Guernsey (2008) | El Salvador (2004) | |
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Administrative divisions | none (British crown dependency); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 10 parishes including Castel, Forest, Saint Andrew, Saint Martin, Saint Peter Port, Saint Pierre du Bois, Saint Sampson, Saint Saviour, Torteval, Vale | 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: 14.8% (male 4,914/female 4,784)
15-64 years: 67.4% (male 21,897/female 22,298) 65 years and over: 17.8% (male 4,955/female 6,725) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 36.8% (male 1,237,262; female 1,185,750)
15-64 years: 58.1% (male 1,819,035; female 2,009,032) 65 years and over: 5.1% (male 150,221; female 186,241) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | tomatoes, greenhouse flowers, sweet peppers, eggplant, fruit; Guernsey cattle | coffee, sugar, corn, rice, beans, oilseed, cotton, sorghum; shrimp; beef, dairy products |
Airports | 2 (2007) | 73 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
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: 69
914 to 1,523 m: 15 under 914 m: 54 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 78 sq km
land: 78 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Alderney, Guernsey, Herm, Sark, and some other smaller islands |
total: 21,040 sq km
land: 20,720 sq km water: 320 sq km |
Area - comparative | about one-half the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Massachusetts |
Background | Guernsey and the other Channel Islands represent the last remnants of the medieval Dukedom of Normandy, which held sway in both France and England. The islands were the only British soil occupied by German troops in World War II. Guernsey is a British crown dependency, but is not part of the UK. However, the UK Government is constitutionally responsible for its defense and international representation. | 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 | 8.65 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 27.48 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $563.6 million
expenditures: $530.9 million (2005 est.) |
revenues: $2.434 billion
expenditures: $2.625 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.) |
Capital | name: Saint Peter Port
geographic coordinates: 49 27 N, 2 32 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
San Salvador |
Climate | temperate with mild winters and cool summers; about 50% of days are overcast | tropical; rainy season (May to October); dry season (November to April); tropical on coast; temperate in uplands |
Coastline | 50 km | 307 km |
Constitution | unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice | 23 December 1983 |
Country name | conventional long form: Bailiwick of Guernsey
conventional short form: Guernsey |
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 | - | US dollar (USD) |
Death rate | 10.07 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 5.93 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $6.575 billion (2003 est.) |
Dependency status | British crown dependency | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (British crown dependency) | 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 (British crown dependency) | 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: Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco, and Washington, DC |
Disputes - international | none | in 1992, the ICJ ruled on the delimitation of "bolsones" (disputed areas) along the El Salvador-Honduras boundary, and the OAS is assisting with a technical resolution of undemarcated bolsones; in 2003, the ICJ rejected El Salvador's request to revise its decision on one part of the bolsones; the 1992 ICJ ruling advised a tripartite resolution to a maritime boundary in the Gulf of Fonseca with consideration of Honduran access to the Pacific; El Salvador continues to claim tiny Conejo Island, not mentioned by the ICJ, off Honduras in the Gulf de Fonseca |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | total $252 million; $57 million from US (1995) |
Economy - overview | Financial services - banking, fund management, insurance - account for about 23% of employment and 32% of total income in this tiny, prosperous Channel Island economy. Tourism, manufacturing, and horticulture, mainly tomatoes and cut flowers, have been declining. Financial services, construction, retail, and the public sector have been growing. Light tax and death duties make Guernsey a popular tax haven. The evolving economic integration of the EU nations is changing the environment under which Guernsey operates. | 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. GDP per capita is roughly only half that of Brazil, Argentina, and Chile, and the distribution of income is highly unequal. The trade deficit has been offset by annual remittances of almost $2 billion from Salvadorans living abroad and external aid. The government is striving to open new export markets, encourage foreign investment, modernize the tax and healthcare systems, and stimulate the sluggish economy. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | 3.777 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 44 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2002) | 353 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | NA kWh | 3.729 billion kWh (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Sark 114 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Cerro El Pital 2,730 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | 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 | UK and Norman-French descent with small percentages from other European countries | mestizo 90%, Amerindian 1%, white 9% |
Exchange rates | Guernsey pounds per US dollar - 0.4993 (2007), 0.5418 (2006), 0.5493 (2005), 0.5462 (2004), 0.6125 (2003)
note: the Guernsey pound is at par with the British pound |
the US dollar is the legal tender |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Lieutenant Governor Sir Fabian MALBON (since 28 October 2005)
head of government: Chief Minister Michael W. TORODE (since 5 March 2007) cabinet: Policy Council elected by the States of Deliberation elections: the monarch is hereditary; lieutenant governor appointed by the monarch; chief minister is elected by States of Deliberation election results: Laurie MORGAN elected chief minister, percent of vote of the States of Deliberation NA |
chief of state: President Elias Antonio SACA (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 (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 NA March 2009) election results: Elias Antonio SACA elected president; percent of vote - Elias Antonio SACA (ARENA) 57.7%, Schafik HANDAL (FMLN) 35.6%, Hector SILVA (CDU-PDC) 3.9%, other 2.8% |
Exports | $NA | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | tomatoes, flowers and ferns, sweet peppers, eggplant, other vegetables | offshore assembly exports, coffee, sugar, shrimp, textiles, chemicals, electricity |
Exports - partners | UK; note - regarded as internal trade (2006) | US 67.8%, Guatemala 11.5%, Honduras 5.9% (2003) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | white with the red cross of Saint George (patron saint of England) extending to the edges of the flag and a yellow equal-armed cross of William the Conqueror superimposed on the Saint George cross | 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 - $30.99 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 3%
industry: 10% services: 87% (2000) |
agriculture: 9.4%
industry: 31.2% services: 59.3% (2003) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $4,800 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3% (2005 est.) | 1.4% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 49 28 N, 2 35 W | 13 50 N, 88 55 W |
Geography - note | large, deepwater harbor at Saint Peter Port | smallest Central American country and only one without a coastline on Caribbean Sea |
Heliports | - | 1 (2003 est.) |
Highways | - | 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 | $NA | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | coal, gasoline, oil, machinery and equipment | raw materials, consumer goods, capital goods, fuels, foodstuffs, petroleum, electricity |
Imports - partners | UK; note - regarded as internal trade (2006) | US 50%, Guatemala 8.1%, Mexico 5.5% (2003) |
Independence | none (British crown dependency) | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 1.6% (2003 est.) |
Industries | tourism, banking | food processing, beverages, petroleum, chemicals, fertilizer, textiles, furniture, light metals |
Infant mortality rate | total: 4.59 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.12 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.03 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
total: 25.93 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 28.79 deaths/1,000 live births female: 22.92 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.4% (June 2006) | 2.1% (2003 est.) |
International organization participation | UPU | 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 |
Irrigated land | NA | 360 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Royal Court | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (judges are selected by the Legislative Assembly) |
Labor force | 31,470 (March 2006) | 2.62 million (2003) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture 30%, industry 15%, services 55% (1999 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 545 km
border countries: Guatemala 203 km, Honduras 342 km |
Land use | arable land: NA%
permanent crops: NA% other: NA% |
arable land: 31.85%
permanent crops: 12.07% other: 56.08% (2001) |
Languages | English, French, Norman-French dialect spoken in country districts | Spanish, Nahua (among some Amerindians) |
Legal system | the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply; justice is administered by the Royal Court | 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 States of Deliberation (45 seats; members are elected by popular vote for four years); note - Alderney and Sark have parliaments
elections: last held 21 April 2004 (next to be held in 2008) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - all independents |
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 28, PCN 15, PDC 5, CD 5 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 80.53 years
male: 77.53 years female: 83.64 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 70.92 years
male: 67.31 years female: 74.7 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 10 and over can read and write
total population: 80.2% male: 82.8% female: 77.7% (2003 est.) |
Location | Western Europe, islands in the English Channel, northwest of France | Central America, bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Guatemala and Honduras |
Map references | Europe | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm |
territorial sea: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | - | none |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK | - |
Military branches | - | Army, Navy (FNES), Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $157 million (2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 1.1% (2003) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 1,571,299 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 995,672 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 69,993 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | Liberation Day, 9 May (1945) | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) |
Nationality | noun: Channel Islander(s)
adjective: Channel Islander |
noun: Salvadoran(s)
adjective: Salvadoran |
Natural hazards | NA | known as the Land of Volcanoes; frequent and sometimes very destructive earthquakes and volcanic activity; extremely susceptible to hurricanes |
Natural resources | cropland | hydropower, geothermal power, petroleum, arable land |
Net migration rate | 3.81 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | -3.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | none; all independents | Christian Democratic Party or PDC [Rodolfo PARKER]; 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]; 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 | none | 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 | 65,573 (July 2007 est.) | 6,587,541 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 48% (1999 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.239% (2007 est.) | 1.78% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Acajutla, Puerto Cutuco, La Libertad, La Union, Puerto El Triunfo |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 61 (plus 24 repeaters), FM 30, 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 (2003) |
Religions | Anglican, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Baptist, Congregational, Methodist | 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 |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.027 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.982 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.737 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2007 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: 0.81 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: 1 submarine cable |
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 | 45,100 (2005) | 752,600 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 43,800 (2004) | 1,149,800 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 5 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly level with low hills in southwest | mostly mountains with narrow coastal belt and central plateau |
Total fertility rate | 1.4 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 3.2 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 0.9% (March 2006 est.) | 6.5% - but the economy has much underemployment (2003 est.) |
Waterways | - | Rio Lempa partially navigable (2004) |