving to open new export markets, encourage foreign investment, modernize the tax and healthcare systems, and stimulate the sluggish economy. Implementation of the Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement, ratified by El Salvador in 2004, 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% of GDP in 2004 - and external aid. With the adoption of the US dollar as its currency, El Salvador has lost control over monetary policy and must concentrate on maintaining a disciplined fiscal policy. |
Electricity - consumption | 232.5 million kWh (2000) | 4.45 billion kWh (2004) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 91 million kWh (2004) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 473 million kWh (2004) |
Electricity - production | 250 million kWh (2000) | 4.158 billion kWh (2004) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% note: Greenland is shifting its electricity production from fossil fuel to hydroelectric power production (2000) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Gunnbjorn 3,700 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Cerro El Pital 2,730 m |
Environment - current issues | protection of the arctic environment; preservation of the Inuit traditional way of life, including whaling and seal hunting | deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution; contamination of soils from disposal of toxic wastes |
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 | Greenlander 88% (Inuit and Greenland-born whites), Danish and others 12% (January 2000) | mestizo 90%, white 9%, Amerindian 1% |
Exchange rates | Danish kroner per US dollar - 8.418 (January 2002), 8.323 (2001), 8.083 (2000), 6.976 (1999), 6.701 (1998), 6.604 (1997) | the US dollar became El Salvador's currency in 2001 |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen MARGRETHE II of Denmark (since 14 January 1972), represented by High Commissioner Gunnar MARTENS (since NA 1995)
head of government: Prime Minister Hans ENOKSEN (since 14 December 2002) cabinet: Home Rule Government is elected by the Parliament (Landstinget) on the basis of the strength of parties elections: the monarchy is hereditary; high commissioner appointed by the monarch; prime minister is elected by Parliament (usually the leader of the majority party); election last held 3 December 2002 (next to be held NA December 2006) election results: Hans ENOKSEN elected prime minister note: government coalition - Siumut and Atassut |
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); 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 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% |
Exports | $264 million f.o.b. (2000) | NA |
Exports - commodities | fish and fish products 94% (prawns 63%) | offshore assembly exports, coffee, sugar, shrimp, textiles, chemicals, electricity |
Exports - partners | EU (mainly Denmark) 85%, Japan 8%, US 2% (1999) | US 65.6%, Guatemala 11.8%, Honduras 6.3% (2004) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red with a large disk slightly to the hoist side of center - the top half of the disk is red, the bottom half is white | 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 - $1.1 billion (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture: 9.2%
industry: 31.1% services: 59.7% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $20,000 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $4,900 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 1.8% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 72 00 N, 40 00 W | 13 50 N, 88 55 W |
Geography - note | dominates North Atlantic Ocean between North America and Europe; sparse population confined to small settlements along coast, but close to one-quarter of the population lives in the capital, Nuuk; world's second largest ice cap | smallest Central American country and only one without a coastline on Caribbean Sea |
Heliports | - | 1 (2004 est.) |
Highways | total: 150 km
paved: 60 km unpaved: 90 km |
total: 10,029 km
paved: 1,986 km (including 327 km of expressways) unpaved: 8,043 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 1.4%
highest 10%: 39.3% (2001) |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for cocaine; small amounts of marijuana produced for local consumption; domestic cocaine abuse on the rise |
Imports | $349 million c.i.f. (2000) | NA |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, food, petroleum products | raw materials, consumer goods, capital goods, fuels, foodstuffs, petroleum, electricity |
Imports - partners | EU (mostly Denmark), Norway, US, Canada | US 46.3%, Guatemala 8.1%, Mexico 6% (2004) |
Independence | none (part of the Kingdom of Denmark; self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark since 1979)
note: foreign affairs is the responsibility of Denmark, but Greenland actively participates in international agreements relating to Greenland |
15 September 1821 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 0.7% (2004 est.) |
Industries | fish processing (mainly shrimp and Greenland halibut), handicrafts, hides and skins, small shipyards, mining | food processing, beverages, petroleum, chemicals, fertilizer, textiles, furniture, light metals |
Infant mortality rate | 17.28 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 25.1 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 27.98 deaths/1,000 live births female: 22.08 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.6% (1999 est.) | 5.4% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | NC, NIB | BCIE, CACM, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 360 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | High Court or Landsret (appeals can be made to the Ostre Landsret or Eastern Division of the High Court or Supreme Court in Copenhagen) | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (judges are selected by the Legislative Assembly) |
Labor force | 24,500 (1999 est.) | 2.75 million (2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture 17.1%, industry 17.1%, services 65.8% (2003 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 545 km
border countries: Guatemala 203 km, Honduras 342 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 31.85%
permanent crops: 12.07% other: 56.08% (2001) |
Languages | Greenlandic (East Inuit), Danish, English | Spanish, Nahua (among some Amerindians) |
Legal system | Danish | 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 | unicameral Parliament or Landstinget (31 seats; members are elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held on 3 December 2002 (next to be held by NA December 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - Siumut 28.7%, Inuit Ataqatigiit 25.5%, Atassut Party 20.4%, Demokratiit 15.6%, Katusseqatigiit 5.3%; seats by party - Siumut 10, Inuit Ataqatigiit 8, Atassut 7, Demokratiit 5, Katusseqatigiit 1 note: two representatives were elected to the Danish Parliament or Folketing on 20 November 2001 (next to be held no later than November 2005); percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Siumut 1, Inuit Ataqatigiit 1 |
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 March 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - FMLN 31, ARENA 28, PCN 15, PDC 5, CD 5 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 68.69 years
male: 65.13 years female: 72.32 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 71.22 years
male: 67.61 years female: 75.01 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% note: similar to Denmark proper |
definition: age 10 and over can read and write
total population: 80.2% male: 82.8% female: 77.7% (2003 est.) |
Location | Northern North America, island between the Arctic Ocean and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Canada | Central America, bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Guatemala and Honduras |
Map references | Arctic Region | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | continental shelf: 200 NM or agreed boundaries or median line
exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM or agreed boundaries or median line territorial sea: 3 NM |
territorial sea: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 3,289 GRT/1,500 DWT
ships by type: cargo 1, passenger 1, includes a foreign-owned ship registered here as a flag of convenience: Denmark 1 (2002 est.) |
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Military - note | defense is the responsibility of Denmark | - |
Military branches | - | Army, Navy (FNES), Air Force (FAS) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $157 million (2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 1.1% (2003) |
National holiday | June 21 (longest day) | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) |
Nationality | noun: Greenlander(s)
adjective: Greenlandic |
noun: Salvadoran(s)
adjective: Salvadoran |
Natural hazards | continuous permafrost over northern two-thirds of the island | known as the Land of Volcanoes; frequent and sometimes very destructive earthquakes and volcanic activity; extremely susceptible to hurricanes |
Natural resources | zinc, lead, iron ore, coal, molybdenum, gold, platinum, uranium, fish, seals, whales, hydropower, possible oil and gas | hydropower, geothermal power, petroleum, arable land |
Net migration rate | -8.37 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | -3.67 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Akulliit Party [Bjarne KREUTZMANN]; Atassut Party (Solidarity, a conservative party favoring continuing close relations with Denmark) [Daniel SKIFTE]; Demokratiit [leader NA]; Inuit Ataqatigiit or IA (Eskimo Brotherhood, a leftist party favoring complete independence from Denmark rather than home rule) [Josef MOTZFELDT]; Issituup (Polar Party) [Nicolai HEINRICH]; Kattusseqatigiit (Candidate List, an independent right-of-center party with no official platform [leader NA]; Siumut (Forward Party, a social democratic party advocating more distinct Greenlandic identity and greater autonomy from Denmark) [Hans ENOKSEN] | Christian Democratic Party or PDC [Rodolfo PARKER]; Democratic Convergence or CD (formerly United Democratic Center or CDU) [Ruben ZAMORA, secretary general]; Democratic Party or PD [Jorge MELENDEZ]; Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front or FMLN [Medardo GONZALEZ]; 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 [Elias Antonio SACA Gonzalez]; Social Christian Union or USC (formed by the merger of Christian Social Renewal Party or PRSC and Unity Movement or MU) [Abraham RODRIGUEZ, president]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [Juan MEDRANO] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | 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 | 56,376 (July 2002 est.) | 6,704,932 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 36.1% (2003 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.03% (2002 est.) | 1.75% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Aasiaat (Egedesminde), Ilulissat (Jakobshavn), Kangerlussuaq, Nanortalik, Narsarsuaq, Nuuk (Godthab), Qaqortoq (Julianehab), Sisimiut (Holsteinsborg), Tasiilaq (March 2001) | Acajutla, Puerto Cutuco |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 5, FM 12, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 61 (plus 24 repeaters), FM 30, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 30,000 (1998 est.) | - |
Railways | 0 km | 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 (2004) |
Religions | Evangelical Lutheran | 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 |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.19 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.84 male(s)/female total population: 1.13 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
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 (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: adequate domestic and international service provided by satellite, cables and microwave radio relay; totally digitalized in 1995
domestic: microwave radio relay and satellite international: satellite earth stations - 12 Intelsat, 1 Eutelsat, 2 Americom GE-2 (all Atlantic Ocean) |
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 |
Telephones - main lines in use | 25,617 (yearend 1999) | 752,600 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 12,676 (yearend 1999) | 1,149,800 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 publicly-owned station, some local low-power stations, and three AFRTS (US Air Force) stations (1997) | 5 (1997) |
Terrain | flat to gradually sloping icecap covers all but a narrow, mountainous, barren, rocky coast | mostly mountains with narrow coastal belt and central plateau |
Total fertility rate | 2.43 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 3.16 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 10% (2000 est.) | 6.3% - but the economy has much underemployment (2004 est.) |
Waterways | none | Rio Lempa partially navigable (2004) |