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El Salvador

Central America and the Caribbean

Photos of El Salvador

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San Salvador has been the capital of El Salvador since 1839. It is located on the Ace Chaute River in the Boquerón Volcano Valley, a region of high seismic activity. Devastated by earthquakes in 1854, 1873, 1917, and 1986 and by heavy floods in 1934, it has been reconstructed with modern government buildings, scenic parks, and plazas.
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Contents

Introduction

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Visit the Definitions and Notes page to view a description of each topic.

Definitions and Notes
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Geography

Area

comparison ranking: total 153

Area - comparative

Area comparison map:
<p>about the same size as New Jersey</p>

People and Society

Languages

Spanish audio sample:

Age structure

2024 population pyramid:
This is the population pyramid for El Salvador. A population pyramid illustrates the age and sex structure of a country's population and may provide insights about political and social stability, as well as economic development. The population is distributed along the horizontal axis, with males shown on the left and females on the right. The male and female populations are broken down into 5-year age groups represented as horizontal bars along the vertical axis, with the youngest age groups at the bottom and the oldest at the top. The shape of the population pyramid gradually evolves over time based on fertility, mortality, and international migration trends. <br/><br/>For additional information, please see the entry for Population pyramid on the Definitions and Notes page.

Median age

comparison ranking: total 143

Population growth rate

comparison ranking: 163

Birth rate

comparison ranking: 90

Death rate

comparison ranking: 161

Net migration rate

comparison ranking: 219

Maternal mortality ratio

comparison ranking: 105

Infant mortality rate

comparison ranking: total 112

Total fertility rate

comparison ranking: 105

Tobacco use

comparison ranking: total 145

Environment

Government

Economy

Real GDP growth rate

comparison ranking: 131

Real GDP per capita

comparison ranking: 138

Labor force

comparison ranking: 113

Unemployment rate

comparison ranking: 36

Public debt

comparison ranking: 20

Taxes and other revenues

comparison ranking: 47

Current account balance

comparison ranking: 113

Exports

comparison ranking: 111

Imports

comparison ranking: 102

Debt - external

comparison ranking: 44

Energy

Communications

Transportation

Airports

comparison ranking: 126

Merchant marine

comparison ranking: total 169

Military and Security

Terrorism

Transnational Issues

Contents