Saint Kitts and Nevis (2001) | El Salvador (2007) | |
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Administrative divisions | 14 parishes; Christ Church Nichola Town, Saint Anne Sandy Point, Saint George Basseterre, Saint George Gingerland, Saint James Windward, Saint John Capisterre, Saint John Figtree, Saint Mary Cayon, Saint Paul Capisterre, Saint Paul Charlestown, Saint Peter Basseterre, Saint Thomas Lowland, Saint Thomas Middle Island, Trinity Palmetto Point | 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 |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
29.84% (male 5,909; female 5,654) 15-64 years: 61.37% (male 11,870; female 11,915) 65 years and over: 8.79% (male 1,406; female 2,002) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 36.1% (male 1,281,889/female 1,228,478)
15-64 years: 58.7% (male 1,942,674/female 2,134,154) 65 years and over: 5.2% (male 158,276/female 202,602) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugarcane, rice, yams, vegetables, bananas; fish | coffee, sugar, corn, rice, beans, oilseed, cotton, sorghum; beef, dairy products; shrimp |
Airports | 2 (2000 est.) | 65 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 4
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 61
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 48 (2007) |
Area | total:
261 sq km (Saint Kitts 168 sq km; Nevis 93 sq km) land: 261 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 21,040 sq km
land: 20,720 sq km water: 320 sq km |
Area - comparative | 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Massachusetts |
Background | First settled by the British in 1623, the islands became an associated state with full internal autonomy in 1967. The island of Anguilla rebelled and was allowed to secede in 1971. Saint Kitts and Nevis achieved independence in 1983. In 1998, a vote in Nevis on a referendum to separate from Saint Kitts fell short of the two-thirds majority needed. | 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 | 18.78 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 26.13 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$64.1 million expenditures: $73.3 million, including capital expenditures of $10.4 million (1997 est.) |
revenues: $2.82 billion
expenditures: $2.94 billion (FY07 est.) |
Capital | Basseterre | name: San Salvador
geographic coordinates: 13 42 N, 89 12 W time difference: UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | tropical tempered by constant sea breezes; little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season (May to November) | tropical; rainy season (May to October); dry season (November to April); tropical on coast; temperate in uplands |
Coastline | 135 km | 307 km |
Constitution | 19 September 1983 | 20 December 1983 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis conventional short form: Saint Kitts and Nevis former: Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis |
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 | East Caribbean dollar (XCD) | - |
Death rate | 9.21 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 5.6 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $115.1 million (1998) | $7.518 billion (2006 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | the US does not have an embassy in Saint Kitts and Nevis; the US Ambassador in Barbados is accredited to Saint Kitts and Nevis | chief of mission: Ambassador Charles L. GLAZER
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 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Dr. Osbert W. LIBURD chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016 telephone: [1] (202) 686-2636 FAX: [1] (202) 686-5740 |
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 |
Disputes - international | none | International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled on the delimitation of "bolsones" (disputed areas) along the El Salvador-Honduras boundary, in 1992, with final agreement by the parties in 2006 after an Organization of American States (OAS) survey and a further ICJ ruling in 2003; 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 | $5.5 million (1995) | $199.4 million of which $55 million from US (2005) |
Economy - overview | The economy has traditionally depended on the growing and processing of sugarcane; decreasing world prices have hurt the industry in recent years. Tourism, export-oriented manufacturing, and offshore banking activity have assumed larger roles. Most food is imported. The government has undertaken a program designed to revitalize the faltering sugar sector. It is also working to improve revenue collection in order to better fund social programs. In 1997 some leaders in Nevis were urging separation from Saint Kitts on the basis that Nevis was paying far more in taxes than it was receiving in government services, but the vote on cessation failed in August 1998. In late September 1998, Hurricane Georges caused approximately $445 million in damages and limited GDP growth for the year. | 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, has strengthened an already positive export trend. The trade deficit has been offset by annual remittances from Salvadorans living abroad - equivalent to more than 16% of GDP - 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 current government has pursued economic diversification, with some success in promoting textile production, international port services, and tourism. It is committed to opening the economy to trade and investment, and has embarked on a wave of privatizations extending to telecom, electricity distribution, banking, and pension funds. |
Electricity - consumption | 83.7 million kWh (1999) | 5.204 billion kWh (2006) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 95.5 million kWh (2006) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 322 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 90 million kWh (1999) | 5.293 billion kWh (2006) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Mount Liamuiga 1,156 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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected 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 | predominantly black some British, Portuguese, and Lebanese | mestizo 90%, white 9%, Amerindian 1% |
Exchange rates | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7000 (fixed rate since 1976) | the US dollar became El Salvador's currency in 2001 |
Executive branch | chief of state:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Perlette LOUISY (since September 1997) head of government: Prime Minister Dr. Denzil DOUGLAS (since 6 July 1995) and Deputy Prime Minister Sam CONDOR (since 6 July 1995) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general in consultation with the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the governor general is appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general |
chief of state: President Elias Antonio SACA Gonzalez (since 1 June 2004); Vice President Ana Vilma Albanez 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 Albanez 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 in March 2009) election results: Elias Antonio SACA Gonzalez elected president; percent of vote - Elias Antonio SACA Gonzalez 57.7%, Schafik HANDAL 35.6%, Hector SILVA 3.9%, other 2.8% |
Exports | $53.2 million (2000 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | machinery, food, electronics, beverages, tobacco | offshore assembly exports, coffee, sugar, shrimp, textiles, chemicals, electricity |
Exports - partners | US 68.5%, UK 22.3%, Caricom countries 5.5% (1995 est.) | US 49.6%, Guatemala 14.4%, Honduras 8.8%, Nicaragua 5% (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | divided diagonally from the lower hoist side by a broad black band bearing two white, five-pointed stars; the black band is edged in yellow; the upper triangle is green, the lower triangle is red | 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 - $274 million (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
5.5% industry: 22.5% services: 72% (1996) |
agriculture: 10.1%
industry: 29.9% services: 60% (2006 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $7,000 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 5% (2000 est.) | 4.2% (2006 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 17 20 N, 62 45 W | 13 50 N, 88 55 W |
Geography - note | - | smallest Central American country and only one without a coastline on Caribbean Sea |
Heliports | - | 1 (2007) |
Highways | total:
320 km paved: 136 km unpaved: 184 km (2000) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 0.7%
highest 10%: 38.8% (2002) |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe | transshipment point for cocaine; small amounts of marijuana produced for local consumption; significant use of cocaine |
Imports | $151.5 million (2000 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | machinery, manufactures, food, fuels | raw materials, consumer goods, capital goods, fuels, foodstuffs, petroleum, electricity |
Imports - partners | US 42.4%, Caricom countries 17.2%, UK 11.3% (1995 est.) | US 32.2%, Guatemala 9.3%, Mexico 7.4%, Germany 6.3%, China 4.7% (2006) |
Independence | 19 September 1983 (from UK) | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 2% (2006 est.) |
Industries | sugar processing, tourism, cotton, salt, copra, clothing, footwear, beverages | food processing, beverages, petroleum, chemicals, fertilizer, textiles, furniture, light metals |
Infant mortality rate | 16.28 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 22.88 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 25.76 deaths/1,000 live births female: 19.86 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.5% (2000 est.) | 4% (2006 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WTrO | BCIE, CACM, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAES, MIGA, MINURSO, NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 16 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 450 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based on Saint Lucia; one judge of the Supreme Court resides in Saint Kitts and Nevis) | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (judges are selected by the Legislative Assembly) |
Labor force | 18,172 (June 1995) | 2.875 million (2006 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | NA | 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:
22% permanent crops: 17% permanent pastures: 3% forests and woodland: 17% other: 41% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 31.37%
permanent crops: 11.88% other: 56.75% (2005) |
Languages | English | Spanish, Nahua (among some Amerindians) |
Legal system | based on English common law | based on civil and Roman law with traces of common law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly (14 seats, 3 appointed and 11 popularly elected from single-member constituencies; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 6 March 2000 (next to be held by July 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - SKNLP 8, CCM 2, NRP 1 |
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 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
71.01 years male: 68.22 years female: 73.97 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 71.78 years
male: 68.18 years female: 75.57 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over has ever attended school total population: 97% male: 97% female: 98% (1980 est.) |
definition: age 10 and over can read and write
total population: 80.2% male: 82.8% female: 77.7% (2003 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, islands in the Caribbean Sea, about one-third of the way from Puerto Rico to Trinidad and Tobago | Central America, bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Guatemala and Honduras |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
24 NM continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin territorial sea: 12 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | none (2000 est.) | - |
Military branches | Royal Saint Kitts and Nevis Police Force, Coast Guard, Royal Saint Kitts and Nevis Defense Force | Salvadoran Army (ES), Salvadoran Navy (FNES), Salvadoran Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Salvadorena, FAS) (2006) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 5% (2006) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 19 September (1983) | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) |
Nationality | noun:
Kittitian(s), Nevisian(s) adjective: Kittitian, Nevisian |
noun: Salvadoran(s)
adjective: Salvadoran |
Natural hazards | hurricanes (July to October) | known as the Land of Volcanoes; frequent and sometimes destructive earthquakes and volcanic activity; extremely susceptible to hurricanes |
Natural resources | arable land | hydropower, geothermal power, petroleum, arable land |
Net migration rate | -10.68 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -3.54 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Concerned Citizens Movement or CCM [Vance AMORY]; Nevis Reformation Party or NRP [Joseph PARRY]; People's Action Movement or PAM [Lindsey GRANT]; Saint Kitts and Nevis Labor Party or SKNLP [Dr. Denzil DOUGLAS] | Christian Democratic Party or PDC [Rodolfo PARKER]; Democratic Convergence or CD [Ruben ZAMORA] (formerly United Democratic Center or CDU); Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front or FMLN [Medardo GONZALEZ]; National Conciliation Party or PCN [Ciro CRUZ ZEPEDA]; 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] |
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 | 38,756 (July 2001 est.) | 6,948,073 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 35.2% (2005 est.) |
Population growth rate | -0.11% (2001 est.) | 1.699% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Basseterre, Charlestown | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 3, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 52, FM 144, shortwave 0 (2005) |
Radios | 28,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
58 km narrow gauge: 58 km 0.762-m gauge on Saint Kitts to serve sugarcane plantations (1995) |
total: 562 km
narrow gauge: 562 km 0.914-m gauge note: railways not in operation since 2005 because of disuse and lack of maintenance due to high costs (2007) |
Religions | Anglican, other Protestant, Roman Catholic | 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:
1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.043 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.781 male(s)/female total population: 0.949 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
good interisland and international connections domestic: interisland links to Antigua and Barbuda and Saint Martin (Guadeloupe and Netherlands Antilles) are handled by VHF/UHF/SHF radiotelephone international: international calls are carried by radiotelephone to Antigua and Barbuda and switched there to submarine cable or to Intelsat; or carried to Saint Martin (Guadeloupe and Netherlands Antilles) by radiotelephone and switched to Intelsat |
general assessment: the four mobile-cellular service providers are expanding services rapidly and in 2006 mobile-cellular density stood at roughly 55 per 100 persons; growth in fixed-line services has slowed in the face of mobile-cellular competition
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 | 17,000 (1997) | 1.037 million (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 205 (1997) | 3.852 million (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (plus three repeaters) (1997) | 5 (1997) |
Terrain | volcanic with mountainous interiors | mostly mountains with narrow coastal belt and central plateau |
Total fertility rate | 2.41 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 3.08 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 4.5% (1997) | 6% official rate; but the economy has much underemployment (2006 est.) |
Waterways | none | Rio Lempa partially navigable for small craft (2007) |