]! ^! 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. 
]" ^" Central America, bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Guatemala and Honduras ^# 13 50 N, 88 55 W ^$ Central America and the Caribbean ^% `! 21,040 sq km `" 20,720 sq km `# 320 sq km ^& slightly smaller than Massachusetts ^' `! 545 km `Y Guatemala 203 km, Honduras 342 km ^( 307 km ^) `$ 12 nm `M 24 nm `N 200 nm ^* tropical; rainy season (May to October); dry season (November to April); tropical on coast; temperate in uplands ^+ mostly mountains with narrow coastal belt and central plateau ^, `% Pacific Ocean 0 m `& Cerro El Pital 2,730 m ^- hydropower, geothermal power, petroleum, arable land ^. `' 31.37% `( 11.88% `) 56.75% (2005) ^/ 450 sq km (2003) ^0 known as the Land of Volcanoes; frequent and sometimes destructive earthquakes and volcanic activity; extremely susceptible to hurricanes ^1 deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution; contamination of soils from disposal of toxic wastes _P `P Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands `Q Law of the Sea ^2 smallest Central American country and only one without a coastline on Caribbean Sea 
]# ^3 6,948,073 (July 2007 est.) ^4 `+ 36.1% (male 1,281,889/female 1,228,478) `, 58.7% (male 1,942,674/female 2,134,154) `- 5.2% (male 158,276/female 202,602) (2007 est.) ^5 `! 22 years `. 20.9 years `/ 23.2 years (2007 est.) ^6 1.699% (2007 est.) ^7 26.13 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^8 5.6 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^9 -3.54 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^: `0 1.05 male(s)/female `1 1.043 male(s)/female `, 0.91 male(s)/female `- 0.781 male(s)/female `2 0.949 male(s)/female (2007 est.) ^; `! 22.88 deaths/1,000 live births `. 25.76 deaths/1,000 live births `/ 19.86 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) ^< `2 71.78 years `. 68.18 years `/ 75.57 years (2007 est.) ^= 3.08 children born/woman (2007 est.) ^> 0.7% (2003 est.) ^? 29,000 (2003 est.) ^@ 2,200 (2003 est.) ^A `3 Salvadoran(s) `4 Salvadoran ^B mestizo 90%, white 9%, Amerindian 1% ^C Roman Catholic 83%, other 17% `* 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 ^D Spanish, Nahua (among some Amerindians) ^E `5 age 10 and over can read and write `2 80.2% `. 82.8% `/ 77.7% (2003 est.) 
]$ ^F `6 Republic of El Salvador `7 El Salvador `Z Republica de El Salvador `[ El Salvador ^H republic ^I `8 San Salvador `9 13 42 N, 89 12 W `: UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC during Standard Time) ^J 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 ^K 15 September 1821 (from Spain) ^L Independence Day, 15 September (1821) ^M 20 December 1983 ^N based on civil and Roman law with traces of common law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court ^O 18 years of age; universal ^P `; 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 `< President Elias Antonio SACA Gonzalez (since 1 June 2004); Vice President Ana Vilma DE ESCOBAR (since 1 June 2004) `= Council of Ministers selected by the president `> 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) `? 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% ^Q unicameral Legislative Assembly or Asamblea Legislativa (84 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve three-year terms) `> last held 12 March 2006 (next to be held in March 2009) `? percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - ARENA 34, FMLN 32, PCN 10, PDC 6, CD 2 ^R Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (judges are selected by the Legislative Assembly) ^S 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] ^T 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 ^U BCIE, CACM, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, ITUC, LAES, MIGA, MINURSO, NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO ^V `R Ambassador Rene Antonio LEON Rodriguez `S 2308 California Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 `T [1] (202) 265-9671 `U [1] (202) 234-3834 `V Chicago, Dallas, Elizabeth (New Jersey), Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York (2), Nogales (Arizona), Santa Ana (California), San Francisco, Washington, DC `^ Boston ^W `R Ambassador Charles L. GLAZER `_ Final Boulevard Santa Elena Sur, Antiguo Cuscatlan, La Libertad, San Salvador `` Unit 3116, APO AA 34023 `T [503] 2278-4444 `U [503] 2278-5522 ^X 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 
]% ^Y 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. ^Z $33.2 billion (2006 est.) ^[ $16.97 billion (2005 est.) ^\ 4.2% (2005 est.) ^] $4,900 (2006 est.) ^^ `@ 9.7% `A 29.6% `B 60.7% (2006 est.) ^_ 2.856 million (2006 est.) ^` `@ 17.1% `A 17.1% `B 65.8% (2003 est.) ^a 6% official rate; but the economy has much underemployment (2006 est.) _! 35.2% (2005 est.) _" `C 0.67% `D 38.76% (2002) _d 52.5 (2001) _# 4.9% (2006 est.) _V 16.2% of GDP (2006 est.) _$ `E $2.82 billion `F $2.94 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (FY07 est.) _% 42.6% of GDP (2006) _& coffee, sugar, corn, rice, beans, oilseed, cotton, sorghum; beef, dairy products; shrimp _' food processing, beverages, petroleum, chemicals, fertilizer, textiles, furniture, light metals _( 2% (2006 est.) _) 5.293 billion kWh (2006) _* 5.204 billion kWh (2006) _+ 95.5 million kWh (2006) _, 11.2 million kWh (2006) _- 0 bbl/day (2004 est.) _. 43,000 bbl/day (2004 est.) _/ NA bbl/day _0 NA bbl/day _1 0 cu m (2004 est.) _2 0 cu m (2004 est.) _Q $-1.059 billion (2006 est.) _3 $3.686 billion (2006 est.) _4 offshore assembly exports, coffee, sugar, shrimp, textiles, chemicals, electricity _5 US 61%, Guatemala 12.1%, Honduras 7.4%, Nicaragua 4.2% (2005) _6 $7.326 billion (2006 est.) _7 raw materials, consumer goods, capital goods, fuels, foodstuffs, petroleum, electricity _8 US 43.4%, Guatemala 8.2%, Mexico 7.8% (2005) _[ $1.951 billion (2006 est.) _9 $8.841 billion (30 June 2006 est.) _: $127.5 million of which, $55 million from US (2005) _; US dollar (USD) _< the US dollar became El Salvador's currency in 2001 _= calendar year 
]& _> 971,500 (2005) _? 2.412 million (2005) _@ `G NA `H nationwide microwave radio relay system `I country code - 503; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); connected to Central American Microwave System _A AM 52, FM 144, shortwave 0 (2005) _B 5 (1997) _C .sv _D 4,682 (2006) _E 637,100 (2005) 
]' _F 75 (2006) _G `! 4 `a 1 `b 1 `c 2 (2006) _R `! 71 `b 1 `c 14 `W 56 (2006) _] 1 (2006) _e `! 562 km `n 562 km 0.914-m gauge `* railways not in operation since 2005 because of disuse and lack of maintenance due to high costs (2007) _H `! 10,886 km `K 2,827 km `L 8,059 km (2000) _b Rio Lempa partially navigable (2004) _I Acajutla, Puerto Cutuco 
]( _J Salvadoran Army (ES), Salvadoran Navy (FNES), Salvadoran Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Salvadorena, FAS) (2006) _T 18 years of age for compulsory military service, with 12-month service obligation; 16 years of age for volunteers (2002) _K males age 18-49: 1,391,278 females age 18-49: 1,542,323 (2005 est.) Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 960,315 females age 18-49: 1,310,466 (2005 est.) _L males age 18-49: 70,286 females age 18-49: 69,526 (2005 est.) _U 0.6% (2006 est.) 
]) _N 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 _O transshipment point for cocaine; small amounts of marijuana produced for local consumption; significant use of cocaine 