Sudan (2008) | El Salvador (2005) | |
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Administrative divisions | 25 states (wilayat, singular - wilayah); A'ali an Nil (Upper Nile), Al Bahr al Ahmar (Red Sea), Al Buhayrat (Lakes), Al Jazirah (El Gezira), Al Khartum (Khartoum), Al Qadarif (Gedaref), Al Wahdah (Unity), An Nil al Abyad (White Nile), An Nil al Azraq (Blue Nile), Ash Shamaliyah (Northern), Bahr al Jabal (Bahr al Jabal), Gharb al Istiwa'iyah (Western Equatoria), Gharb Bahr al Ghazal (Western Bahr al Ghazal), Gharb Darfur (Western Darfur), Janub Darfur (Southern Darfur), Janub Kurdufan (Southern Kordofan), Junqali (Jonglei), Kassala (Kassala), Nahr an Nil (Nile), Shamal Bahr al Ghazal (Northern Bahr al Ghazal), Shamal Darfur (Northern Darfur), Shamal Kurdufan (Northern Kordofan), Sharq al Istiwa'iyah (Eastern Equatoria), Sinnar (Sinnar), Warab (Warab) | 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: 41.6% (male 8,371,628/female 8,016,880)
15-64 years: 56% (male 11,080,025/female 10,956,458) 65 years and over: 2.4% (male 504,957/female 449,410) (2007 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 | cotton, groundnuts (peanuts), sorghum, millet, wheat, gum arabic, sugarcane, cassava (tapioca), mangos, papaya, bananas, sweet potatoes, sesame; sheep, livestock | coffee, sugar, corn, rice, beans, oilseed, cotton, sorghum; shrimp; beef, dairy products |
Airports | 101 (2007) | 73 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 16
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 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: 85
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 20 914 to 1,523 m: 37 under 914 m: 27 (2007) |
total: 69
914 to 1,523 m: 15 under 914 m: 54 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 2,505,810 sq km
land: 2.376 million sq km water: 129,810 sq km |
total: 21,040 sq km
land: 20,720 sq km water: 320 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than one-quarter the size of the US | slightly smaller than Massachusetts |
Background | Military regimes favoring Islamic-oriented governments have dominated national politics since independence from the UK in 1956. Sudan was embroiled in two prolonged civil wars during most of the remainder of the 20th century. These conflicts were rooted in northern economic, political, and social domination of largely non-Muslim, non-Arab southern Sudanese. The first civil war ended in 1972 but broke out again in 1983. The second war and famine-related effects resulted in more than 4 million people displaced and, according to rebel estimates, more than 2 million deaths over a period of two decades. Peace talks gained momentum in 2002-04 with the signing of several accords. The final North/South Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), signed in January 2005, granted the southern rebels autonomy for six years. After which, a referendum for independence is scheduled to be held. A separate conflict, which broke out in the western region of Darfur in 2003, has displaced nearly 2 million people and caused an estimated 200,000 to 400,000 deaths. The UN took command of the Darfur peacekeeping operation from the African Union on 31 December 2007. As of early 2008, peacekeeping troops were struggling to stabilize the situation, which has become increasingly regional in scope, and has brought instability to eastern Chad, and Sudanese incursions into the Central African Republic. Sudan also has faced large refugee influxes from neighboring countries, primarily Ethiopia and Chad. Armed conflict, poor transport infrastructure, and lack of government support have chronically obstructed the provision of humanitarian assistance to affected populations. | 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 | 34.86 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 27.04 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $9.682 billion
expenditures: $11.59 billion (2007 est.) |
revenues: $2.491 billion
expenditures: $2.782 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
Capital | name: Khartoum
geographic coordinates: 15 36 N, 32 32 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
San Salvador |
Climate | tropical in south; arid desert in north; rainy season varies by region (April to November) | tropical; rainy season (May to October); dry season (November to April); tropical on coast; temperate in uplands |
Coastline | 853 km | 307 km |
Constitution | constitution implemented on 30 June 1998, partially suspended 12 December 1999 by President BASHIR; under the CPA, Interim National Constitution ratified 5 July 2005; Constitution of Southern Sudan signed December 2005 | 23 December 1983 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of the Sudan
conventional short form: Sudan local long form: Jumhuriyat as-Sudan local short form: As-Sudan former: Anglo-Egyptian Sudan |
conventional long form: Republic of El Salvador
conventional short form: El Salvador local long form: Republica de El Salvador local short form: El Salvador |
Death rate | 14.39 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 5.85 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $29.6 billion (31 December 2007 est.) | $4.792 billion (September 2004 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Alberto M. Fernandez
embassy: Sharia Ali Abdul Latif Avenue, Khartoum mailing address: P. O. Box 699, Khartoum; APO AE 09829 telephone: [249] (183) 774701/2/3 FAX: [249] (183) 774137 note: US Consul in Cairo is providing backup service for Khartoum; |
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 | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires John UKEC Lueth
chancery: 2210 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 338-8565 FAX: [1] (202) 667-2406 |
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 | the effects of Sudan's almost constant ethnic and rebel militia fighting since the mid-20th century have penetrated all of the neighboring states; as of 2006, Chad, Ethiopia, Kenya, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Uganda provided shelter for over half a million Sudanese refugees, which includes 240,000 Darfur residents driven from their homes by Janjawid armed militia and the Sudanese military forces; Sudan, in turn, hosted about 116,000 Eritreans, 20,000 Chadians, and smaller numbers of Ethiopians, Ugandans, Central Africans, and Congolese as refugees; in February 2006, Sudan and DROC signed an agreement to repatriate 13,300 Sudanese and 6,800 Congolese; Sudan accuses Eritrea of supporting Sudanese rebel groups; efforts to demarcate the porous boundary with Ethiopia proceed slowly due to civil and ethnic fighting in eastern Sudan; the boundary that separates Kenya and Sudan's sovereignty is unclear in the "Ilemi Triangle," which Kenya has administered since colonial times; while Sudan claims to administer the Hala'ib Triangle north of the 1899 Treaty boundary along the 22nd Parallel; both states withdrew their military presence in the 1990s, and Egypt has invested in and effectively administers the area; periodic violent skirmishes with Sudanese residents over water and grazing rights persist among related pastoral populations along the border with the Central African Republic | 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 | $1.829 billion (2005) | $125 million of which, $53 million from US (2003) |
Economy - overview | Sudan's economy is booming on the back of increases in oil production, high oil prices, and large inflows of foreign direct investment. GDP growth registered more than 10% per year in 2006 and 2007. From 1997 to date, Sudan has been working with the IMF to implement macroeconomic reforms, including a managed float of the exchange rate. Sudan began exporting crude oil in the last quarter of 1999. Agricultural production remains important, because it employs 80% of the work force and contributes a third of GDP. The Darfur conflict, the aftermath of two decades of civil war in the south, the lack of basic infrastructure in large areas, and a reliance by much of the population on subsistence agriculture ensure much of the population will remain at or below the poverty line for years despite rapid rises in average per capita income. In January 2007, the government introduced a new currency, the Sudanese Pound, at an initial exchange rate of $1.00 equals 2 Sudanese Pounds. | 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 | 3.298 billion kWh (2005) | 4.45 billion kWh (2004) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 91 million kWh (2004) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 473 million kWh (2004) |
Electricity - production | 3.944 billion kWh (2005) | 4.158 billion kWh (2004) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Red Sea 0 m
highest point: Kinyeti 3,187 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Cerro El Pital 2,730 m |
Environment - current issues | inadequate supplies of potable water; wildlife populations threatened by excessive hunting; soil erosion; desertification; periodic drought | 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, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
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 | black 52%, Arab 39%, Beja 6%, foreigners 2%, other 1% | mestizo 90%, white 9%, Amerindian 1% |
Exchange rates | Sudanese dinars per US dollar - 2.06 (2007), 217.2 (2006), 243.61 (2005), 257.91 (2004), 260.98 (2003) | the US dollar became El Salvador's currency in 2001 |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Umar Hassan Ahmad al-BASHIR (since 16 October 1993); First Vice President Salva KIIR (since 4 August 2005), Vice President Ali Osman TAHA (since 20 September 2005); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Umar Hassan Ahmad al-BASHIR (since 16 October 1993); First Vice President Salva KIIR (since 4 August 2005), Vice President Ali Osman TAHA (since 20 September 2005) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president; note - the National Congress Party or NCP (formerly the National Islamic Front or NIF) dominates al-BASHIR's cabinet elections: election last held 13-23 December 2000; next to be held no later than July 2009 under terms of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement election results: Umar Hassan Ahmad al-BASHIR reelected president; percent of vote - Umar Hassan Ahmad al-BASHIR 86.5%, Ja'afar Muhammed NUMAYRI 9.6%, three other candidates received a combined vote of 3.9%; election widely viewed as rigged; all popular opposition parties boycotted elections because of a lack of guarantees for a free and fair election note: al-BASHIR assumed power as chairman of Sudan's Revolutionary Command Council for National Salvation (RCC) in June 1989 and served concurrently as chief of state, chairman of the RCC, prime minister, and minister of defense until mid-October 1993 when he was appointed president by the RCC; he was elected president by popular vote for the first time in March 1996 |
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 | 279,100 bbl/day (2004) | NA |
Exports - commodities | oil and petroleum products; cotton, sesame, livestock, groundnuts, gum arabic, sugar | offshore assembly exports, coffee, sugar, shrimp, textiles, chemicals, electricity |
Exports - partners | Japan 48%, China 31%, South Korea 3.8% (2006) | US 65.6%, Guatemala 11.8%, Honduras 6.3% (2004) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black with a green isosceles triangle based on the hoist side | 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 - composition by sector | agriculture: 31.5%
industry: 35.7% services: 32.8% (2007 est.) |
agriculture: 9.2%
industry: 31.1% services: 59.7% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $4,900 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 12.8% (2007 est.) | 1.8% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 15 00 N, 30 00 E | 13 50 N, 88 55 W |
Geography - note | largest country in Africa; dominated by the Nile and its tributaries | smallest Central American country and only one without a coastline on Caribbean Sea |
Heliports | 4 (2007) | 1 (2004 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 | 7,945 bbl/day (2004) | NA |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, manufactured goods, refinery and transport equipment, medicines and chemicals, textiles, wheat | raw materials, consumer goods, capital goods, fuels, foodstuffs, petroleum, electricity |
Imports - partners | China 18.2%, Saudi Arabia 9.2%, UAE 5.8%, Egypt 5.3%, Germany 5.2%, India 4.6%, France 4.1% (2006) | US 46.3%, Guatemala 8.1%, Mexico 6% (2004) |
Independence | 1 January 1956 (from Egypt and UK) | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | 32% (2007 est.) | 0.7% (2004 est.) |
Industries | oil, cotton ginning, textiles, cement, edible oils, sugar, soap distilling, shoes, petroleum refining, pharmaceuticals, armaments, automobile/light truck assembly | food processing, beverages, petroleum, chemicals, fertilizer, textiles, furniture, light metals |
Infant mortality rate | total: 91.78 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 91.95 deaths/1,000 live births female: 91.59 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 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) | 5.3% (2007 est.) | 5.4% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | ABEDA, ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AU, CAEU, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer) | 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 | 18,630 sq km (2003) | 360 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Constitutional Court of nine justices; National Supreme Court; National Courts of Appeal; other national courts; National Judicial Service Commission will undertake overall management of the National Judiciary | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (judges are selected by the Legislative Assembly) |
Labor force | 7.415 million (1996 est.) | 2.75 million (2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 80%
industry: 7% services: 13% (1998 est.) |
agriculture 17.1%, industry 17.1%, services 65.8% (2003 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 7,687 km
border countries: Central African Republic 1,165 km, Chad 1,360 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 628 km, Egypt 1,273 km, Eritrea 605 km, Ethiopia 1,606 km, Kenya 232 km, Libya 383 km, Uganda 435 km |
total: 545 km
border countries: Guatemala 203 km, Honduras 342 km |
Land use | arable land: 6.78%
permanent crops: 0.17% other: 93.05% (2005) |
arable land: 31.85%
permanent crops: 12.07% other: 56.08% (2001) |
Languages | Arabic (official), Nubian, Ta Bedawie, diverse dialects of Nilotic, Nilo-Hamitic, Sudanic languages, English
note: program of "Arabization" in process |
Spanish, Nahua (among some Amerindians) |
Legal system | based on English common law and Islamic law; as of 20 January 1991, the now defunct Revolutionary Command Council imposed Islamic law in the northern states; Islamic law applies to all residents of the northern states regardless of their religion; however, the CPA establishes some protections for non-Muslims in Khartoum; some separate religious courts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; the southern legal system is still developing under the CPA following the civil war; Islamic law will not apply to the southern states | 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 | bicameral National Legislature consists of a Council of States (50 seats; members indirectly elected by state legislatures to serve six-year terms) and a National Assembly (450 seats; members presently appointed, but in the future 75% of members to be directly elected and 25% elected in special or indirect elections; to serve six-year terms)
elections: last held 13-22 December 2000 (next to be held 2009) election results: NCP 355, others 5; note - replaced by appointments under the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement |
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: 49.11 years
male: 48.24 years female: 50.03 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 71.22 years
male: 67.61 years female: 75.01 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 61.1% male: 71.8% female: 50.5% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 10 and over can read and write
total population: 80.2% male: 82.8% female: 77.7% (2003 est.) |
Location | Northern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Egypt and Eritrea | Central America, bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Guatemala and Honduras |
Map references | Africa | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 18 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
territorial sea: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total: 3 ships (1000 GRT or over) 21,311 GRT/26,179 DWT
by type: cargo 2, livestock carrier 1 (2007) |
- |
Military branches | Sudanese People's Armed Forces (SPAF): Land Forces, Navy, Air Force, Popular Defense Forces (2007) | Army, Navy (FNES), Air Force (FAS) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $157 million (2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 3% (2005 est.) | 1.1% (2003) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 1 January (1956) | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) |
Nationality | noun: Sudanese (singular and plural)
adjective: Sudanese |
noun: Salvadoran(s)
adjective: Salvadoran |
Natural hazards | dust storms and periodic persistent droughts | known as the Land of Volcanoes; frequent and sometimes very destructive earthquakes and volcanic activity; extremely susceptible to hurricanes |
Natural resources | petroleum; small reserves of iron ore, copper, chromium ore, zinc, tungsten, mica, silver, gold, hydropower | hydropower, geothermal power, petroleum, arable land |
Net migration rate | 0.35 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | -3.67 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 156 km; oil 4,070 km; refined products 1,613 km (2007) | - |
Political parties and leaders | National Congress Party or NCP [Umar Hassan al-BASHIR]; Sudan People's Liberation Movement or SPLM [Salva Mayardit KIIR]; and elements of the National Democratic Alliance or NDA including factions of the Democratic Union Party [Muhammad Uthman al-MIRGHANI] and Umma Party [SADIQ Siddiq al-Mahdi]; note - all political parties listed above in the Government of National Unity | 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 | Umma Party [Sadiq al-MAHDI]; Popular Congress Party or PCP [Hassan al-TURABI] | 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 | 39,379,358 (July 2007 est.) | 6,704,932 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 40% (2004 est.) | 36.1% (2003 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.082% (2007 est.) | 1.75% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Acajutla, Puerto Cutuco |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 12, FM 1, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 61 (plus 24 repeaters), FM 30, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Railways | total: 5,978 km
narrow gauge: 4,578 km 1.067-m gauge; 1,400 km 0.600-m gauge for cotton plantations (2006) |
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 | Sunni Muslim 70% (in north), Christian 5% (mostly in south and Khartoum), indigenous beliefs 25% | 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: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.044 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.011 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.124 male(s)/female total population: 1.027 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: 0.8 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 17 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: large, well-equipped system by regional standards and being upgraded; cellular communications started in 1996 and have expanded substantially
domestic: consists of microwave radio relay, cable, radiotelephone communications, tropospheric scatter, and a domestic satellite system with 14 earth stations international: country code - 249; linked to international submarine cable Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG); satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean), 1 Arabsat (2000) |
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 | 636,900 (2006) | 752,600 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 4.683 million (2006) | 1,149,800 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (1997) | 5 (1997) |
Terrain | generally flat, featureless plain; mountains in far south, northeast and west; desert dominates the north | mostly mountains with narrow coastal belt and central plateau |
Total fertility rate | 4.69 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 3.16 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 18.7% (2002 est.) | 6.3% - but the economy has much underemployment (2004 est.) |
Waterways | 4,068 km (1,723 km open year round on White and Blue Nile rivers) (2006) | Rio Lempa partially navigable (2004) |