Country Facts - El Salvador

The People

Nationality

Salvadoran(s)

Ethnic Composition

Mestizo	90%
Amerindian	1%
White	9%

Religious Composition

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.

Languages Spoken

Spanish, Nahua (among some Amerindians)

Education and Literacy

Education is compulsory for the first nine years. Nationwide adult literacy is 71.5 percent; 73.5 percent males, 69.8 percent females.

Labor Force

Total: 2.35 million (1999)

By occupation:

Agriculture	30%
Industry	15%
Services	55%

(1999)

Geography

Land Mass Total

8,123 sq mi (21,040 sq km)

Land

8,000 sq mi (20,720 sq km)

Water

123 sq mi (320 sq km)

Land Boundaries

Total: 338 mi (545 km)

Border countries: Guatemala 126 mi (203 km), Honduras 212 mi (342 km)

Coastline

190 mi (307 km)

Maritime claim

Territorial sea: 200 nm

Climate/Weather

Tropical; rainy season (May to October); dry season (November to April); tropical on coast; temperate in uplands.

Terrain

Mostly mountains with narrow coastal belt and central plateau.

Elevation extremes

Lowest: Pacific Ocean 0 ft (0 m)
Highest: Cerro El Pital 8,956 ft (2,730 m)

Natural Resources

Hydropower, geothermal power, petroleum, arable land.

Land use

Arable land	27%
Permanent crops	12%
Other	61%

(1998)

Natural hazards

Known as the Land of Volcanoes; frequent and sometimes very destructive earthquakes and volcanic activity.

Environment - current issues

Deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution; contamination of soils from disposal of toxic wastes; Hurricane Mitch damage.

Geography Note

Smallest Central American country and the only one without a coastline on the Caribbean Sea.

Demographics

Population

6,353,681 (July 2002)

Age structure

0-14 years:	37.4%	Male: 1,211,156	Female: 1,162,317
15-64 years:	57.5%	Male: 1,735,744	Female: 1,922,395
65 years and over:	5.1%	Male: 144,864	Female: 177,205

Growth Rate

1.83% (2002)

Life Expectancy

70.32 years (2002)
female: 74.11 years
male: 66.72 years

GDP Per Capita

Purchasing power parity
US$4,600 (2001)

Infant Mortality

27.58 deaths/1,000 live births (2002)

Sex ratio

At birth:	1.05 male(s)/female
Under 15 years:	1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years:	0.9 male(s)/female
65 years and over:	0.82 male(s)/female
Total population:	0.95 male(s)/female

Net migration rate

-3.88 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002)

Economy & Trade

El Salvador is a struggling Central American economy, which has been suffering from a weak tax collection system, factory closings, the aftermaths of Hurricane Mitch of 1998 and the devastating earthquakes of early 2001, and weak world coffee prices. On the bright side, in recent years inflation has fallen to single digit levels, and total exports have grown substantially. The trade deficit has been offset by remittances (an estimated $1.6 billion in 2000) from Salvadorans living abroad and by external aid. As of January 2001, the U.S. dollar was made legal tender alongside the colon. Consequently, growth depends largely on the speed of recovery in the U.S. This is reflected in current GDP growth rates for El Salvador that barely push past 2 percent (2002-2003).

Unemployment

10% (2001)

Inflation Rate

3.8% (2001)

Industries

Food processing, beverages, petroleum, chemicals, fertilizer, textiles, furniture, light metals.

Exports

US$2.9 billion (2001)

Imports

$5 billion (2001)

Total Trade

Purchasing power parity
GDP US$28.4 billion (2001)

Top Export Partners

US 65%, Guatemala 11%, Honduras 8%, EU 5% (2000)

Top Import Partners

US 50%, Guatemala 10%, EU 7%, Mexico 5%, (2000)

Top Exports

Offshore assembly exports, coffee, sugar, shrimp, textiles, chemicals, electricity.

Top Imports

Raw materials, consumer goods, capital goods, fuels, foodstuffs, petroleum, electricity.

Debt - external

US$4.9 billion (2001)

Economic aid

US$252 million; $57 million from U.S. (1999)

Fiscal Year:

Calendar year.

Business Workweek

	Monday - Friday	Saturday - Sunday
Offices	8a.m. to noon and 2:30p.m. to 6p.m.	Closed
Retail	8a.m. to noon and 2:30p.m. to 6p.m. Retailers in urban areas tend to keep later evening hours.	Saturday 8a.m. to 2p.m.
Banks	9a.m. to 1p.m. and 1:45p.m. to 5p.m. All banks are closed June 29 and 30 and December 30 to 31 for balancing.	Closed
Government	7:30a.m. to 3:30p.m.	Closed

Note: In rural areas the opening hours and midday break for businesses and government offices are scheduled by local custom based on the seasonal needs of the agricultural community......

Holidays

Official Holidays

Holidays	2003	2004	2005
New Year's Day	January 1	January 1	January 1
Holy Wednesday	April 16	April 7	March 23
Good Friday	April 18	April 9	March 25
Easter¹	April 20	April 11	March 27
Easter Monday	April 11	April 12	March 28
Labor Day	May 1	May1	May 1
Bank Holiday (Balance Day)	June 30	June 30	June 30
Transfiguration Bank Holiday	August 4	August 4	August 4
Festival of San Salvador	August 5 and 6	August 5 and 6	August 5 and 6
Independence Day	September 15	September 15	September 15
Day of the Dead (All Saints' Day)	November 1	November 1	November 1
Memorial Day/All Soul's Day	November 2	November 2	November 2
Foundation of Cuenca	November 3	November 3	November 3
Cry of Independence Day	December 5	December 5	December 5
Christmas Day²	December 25	December 25	December 25
New Year's Eve	December 31	December 31	December 31

Easter, a Christian holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ, is the first Sunday after the full moon and the vernal equinox (fixed in the Gregorian calendar at March 21), and often observed with Good Friday and Easter Monday. In the West, Easter is predicted using the Gregorian calendar, while Eastern Orthodox Christians use the much older Julian calendar, and celebrate 13 days later.

Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. In A.D.320, Pope Julius I fixed the date at December 25 based on the Gregorian calendar. The Orthodox church calculates Christmas using the Julian calendar and celebrates 13 days later on January 7.

Country information used by permission of World Trade Press