Coordinates	37°46′45.48″N122°25′9.12″N
Conventional long name	Republic of El Salvador
Native name
Common name	El Salvador
Image coat	Coats of arms of El Salvador.svg
National motto	"Dios, Unión, Libertad""God, Unity, Freedom"
National anthem	Himno Nacional de El Salvador National anthem of El Salvador
Official languages	Spanish
Ethnic groups	Mestizo 86%, White/Caucasian 12%, Native American (Maya, Pipil, Lenca) 1%
Demonym	Salvadoran, Guanaco
Capital	San Salvador
Latns	N
Longew	W
Largest city	San Salvador
Government type	Presidential republic
Leader title1	President
Leader name1	Mauricio Funes
Leader title2	Vice President
Leader name2	Salvador Sánchez Cerén
Sovereignty type	Independence
Established event1	from Spain
Established date1	September 15, 1821
Established event2	Recognized by Spain
Established date2	June 24, 1865
Established event3	from the Greater Republic of Central America
Established date3	November 13, 1898
Area magnitude	1 E8
Area km2	21,040
Area sq mi	8,124
Percent water	1.4
Population estimate	6,134,000
Population estimate rank	99th
Population estimate year	July 2009
Population census	5,744,113
Population census year	2009
Population density km2	341.5
Population density sq mi	884.4
Population density rank	47th
Gdp ppp	$43.567 billion
Gdp ppp year	2010
Gdp ppp per capita	$7,429
Gdp nominal	$21.700 billion
Gdp nominal year	2010
Gdp nominal per capita	$3,700
Gini	52.4
Gini year	2002
Gini category	high
Hdi	0.659
Hdi rank	90th
Hdi year	2010
Hdi category	medium
Currency	U.S. dollar2
Currency code	USD
Country code	5o3
Utc offset	-6
Drives on	right
Cctld	.sv
Calling code	+5031
Footnote1	Telephone companies (market share): Tigo (45%), Claro (25%), Movistar (24%), Digicel (5.5%), Red (0.5%).
Footnote2	The United States dollar is the currency in use. Financial information can be expressed in U.S. Dollars and in Salvadoran colón, but the colón is out of circulation.
Footnote3	On the Coat of Arms of El Salvador, the country's name is written "Republica de El Salvador en la America Central", Meaning "Republic of El Salvador in the Central America" }}

El Salvador (; , literally meaning Republic of The Savior) is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America. El Salvador borders the Pacific Ocean to the west, toughed in between Guatemala to the north and Honduras to the east, with its eastern-most region lying on the Gulf of Fonseca across from Nicaragua. As of 2009, El Salvador has a population of approximately 5,744,113 people, composed predominantly of Mestizo, mixed biracial Native American/European ancestry and White/Caucasian . The colón was the official currency of El Salvador from 1892 to 2001, when it adopted the U.S. Dollar. In 2010 El Salvador ranked in the top 10 among Latin American countries in terms of the Human Development Index and in the top 3 in Central America (behind Costa Rica and Panama); because of this, the country is currently undergoing rapid industrialization.

El Salvador was explored and settled by the Spanish in the 16th century, the country broke with Spain in 1821 and joined a union consisting of Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua – named the Federal Republic of Central America. When the latter dissolved in 1841, El Salvador then joined the Greater Republic of Central America in 1896 with Honduras and Nicaragua; which later dissolved in 1898. El Salvador has a long history, with origins dating back to the Spanish conquest of the Pipil people of Cuzcatlán, which means The Place of Precious Diamonds and Jewels. The people from El Salvador are variably referred to as Salvadoran or Salvadorian, while the term Cuzcatleco is commonly used to identify someone of Salvadoran heritage.

History

Pre-Columbian

In pre-Columbian times, the territory was inhabited by various Native Americans, including the Pipil, a Nahuatl-origin population that occupied the central and western regions of the territory; Lenca who settled in the east of the country. But the larger domain until the Spanish conquest of the kingdom was Cuzcatlán. The Maya inhabited El Salvador with ruins such as Tazumal, Joya De Ceren, San Andres, Casa Blanca, Cihuatan, and Chalchuapa.

Discovery

In 1520 the indigenous population of the territory had been reduced by 50% due to the smallpox epidemic that affected the mesoamerican area. The Spanish Admiral Andrés Niño, lead an expedition to Central America and disembarked on Meanguera island which he named Petronila in the Gulf of Fonseca, on May 31, 1522. There after discovered Jiquilisco Bay on the mouth of Lempa River. This was the first Salvadoran territory visited by the Spaniards.

Conquest of Cuzcatlán

The Spanish Conquistadores led by Pedro de quintanilla and his brother Gonzalo arrived between 1524 and 1525 from the area comprising the present Republic of Guatemala after participating in the conquest of Mexico and crossed the Rio Paz (Peace River) into what is now the Republic of El Salvador. The Pipil had no treasure but held land that had rich and fertile soil, good for farming. This both disappointed and garnered attention from the Spaniards who were shocked not to find gold or jewels in El Salvador like they did in other lands like Guatemala or Mexico. Pedro de Alvarado led the first effort by Spanish forces to extend their dominion to the nation of Cuzcatlán (El Salvador), in June 1524. On June 8, 1524, the conquerors arrived in the neighborhoods of Acajutla at a village called Acaxual. There, a battle culminated according to records, witnessing full fields of military people, and the Pipils wearing cotton armor (of three fingers of thickness according to Alvarado), and armed with long lances. This circumstance would be crucial in the development of the battle. Alvarado approached the Pipils with a crossbow shot”, but the natives did not move. The conqueror noticed the proximity of nearby hill, and knew that it could be a hiding place for his rivals. Alvarado pretended that his army had given up the battle and had retreated. The Pipils that suddenly rushed on the invaders giving Alvarado to opportunity to succeed in an implacable defeat. The Pipils that fell to the ground could not get back on their feet, by the weight and the hindrance of their cotton armor, which aided the slaughter by the Spanish of them. In words of Alvarado: “the destruction was so great that in just a short time there were none which were left alive… ”. However, Alvarado's army were not completely unscathed. In the battle Alvarado himself was struck by a sling in the leg, fracturing his (femur). According to local tradition the sling that hit the conquistador was by a Pipil (Tatoni) a Prince, named Atonal. The infection lasted about eight months and it left him partially crippled for the rest of his life. In spite of it, he continued the conquest campaign with relish. Spaniard efforts were firmly resisted by the indigenous people known as the Pipil and their Mayan speaking neighbors. Despite Alvarado's initial success in the Battle of Acajutla, the indigenous people of Cuzcatlán, who according to tradition were led by a warlord called Atlacatl, defeated the Spaniards and forced them to withdraw to Guatemala. Pedro de Alvarado was wounded on his left thigh, remaining handicapped for the rest of his life. He abandoned the war and appointed his brother, Gonzalo de Alvarado, to continue the task. Two subsequent expeditions were required (the first in 1525, followed by a smaller group in 1528) to bring the Pipil under Spanish control. In 1525 the conquest of Cuzcatlán was completed and the city of San Salvador was established. They faced much resistance from the Pipiles and were not able to reach eastern El Salvador, the area of the Lencas. Finally, with more forces, the Spanish established the garrison town of San Miguel, headed by Luis de Moscoso, explorer and conquistador in 1526. Maya-Lenca woman, Princess Antu Silan Ulap, who organized resistance to the domination of the Conquistadores who were in search of profits and riches. Antu Silan Ulap was the crown Princess of the Lencas. Under Crown Princess Antu Silan Ulap I, daughter of Asisilcan Nachan I y Lady of Uluazapa, Monarch of the Lencas. Her kingdom saw the invasion headed by Luis de Moscoso. Her way of dealing with the Spanish was to organize. She went from village to village uniting all the Lencas towns in present day El Salvador and Honduras. Through surprise and large numbers they were able to drive the Spanish out of San Miguel and destroy the garrison. For ten years, the Lencas kept the Spanish from being able to build a permanent settlement.The Spanish returned with more forces, including about 2,000 forced conscripts from indigenous communities in Mexico and Guatemala. They pursued the Lenca leaders further up into the mountains of Intibucá. Antu Silan Ulap continued leading the forces until, late in pregnancy, she slipped out of the conflicted area to a safe haven, Tihuilotal, to give birth to twins, a baby girl and a baby boy, the children were Atonim Silan I, daughter of princess Antu Silan Ulap I and Prince Salaiki Kanul from Sesori. They had two sons and a daughter who lived in the mountains near the lake Olomega and Maquigue, in this way they escaped the hunters. . Tihuilotal is a little southwest of the present city of La Unión, near the source of the sacred Managuara River. She handed over control of the Lenca resistance to Lempira (also called Empira). Lempira was noteworthy among indigenous leaders in that he mocked the Spanish by wearing their clothes after capturing them and he used their weapons, captured in battle. Lempira fought in command of thousands of Lenca forces for six more years in El Salvador and Honduras until finally he was killed in battle and the remaining Lenca forces retreated into the hills. The Spanish were able to rebuild their garrison town of San Miguel in 1537.

Spanish rule/Colony and Independence

In the early sixteenth century, the Spanish conquistadors ventured into ports to extend their dominion to the area. They called the land "" ("Province of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior of the World"), which was subsequently abbreviated to " (The Savior)". During the colonial period, El Salvador was part of the General Captaincy of Guatemala, also known as the Kingdom of Guatemala. The Salvadoran territory was divided into the Mayor of Sonsonate and San Salvador, the latter being built as a Quartermaster in the late eighteenth century.

In 1811 and 1814 there were major uprisings against Spanish rule that expressed concern for the independence of the Creoles. Finally, the Central American nations won their independence from Spain on September 15, 1821. On January 5, 1822, the Central American provinces, despite the opposition of the elite Salvadoran and Guatemalan intellectuals, joined the Mexican Empire. In 1823, as the rule of Agustín de Iturbide (Agustin I) fell apart, the five countries of Central America (Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica) formed the United Provinces of Central America, which lasted until 1838 and was finally dissolved in 1841. Towards the end of 1811, a combination of internal and external factors motivated Central American elites to attempt to gain independence from the Spanish Crown. The most important internal factor was the desire of local elites to control the country's affairs free of involvement from Spanish authorities. The main external factors motivating the independence movement were the success of the French and American revolutions in the eighteenth century, and the weakening of the Spanish Crown's military power as a result of the Napoleonic Wars, with the resulting inability to control its colonies effectively.

On the 5th of November 1811, Salvadoran priest José Matías Delgado, rang the bells of Iglesia La Merced in San Salvador, calling for insurrection and launching the 1811 Independence Movement. This insurrection was suppressed and many of its leaders were arrested and served sentences in jail. Another insurrection was launched in 1814, and again it was suppressed. Finally, on September 15, 1821, in light of unrest in Guatemala, Spanish authorities capitulated and signed the 'Acta de Independencia' (Deed of Independence) which released all of the Captaincy of Guatemala (comprising current territories of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica and the Mexican state of Chiapas) from Spanish rule and declared its Independence.

In early 1822, the authorities of the newly independent Central American provinces, meeting in Guatemala City, voted to join the newly constituted First Mexican Empire under Agustín de Iturbide. El Salvador resisted, insisting on autonomy for the Central American countries. A Mexican military detachment marched to San Salvador and suppressed dissent, but with the fall of Iturbide on 19 March 1823, the army decamped back to Mexico. Shortly thereafter, the authorities of the provinces revoked the vote for joining Mexico, deciding instead to form a federal union of the five remaining provinces (Chiapas permanently joined Mexico at this juncture).

The enormous profits that coffee yielded as a monoculture export served as an impetus for the process whereby land became concentrated in the hands of an oligarchy of few families. A succession of presidents from the ranks of the Salvadoran oligarchy, nominally both conservative and liberal, throughout the last half of the nineteenth century generally agreed on the promotion of coffee as the predominant cash crop, on the development of infrastructure (railroads and port facilities) primarily in support of the coffee trade, on the elimination of communal landholdings to facilitate further coffee production, on the passage of anti-vagrancy laws to ensure that displaced campesinos and other rural residents provided sufficient labor for the coffee fincas (plantations), and on the suppression of rural discontent. In 1912, the national guard was created as a rural police force.

20th century

The economy was based on coffee growing after the mid-19th century and, as the world market for indigo withered away, prospered or suffered as the world coffee price fluctuated. El Salvador president Tomas Regalado came to power by force in 1898 and his regime lasted until 1903. He reinitiated designating presidential successors. Up until 1913 El Salvador had been politically stable, but there was popular discontent as well, president Araujo was killed and there are many hypotheses for his murder.

Araujo was followed by the Melendez-Quinonez dynasty that lasted from 1913 to 1927. Pio Romero Bosque, ex-Minister of the Government, succeeded president Jorge Melendez and in 1930 he announced free elections in which Ing. Arturo Araujo came to power on March 1, 1931. His government only lasted nine months. His Labor Party lacked political and government experience and many Labor party members used government offices inefficiently.

In that year, Farabundo Martí came back from exile that was ordered by Romero Bosque, sending him to Washington D.C. and spending time with U.S. President Herbert Hoover. He was visited by some local leftists. President Romero Bosque sent him away before the upcoming 1930 presidential elections for his communist activities. President Araujo faced popular discontent as people expected economic reforms and land. Demonstrations started since the first week of his government in front of the National Palace. His Minister of War was General Maximiliano Hernández Martínez and his National Police Director Rochac, the president's brother-in-law.

A coup d'état was organized by junior officers and the first strike started in the First Regiment of Infantry across from the National Palace in downtown San Salvador and only the First Regiment of Calvary and the National Police was loyal to the president and defended him (the National Police had been paid its payroll), but later that night on December 1931, after hours of military fight and outnumbered surrendered to the military revolution.

The Directorate (composed of officers) hid behind a shadowy figure, whose name (as told by Thomas Anderson in his book Matanza) was Rodolfo Duke, a rich man and also General Martínez. The causes of the revolt were mainly supposed to be due to the discontent of the army for not being paid by President Araujo for some months. Araujo left the National Palace and later tried to organize to defeat the revolt, but was unable.

The U.S. Minister in El Salvador met with the Directorate and later recognized the government of Vice President Martínez who agreed to have later presidential elections. (Martínez resigned in 1934 six months before the presidential elections to be able to run for the presidency and then as the only candidate won the election ruling from 1935 to 1939 and then 1939-1943 and finally started his 4th term in 1944 but resigned in May after the General strike. Martínez said he was going to respect the Constitution which said he could not be reelected, but he did not).

From December 1931, the year of the coup in which Martínez came to power, there was brutal suppression of rural resistance. The most notable event was the February 1932 Salvadoran peasant uprising, led by Farabundo Martí and with leaders like Abel Cuenca, and other academic people like Alfonso Luna and Mario Zapata. Only Abel Cuenca survived, the other freedom fighters were killed by the government. It was later referred to as La Matanza (the massacre), because President Martinez massacred tens of thousands of peasants.

The PDC and the PCN parties

In 1960, two political parties were born and are still active in the El Salvador politics; the Christian Democratic Party (PDC) and the National Conciliation Party (PCN). Both share ideals, but one represents the middle class and the latter the Army.

Opposition leader José Napoleón Duarte from the PDC was the mayor of San Salvador from 1964 to 1970, winning three elections during the Jose Adalberto Rivera regime. (This president allowed free elections for mayors and the National Assembly.) Duarte later ran for president but was defeated in the 1972 presidential elections with UNO (National Opposition Union). The official PCN was declared winner with ex-Minister of Interior Col. Arturo Armando Molina. Duarte, at some officers' request, supported a revolt for the election fraud, but was captured, tortured and later exiled. Duarte came back to the country in 1979 to enter politics after working in Venezuela projects as an engineer.

The October 1979 coup d'état

In October 1979, a coup d'état brought Revolutionary Government Junta of El Salvador to power. It nationalized many private companies and took over much privately owned land. The purpose of this new junta was to stop the revolutionary movement already underway because of Duarte's stolen election. Nevertheless, the oligarchy opposed agrarian reform and a junta formed with young liberal elements from the Army such as Gral. Majano and Gral. Gutierrez (reference needed) as well as progressives such as Ungo and Alvarez.

Due to the pressure of the staunch oligarchy and the inability to control the Army in repressing its own people because they were fighting for their right to unionize, agrarian reform, better wages, health, freedom of expression, this Junta was dissolved. In the meantime the guerrilla movement was spreading in all sectors of the Salvadoran society. Middle and high school students were organized in MERS (Movimiento Estudiantil Revolucionario de Secundaria, Revolutionary Movement of Secondary Students); college students were involved with AGEUS (Asociacion de Estudiantes Universitarios Salvadorenos; Association of Salvadoran College Students); workers were organized in BPR (Bloque Popular Revolucionario, Popular Revolutionary Block).

The U.S. supported and financed the creation of a second Junta to change the political environment and stop the spread of a leftist insurrection. Napoleon Duarte was recalled from his exile in Venezuela to head this new Junta. However, a revolution was already underway and his new role as head of the Junta was seen as opportunistic by the general population. He was unable to influence the outcome of the insurrection movement and this resulted in the Salvadoran Civil War (1980–1992).

Civil War (1980 to 1992)

The Salvadoran Civil War was predominantly fought between the government of El Salvador and a coalition of four leftist groups and one communist group known as the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN).

Subversive activity started with "El Grupo" (a group that later would be called E.R.P.) and also the FPL that initiated activities after Cayetano Carpio (its leader) broke in ideology from now extinct El Salvador's Communist Party (PCES). In 1970, the FPL guerrilla force was small and did not have military training. Later the FPL was one of the largest organizations inside of the FMLN coalition.

In the beginning of the conflict, the PCES did not believe in taking power by force, but through elections. The ERP split off, creating the RN (National Resistance) after ERP leaders killed the leftist poet Roque Dalton, whom they believed had spied for the American CIA. Approximately 75,000 people were killed in the war. The Salvadoran Civil war was fought in the context of the global Cold War, with the United States backing the right wing military Salvadoran government. The United States is reputed to have poured some 5 billion dollars into the war. Some go as far as proclaiming that the formation of Mara Salvatrucha, the criminal gang originating in Los Angeles, is a repercussion of that conflict. On January 16, 1992 the government of El Salvador represented by president Alfredo Cristiani and the guerrillas represented by the commanders of the five guerrilla groups such as Shafick Handal, Joaquin Villalobos, Salvador Sanchez Ceren, Francisco Jovel and Eduardo Sancho signed the Peace Agreements ending a 12-years civil war in the Chapultepec Castle in Mexico. The international community was present, and there was wide admiration because after the signature of the president he stood up and shook hands with all the now ex-guerrilla commanders. The Peace Agreements included reduction of the Army, the dissolution of the National Police, Treasury Police, National Guard, and the Civilian Defense, a paramilitary group. The organization of a new Civil Police and the end of impunity with which the government would leave recommendation to a Commission of the Truth.

End of the 20th century

From 1989 until 2004, Salvadorans favored the Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA) party, voting in ARENA presidents in every election (Alfredo Cristiani, Armando Calderón Sol, Francisco Flores Pérez, Antonio Saca) until 2009, when Mauricio Funes was elected president from the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FLMN) party.

Economic reforms since the early 1990s have brought major benefits in terms of improved social conditions, diversification of its export sector, and access to international financial markets at investment grade level, while crime remains a major problem for the investment climate. This all ended in 2001 and support for ARENA weakened. There is internal turmoil in the ARENA party while the FMLN party is growing and united.

21st century

The unsuccessful attempts of the left-wing party to win presidential elections led to its selection of a journalist rather than a former guerrilla leader as a candidate. On March 15, 2009, Mauricio Funes, a television figure, became the first president from the FMLN party. He was inaugurated on June 1, 2009. One focus of the Funes government has been revealing the alleged corruption from the past government.

Politics

The 1983 Constitution is the highest legal authority in the country. El Salvador is a democratic and representative, whose three bodies are: the Executive Branch, headed by the President of the Republic who is elected by direct vote and remains in office for five years. He can be elected for only one term. The president has a Cabinet of Minister, whom he appoints, and is also the General Commander of the Armed Forces.

The other entities are the Legislative Branch, called El Salvador's Legislative Assembly (unicameral) of 84 deputies, and the Judiciary, headed by the Supreme Court, which is composed of 15 judges, one of them being elected as President of judiciary.

The Chapultepec Peace Accords (1992) created the new National Civil Police, the Attorney for the Defense of Human Rights and the Supreme Electoral Tribunal. The Peace Accords re-imagined the Frente Farabundo Marti para la Liberacion Nacional (FMLN) as a political party and redefined the role of the army to be for the defense of the sovereignty and territorial integrity. The Accords also removed some security forces who were in command of the army, such as the National Guard, Treasury Police and special battalions that were formed to fight against the insurgency of the 1980s.

The political framework of El Salvador is a presidential representative democratic republic with a multiform multi-party system. The President of El Salvador, currently Mauricio Funes, is both head of state and head of government. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Legislative Assembly. The country also has an independent Judiciary and Supreme Court.

Main Political Parties

Although El Salvador has 6 political parties, the main ones, or the one which receive the most votes are the conservative right, ARENA, and the liberal left, FMLN. The GANA, PDC, PCN, and CD have been retired.

El Salvador Political Parties (alphabetical order)	! Acronym	! Name
ARENA	Alianza Republicana Nacionalista
FMLN	Frente Farabundo Martí para la Liberación Nacional
GANA
PCN	Partido de Conciliación Nacional
PDC

Human rights

Amnesty International asserts that anti-terrorism laws are misused, allowing the government to detain and harass its political opponents. In addition, Amnesty International has drawn attention to several arrests of police officers for unlawful police killings. Other current issues to gain Amnesty International's attention in the past 10 years include missing children, failure of law enforcement to properly investigate and prosecute crimes against women, and rendering organized labor illegal.

Departments

El Salvador is divided into 14 departments (departamentos), which in turn are subdivided into 262 municipalities (municipios).

Department names and abbreviations for the 14 Salvadoran Departments:

Central El Salvador La Libertad Department, El Salvador Eastern El Salvador Usulután Department

colspan="3" align=center	Departments of El Salvador
colspan="3" align=center
Western El Salvador Ahuachapán (Ahuachapán)Santa Ana] (Santa Ana)Sonsonate (Sonsonate)	La Libertad(Santa Tecla)Chalatenango (Chalatenango)Cuscatlán (Cojutepeque)San Salvador (San Salvador)La Paz (Zacatecoluca)Cabañas (Sensuntepeque)San Vicente (San Vicente)	Usulután (Usulután)San Miguel (San Miguel)Morazán (San Francisco Gotera)La Unión (La Unión)

Geography

El Salvador is located in Central America. It has a total area of 8,123 square miles (21,040 km²) (about the size of Massachusetts or Wales). It is the smallest country in continental America and is affectionately called ("Pulgarcito de America"), the "Tom Thumb of the Americas". It has 123.6 square miles (320 km²) of water within its borders. It lies between latitudes 13° and 15°N, and longitudes 87° and 91°W.

Several small rivers flow through El Salvador into the Pacific Ocean, including the Goascorán, Jiboa, Torola, Paz and the Río Grande de San Miguel. Only the largest river, the Lempa River, flowing from Guatemala and Honduras across El Salvador to the ocean, is navigatable for commercial traffic.

Volcanic craters enclose lakes, the most important of which are Lake Ilopango (70 km²/27 sq mi) and Lake Coatepeque (26 km²/10 sq mi). Lake Güija is El Salvador's largest natural lake (44 km²/17 sq mi). Several artificial lakes were created by the damming of the Lempa, the largest of which is Embalse Cerrón Grande (135 km²).

El Salvador shares borders with Guatemala and Honduras. It is the only Central American country that does not have a Caribbean coastline. The highest point in the country is Cerro El Pital at 8,957 feet (2,730 m), which shares a border with Honduras.

Climate

El Salvador has a tropical climate with pronounced wet and dry seasons. Temperatures vary primarily with elevation and show little seasonal change. The Pacific lowlands are uniformly hot; the central plateau and mountain areas are more moderate. The rainy season extends from May to October, this time of year is referred to as invierno or winter. Almost all the annual rainfall occurs during this time, and yearly totals, particularly on southern-facing mountain slopes, can be as high as . The best time to visit El Salvador would be at the beginning or end of the dry season. Protected areas and the central plateau receive less, although still significant, amounts. Rainfall during this season generally comes from low pressure over the Pacific and usually falls in heavy afternoon thunderstorms. Hurricanes occasionally form in the Pacific with the notable exception of Hurricane Mitch.

From November through April, the northeast trade winds control weather patterns; this time of year is referred to as verano, or summer. During these months, air flowing from the Caribbean has lost most of the precipitation while passing over the mountains in Honduras. By the time this air reaches El Salvador, it is dry, hot, and hazy. However, in the extreme northeastern part of the country, near Cerro El Pital snow is know to fall during this time as well as during the winter of course due to a very high elevation (it is often referred to as the coldest place in the country). During El Salvador's summer temperatures are warm to hot but dry (excluding the northern higher mountain ranges, where temperatures are chilly).

Biodiversity and endangered species

Globally there are eight species of sea turtles, six nests on the coast of Central America and four in the Salvadoran coast: the leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea), hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata), green sea turtle (Chelonia agasizzii) and the olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea).

Of these four the most common is the olive ridley, followed by the brown (black). The other two species are much more difficult to find as they are critically endangered (hawksbill and leatherback), while the olive ridley and brown (black), are in danger of extinction.

Recent conservation efforts provide hope for the future of the country's biological diversity. In 1997 the government established the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources. A general environmental framework law was approved by the National Assembly in 1999. Specific legislation to protect wildlife is still pending.

In addition, a number of non-governmental organizations are doing important work to safeguard some of the country's most important forested areas. Foremost among these is SalvaNatura which manages El Impossible, the country's largest national park, under an agreement with El Salvador's environmental authorities.

Despite these efforts much remains to be done.

In El salvador it is estimated that there are 500 species of birds, 1,000 species of butterflies, 400 species of orchids, 800 species of trees, and 800 species of marine fish.

Natural disasters

El Salvador lies along the Pacific Ring of Fire, and is thus subject to significant tectonic activity, including frequent earthquakes and volcanic activity. Recent examples include the earthquake on January 13, 2001, that measured 7.7 on the Richter scale and caused a landslide that killed more than 800 people; and another earthquake only a month after the first one, February 13, 2001, killing 255 people and damaging about 20% of the nation's housing. Luckily, many families were able to find safety from the landslides caused by the earthquake.

The San Salvador area has been hit by earthquakes in 1576, 1659, 1798, 1839, 1854, 1873, 1880, 1917, 1919, 1965, 1986, 2001 and 2005. The 5.7 M_w-earthquake of 1986 resulted in 1,500 deaths, 10,000 injuries, and 100,000 people left homeless.

El Salvador's most recent destructive volcanic eruption took place on October 1, 2005, when the Santa Ana Volcano spewed up a cloud of ash, hot mud and rocks, which fell on nearby villages and caused two deaths. The most severe volcanic eruption in this area occurred in the 5th century AD when the Ilopango erupted with a VEI strength of 6, producing widespread pyroclastic flows and devastating Mayan cities.

El Salvador's position on the Pacific Ocean also makes it subject to severe weather conditions, including heavy rainstorms and severe droughts, both of which may be made more extreme by the El Niño and La Niña effects. In the summer of 2001, a severe drought destroyed 80% of the country's crops, causing famine in the countryside. On October 4, 2005, severe rains resulted in dangerous flooding and landslides, which caused a minimum of fifty deaths. El Salvador's location in Central America also makes it vulnerable to hurricanes coming off the Caribbean, however this risk is much less than for other Central American countries.

The Santa Ana Volcano in El Salvador is currently dormant, the last eruptions were in 1904 and 2005. Lago de Coatepeque (one of El Salvador's lakes) was caused by a massive eruption.

The British Imperial College's El Salvador Project aims to build earthquake-proof buildings in remote areas of the country.

Economy

There are several hydroelectric dams along the Lempa river. There is the Guayojo dam, the Cerrón Grande Hydroelectric Dam, the 5 de Noviembre dam, and the 15 de Septiembre dam which can be easily seen from the Pan-American highway. According to the IMF and CIA World Factbook, El Salvador has the third largest economy in the region (behind Costa Rica and Panama) when comparing nominal Gross Domestic Product and purchasing power GDP. El Salvador's GDP per capita stands at US$4,365.

Most of El Salvador's economy has been hampered by natural disasters such as earthquakes and hurricanes, but El Salvador currently has a steadily growing economy. The City in the country that has the population with the highest per capita, and where most international investors start is Antiguo Cuscatlan (HDI-0.886-very high)

GDP in purchasing power parity (PPP) in 2008 was estimated at $ 25.895 billion USD. The service sector is the largest component of GDP at 64.1%, followed by the industrial sector at 24.7% (2008 est.). Agriculture represents only 11.2% of GDP (2010 est.).

The GDP has been growing since 1996 at an annual rate that averages 3.2% real growth. The government has recently committed to free market initiatives, and the 2007 GDP's real growth rate was 4.7%.

In December 1999, net international reserves equaled US$1.8 billion or roughly five months of imports. Having this hard currency buffer to work with, the Salvadoran government undertook a monetary integration plan beginning January 1, 2001 by which the U.S. dollar became legal tender alongside the Salvadoran colón and all formal accounting was done in U.S. dollars. This way, the government has formally limited its possibility of implementing open market monetary policies to influence short term variables in the economy. As of September 2007, net international reserves stood at $2.42 billion.

A challenge in El Salvador has been developing new growth sectors for a more diversified economy. In the past the country produced gold and silver. As many other former colonies, for many years El Salvador was considered a mono-export economy (an economy that depended heavily on one type of export). During colonial times, the Spanish decided that El Salvador would produce and export indigo, but after the invention of synthetic dyes in the 19th century, Salvadoran authorities and the newly created modern state turned to coffee as the main export.

There are a total of 15 free trade zones in El Salvador. El Salvador signed the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) — negotiated by the five countries of Central America and the Dominican Republic — with the United States in 2004. CAFTA requires that the Salvadoran government adopt policies that foster free trade. El Salvador has signed free trade agreements with Mexico, Chile, the Dominican Republic, and Panama and increased its trade with those countries. El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua also are negotiating a free trade agreement with Canada. In October 2007, these four countries and Costa Rica began free trade agreement negotiations with the European Union. Negotiations started in 2006 for a free trade agreement with Colombia.

The government has focused on improving the collection of its current revenues with a focus on indirect taxes. A 10% value-added tax (IVA in Spanish), implemented in September 1992, was raised to 13% in July 1995.

Inflation has been steady and among the lowest in the region. Since 1997 inflation has averaged 3%, with recent years increasing to nearly 5%. As a result of the free trade agreements from 2000 to 2006 total exports have grown 19% from $2.94 billion to $3.51 billion, and total imports have risen 54% from $4.95 billion to $7.63 billion. This has resulted in a 102% increase in the trade deficit from $2.01 billion to $4.12 billion.

Remittances from Salvadorans living and working in the United States, sent to family in El Salvador, are a major source of foreign income and offset the substantial trade deficit of $4.12 billion. Remittances have increased steadily in the last decade and reached an all-time high of $3.32 billion in 2006 (an increase of 17% over the previous year). approximately 16.2% of gross domestic product(GDP).

Remittances have had positive and negative effects on El Salvador. In 2005 the number of people living in extreme poverty in El Salvador was 20%, according to a United Nations Development Program report, without remittances the number of Salvadorans living in extreme poverty would rise to 37%. While Salvadoran education levels have gone up, wage expectations have risen faster than either skills or productivity. For example, some Salvadorans are no longer willing to take jobs that pay them less than what they receive monthly from family members abroad. This has led to an influx of Hondurans and Nicaraguans who are willing to work for the prevailing wage. Also, the local propensity for consumption over investment has increased. Money from remittances has also increased prices for certain commodities such as real estate. Many Salvadorans abroad earning much higher wages can afford higher prices for houses in El Salvador than local Salvadorans and thus push up the prices that all Salvadorans must pay.

Despite being the smallest country geographically in Central America, El Salvador has the third largest economy with a per capita income that is roughly two-thirds that of Costa Rica and Panama, but more than double that of Nicaragua. Growth has been modest in recent years and the economy contracted nearly 3% in 2009. Due to a growing and dollarized economy In recent years, El Salvador is seeing an increase of Central American, South American, and Caribbean immigrants from Guatemalans, Hondurans, Nicaraguans, Dominicans, Colombians, Venezuelan, Peruvians and Cubans searching for better living opportunities. El Salvador leads the region in remittances per capita with inflows equivalent to nearly all export income and about a third of all households receive these financial inflows. In 2006 El Salvador was the first country to ratify the Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement. CAFTA has bolstered exports of processed foods, sugar, and ethanol, and supported investment in the apparel sector, which faced Asian competition with the expiration of the Multi-Fiber Agreement in 2005. In anticipation of the declines in the apparel sector's competitiveness, the previous administration sought to diversify the economy by promoting the country as a regional distribution and logistics hub, and by promoting tourism investment through tax incentives. El Salvador has promoted an open trade and investment environment, and has embarked on a wave of privatizations extending to telecom, electricity distribution, banking, and pension funds. In late 2006, the government and the Millennium Challenge Corporation signed a five-year, $461 million compact to stimulate economic growth and reduce poverty in the country's northern region, the primary conflict zone during the civil war, through investments in education, public services, enterprise development, and transportation infrastructure. With the adoption of the US dollar as its currency in 2001, El Salvador lost control over monetary policy. Any counter-cyclical policy response to the downturn must be through fiscal policy, which is constrained by legislative requirements for a two-thirds majority to approve any international financing.

Demographics

Salvadoran People

The population of El Salvador increased from 1.9 million inhabitants in 1950 to 4.7 million in 1984. El Salvador has lacked authoritative demographic data for many years because between 1992 and 2007 a national census had not been undertaken. Before the 2009 census, patterns in population growth led many officials (including within the Salvadoran government) to estimate the country's population size at between 7.1 and 7.2 million people. However, on May 12, 2008, El Salvador's Ministry of Economy released statistics gathered in the census of the previous May. These data present a surprisingly low figure for the total population — 7,185,218. Challenges to the 2009 census on a number of grounds are forthcoming.

The entire country is composed predominantly of Mestizo, mixed indigenous Native American/Europe ancestry, Whites, and indigenous peoples. 90%-86% of Salvadorans are mixed (mixed Native American and European origin) the major hybrid mix, Salvadorans of mixed ancestry, can varied differently from European and Native American background ancestry. In the Mestizo population, Salvadorans who are racially indigenous who do not speak indigenous languages or have and indigenous culture, Salvadorans who are racially European, especially Mediterranean, and Salvadorans of partial Nordic race all identify themselves as Mestizo culturally. 17% of Salvadorans are white; 12% in which the population is mostly of Spanish. The additional 5% of White Salvadoran includes people of French, German, Swiss, English, Irish, Italian, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Dutch and Central European descent. The majority of Central European immigrants arrived during World War II as refugees Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Liechtenstein, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia, Romania, Serbia, and Switzerland scattered all over El Salvador. Russians came in during the Salvadoran civil war during the cold war, to help the communist guerrillas take over the country, as did Americans, Australians, and Canadians when they helped the military government fight against the communists. El Salvador is 1% indigenous, mostly Mayan, Pipil, Lenca and Kakawira (Cacaopera). The low numbers of indigenous people may be explained by mass murder during the 1932 Salvadoran peasant uprising (or La Matanza) which saw (estimates of) up to 30,000 peasants killed in a short period of time (nowadays this would be considered a genocide by the army's methods to exterminate a certain racial group).

Other ethnic groups include Arabs, Europeans, Jews, North Americans, Central Americans, South American, Caribbean and a small group of Asians.

El Salvador is the only Central American country that has no visible or significant African population because of its lack of an Atlantic coastline and attendant access to the slave trade which occurred along the east coast of the continent. This lack of Afro-Salvadoran population is also due to la law imposed by the spanish and Criollos around XVII century after a slave revolt, and which was sustained by authorities even after the independence from Spain in 1821 and abolished almost up until the end on XX century, in which it didn't permit people of African descendent to enter the country unless it was absolutely necessary. In addition, General Maximiliano Hernandez Martinez instituted race laws in 1930 that prohibited four ethnic groups blacks, Gypsies, Asians, and Arabs, from entering the country and that certain people Lebanese, Syrian, Palestine and Turkish, were not allowed to enter El Salvador unless they were of European ancestry and it was not until the 1980s that this law was removed. Regardless of these racial laws, Afro-Salvadorans are present in a some areas due to immigrants arriving from neighboring countries like Belize, Honduras, and Nicaragua who eventually mixed in with the population, and immigrants from Palestinian Christians are today one of the most noticeable groups in El Salvador. (According to the book "Seeing Indians -A Study of Race, Nation, and Power in El Salvador" by Viginia Q. Tilley, on page 210 it states "...no twentieth-century law or regulation ever prohibited the entry, settlement, or patriation of blacks, under the Martinez dictatorship or any other regime." In any case, there have been several publications presenting information about Africans in what is now El Salvador during the colonial period.)

Among the immigrant groups that have been reaching El Salvador, Palestinian Christians stand out. Though few in number, their descendants have attained great economic and political power in the country, as evidenced by ex-president Antonio Saca — whose opponent in the 2004 election, Schafik Handal, was likewise of Palestinian descent — and the flourishing commercial, industrial, and construction firms owned by this ethnic group.

The capital city of San Salvador has about 2.1 million people; an estimated 42% of El Salvador's population live in rural areas. Urbanization expanded at a phenomenal rate in El Salvador since the 1960s, driving millions to the cities and creating growth problems for cities around the country.

In the first half of 2007 La Policía Nacional Civil of El Salvador statistics showed lower numbers in homicide and extortions as well as robbery and theft of vehicles. In 2007 homicides in El Salvador had reduced 22%, extortions reduced 7%, and robbery and theft of vehicles had gone down 18%, all in comparison with the same period in 2006. However in 2009, there has been an increase in homicides and extortions of about 30% more than in 2008 according to some statistics.

As of 2004, there were approximately 3.2 million Salvadorans living outside El Salvador, with the U.S. traditionally being the destination of choice for Salvadorans looking for greater economic opportunity. By 2009, there were about 1.6 million Salvadoran immigrants and Americans of Salvadoran descent in the United States, making them the sixth largest immigrant group in the country. Salvadorans also live in nearby Belize, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. The majority of expatriates emigrated during the civil war of the 1980s for political reasons and later because of adverse economic and social conditions. Other countries with notable Salvadoran communities include Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom (including the Cayman Islands), Sweden, Brazil, Italy, Colombia, and Australia. There is also a large community of Nicaraguans, 100,000 according to some figures; many of them are seasonal immigrants.

Language

Central American Spanish is the official language and is spoken by virtually all inhabitants. Some indigenous people still speak their native tongues, salvadoran indigenous are extremely low in number, almost extinct, however all speak Spanish. Q'eqchi' is spoken by immigrants of Guatemalan and Belizean indigenous people looking for a better life opportunities in El Salvador. There have also been recent large migrations of Hondurans and Nicaraguans. English is also spoken by many throughout the republic. German, Dutch and French are taught as a secondary language only in private international schools, such as the Liceo Frances (France), Escuela Alemana (Germany), Academia Britanica Cuscatleca (U.K.) and the Escuela Americana (United States). English has been taught by Americans and the British in El Salvador for several decades, at least 50 years. However most formal education is given in private schools, which sometime may make it hard to access for most of the population, who have to attend public schools and receive a very elementary level of English. There has been an American school in the country for a few decades. Japanese is also spoken. There has been a small Japanese community in El Salvador since World War II., as well as a considerable Taiwanese community.

The local Spanish vernacular is called Caliche. Salvadoreans use voseo, which is also used in Uruguay and Argentina. This refers to the use of "vos" as the second person pronoun, instead of "tú".However "caliche" is considered informal and some people choose not to use it. Nahuat is the indigenous language that has survived, though it is only used by small communities of some elderly Salvadorans in western El Salvador.

Religion

There is diversity of religious and ethnic groups in El Salvador. The majority of the population are Christians, mostly Roman Catholics (52.5%), while Protestantism represents 27.6% of the population.Mormonism and Pentecostalism are two of the notable Non-Catholic faiths in El Salvador. According to a survey in 2008, 52.6% of El Salvador's residents are Catholic and 27.9% are Protestant. Pentecostals and Latter-Day Saints(Mormons). Other religions (1.4%) are present as well - Islam, Judaism and Jehovah's Witnesses.

{{bar box |title=Religious background in El Salvador |titlebar=#ddd |left1=Religion |right1=Percent |float=right |bars= }}

Health

For the period 2005-2010 El Salvador has the third lowest birth rate in Central America, 22.8 per 1,000. However, it has the highest death rate in Central America during the same period, 5.9 per 1,000. According to the most recent United Nations survey, life expectancy for men was 68 years and 74 years for women. Healthy life expectancy was 57 for males and 62 for females in 2003. There are about 148 physicians per 100,000 people.

Crime

In the past years El Salvador has experienced high crime rates including gang-related crimes and juvenile delinquency. Some say that this was a result of the deportation of thousands of Salvadorans from the U.S, the majority of whom were members of MS-13 (Mara Salvatrucha, MS, or La Mara), in the mid-90s. The gangs in which Salvadorans had been involved in the United States began to show up in El Salvador.

Today El Salvador experiences some of the highest murder rates in the Latin America; it is also considered an epicenter of the gang crisis, along with Guatemala and Honduras. In response to this, the government has set up countless programs to try to guide the youth away from gang membership; so far its efforts have not produced any quick results. One of the government programs was a gang-reform called "Super Mano Dura" (Super Firm Hand). Super Mano Dura had little success and was highly criticized by the U.N. It saw temporary success in 2004 but then saw a rise in crime after 2005. In 2004, the rate of intentional homicides per 100,000 citizens was 41, with 60% of the homicides committed were gang-related. The Salvadoran government reported that the Super Mano Dura gang legislation led to a 14% drop in murders in 2004. However, El Salvador recorded a total of 552 murders in January and February 2005 alone. In addition, crime rose 7.5% in just a year, from 2005-2006. Homicides are among the highest with respect to the overall crime rate. Intentional homicides reported in 2006 reached up to 3,928 from 3,778 in 2005, and a rate of 35 violent deaths per every 100,000 people. The well most known maras are Mara Salvatrucha and their rivals Calle 18; maras are, or at least were, hunted by death squads including Sombra Negra.[2] New rivals also include the former rising mara, The Rebels 13

Culture

Mestizo culture dominates the country heavy in Native American Indigenous and European Spanish influences. A new mix of population began as a result of the European settlers intermixing at great extent with the native Mesoamericans population of Cuzcatlan. The Catholic Church plays an important role in the Salvadoran culture. Archbishop Oscar Romero is a national hero for his role in resisting human rights violations that were occurring in the lead-up to the Salvadoran Civil War. Significant foreign personalities in El Salvador were the Jesuit priests and professors Ignacio Ellacuria, Ignacio Martín-Baró, and Segundo Montes, who were murdered in 1989 by the Salvadoran Army during the height of the civil war.

Painting, ceramics and textile goods are the main manual artistic expressions. Writers Francisco Gavidia (1863–1955), Salarrué (Salvador Salazar Arrué) (1899–1975), Claudia Lars, Alfredo Espino, Pedro Geoffroy Rivas, Manlio Argueta, José Roberto Cea, and poet Roque Dalton are among the most important writers to stem from El Salvador. Notable 20th century personages include the late filmmaker Baltasar Polio, female film director Patricia Chica, artist Fernando Llort, and caricaturist Toño Salazar.

Amongst the more renowned representatives of the graphic arts are the painters Augusto Crespin, Noe Canjura, Carlos Cañas, Julia Díaz, Mauricio Mejia, Maria Elena Palomo de Mejia, Camilo Minero, Ricardo Carbonell, Roberto Huezo, Miguel Angel Cerna, (the painter and writer better known as MACLo), Esael Araujo, and many others. For more information on promiment citizens of El Salvador check the List of Salvadorans.

{| class=wikitable |+ Holidays |- ! Date!!English name!! Local name ! |- | January 16 | Peace Accords Day | Día de los Acuerdos de Paz | style="font-size:95%;" | Celebrates the peace accords signing between the government and the guerrilla in 1992 that finished the 12-year civil war. Mostly political events. |- | March/April | Holy Week/Easter | Semana Santa | style="font-size:95%;" | Celebrated with Carnival-like events in different cities by the large Catholic population. |- | May 1 | Labor Day | Día del trabajo | style="font-size:95%;" | International Labour Day |- |May 3 | The Day of the Cross | Día de la Cruz | style="font-size:95%;" | A celebration with pre-colonial origins that is linked to the advent of the rainy season. People decorate a cross in their yards with fruit and garlands, in the belief that if they do not, the devil will appear and dance at their yard.They then go from house to house to kneel in front of the altar and make the sign of the cross. |- | May 10 | Mothers' Day | Día de las Madres | style="font-size:95%;" | A day that is used to celebrate mums. Similar to many other countries Mother's Day. |- | August 1–7 | August Festivals* | Fiestas de agosto | style="font-size:95%;" | Week-long festival in celebration of El Salvador del Mundo, patron saint of San Salvador. |- | September 15 | Independence Day | Día de la Independencia | style="font-size:95%;" | Celebrates independence from Spain, achieved in 1821. |- |October 1 |Day of the children |"Día del niño" |style="font-size:95%;" | Celebration dedicated to the Children of the country it is celebrated across the country. |- | October 12 | Day of the race | Día de la raza | style="font-size:95%;" | Celebration in dedication to the Christopher Columbus's arrival to America. |- | November 2 | Day of the Dead | El día de los muertos | style="font-size:95%;" | A day on which most people visit the tombs of deceased loved ones. (November 1 may be commemorated as well.) |- | November 7–13 | National Festival Of Pupusa | Festival Nacional De La Pupusa | style="font-size:95%;" | This week is the national commemoration of the national food (Pupusa). |- | November 21 | Queen of the Peace Day | Dia de la Reina de la Paz | style="font-size:95%;" | Day of the Queen of Peace, the patron saint. Also celebrated, the San Miguel Carnival, (carnaval de San Miguel) a known feast in El Salvador, celebrated in San Miguel City, similar to Mardi Gras of New Orleans,where you can enjoy about 45 music bands on the street. |- | December 24 | Christmas Day | Noche Buena | style="font-size:95%;" | In many communities, December 24 (Christmas Eve) is the major day of celebration, often to the point that it is considered the actual day of Navidad — with December 25 serving as a day of rest. | |- | December 31 | New Year's Eve | Fin de año | style="font-size:95%;" | The final day of the Gregorian year, and the day before New Year's Day is celebrated in El Salvador with family reunions. |}

* Almost only celebrated in San Salvador

Tourism

The only airport serving international flights in the country is Comalapa International Airport. This airport is located about 40 km (25 mi) southeast of San Salvador. The airport is commonly known as Comalapa International or El Salvador International.

El Salvador's tourism industry has grown dynamically over recent years as the Salvadoran government focuses on developing this sector. Last year tourism accounted for 4.6% of GDP; only 10 years ago, it accounted for 0.4%. In this same year tourism grew 4.5% worldwide. Comparatively, El Salvador saw an increase of 8.97%, from 1.15 million to 1.27 million tourists. This has led to revenue from tourism growing 35.9% from $634 million to $862 million. As a reference point, in 1996 tourism revenue was $44.2 million. Also, there has been an even greater increase in the number of excursionists (visits that do not include an overnight stay). 222,000 excursionists visited El Salvador in 2006, a 24% increase over the previous year.

Most North American and European tourists are seeking out El Salvador's beaches and nightlife. Besides these two choices, El Salvador's tourism landscape is slightly different than those of other Central American countries. Because of its geographical size and urbanization, there are not many nature-themed tourist destinations such as ecotours or archaeological monuments. Surfing, however, is a natural tourist sector that has gained popularity in recent years as Salvadoran beaches have become increasingly popular. Surfers visit many beaches on the coast of La Libertad and the east side of the country, finding surfing spots that are not yet overcrowded. Also, the use of the United States dollar as Salvadoran currency and direct flights of 4–6 hours from most cities in the United States are important things to note for first-time travelers from the United States. Urbanization and Americanization of Salvadoran culture has also led to something else that first time tourists might be surprised to see: the abundance of American-style malls, stores, and restaurants in the three main urban areas, especially greater San Salvador.

Currently, tourists to El Salvador can be classified into four groups: Central Americans; North Americans; Salvadorans living abroad, primarily in the United States; and Europeans and South Americans. The first three represent the vast majority of tourists. Recently, El Salvador has attempted to broaden its tourist base and increase the number of visitors from Europe and South America. Early indicators show that the government's efforts are working. When comparing January–March 2007 to the same period in 2006 (most recent data available), overall tourism has grown 10%, while from North America 38%, Europe 31%, and South America 36%. In the fall, Livingston Airlines will initiate the only direct flight between Europe (departing from Milan) and El Salvador. The Decameron Salinitas, a recently inaugurated resort, has contributed to the growth of tourists from South America (because of name recognition of the resort chain) and is looking to do the same with Europeans.

Tourists continue to be drawn by El Salvador's turbulent past. Some of the latest tourist attractions in the former war-torn El Salvador are gun fragments, pictures, combat plans, and mountain hideouts. Since 1992, residents in economically depressed areas are trying to profit from these remains. The mountain town of Perquin was considered the "guerrilla capital." Today it is home to the "Museum of the Revolution," featuring cannons, uniforms, pieces of soviet weaponry, and other weapons of war once used by the FMLN's (Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front) headquarters.

According to El Salvador newspaper El Diario De Hoy the top 10 attractions are the beaches, La Libertad, Ruta Las Flores, Suchitoto, Playa Las Flores in San Miguel, La Palma, Santa Ana where you find the country's tallest volcano, Nahuizalco, Apaneca, Juayua, San Ignacio.

Cuisine

One of the Salvadoran notable dishes is the Pupusa. Pupusas are a thick hand-made corn tortilla (made using masa de maíz or masa de arroz, a maize or rice flour dough used in Latin American cuisine) stuffed with one or more of the following: cheese (usually a soft Salvadoran cheese, a popular example is Quesillo con loroco,or mozarella), chicharrón, and refried beans. Pupusas Revueltas are Pupusas filled with beans, cheese and pork. Loroco is a vine flower bud native to Central America. There are also vegetarian options. Some adventurous restaurants even offer pupusas stuffed with shrimp or spinach. Pupusa comes from the pipil-nahuatl word, pupushahua. The pupusa's exact origins are debated, although its presence in El Salvador is known to predate the arrival of Spaniards.

Two other typical Salvadoran dishes are yuca frita and panes rellenos. Yuca frita, which is deep fried cassava root served with curtido (a pickled cabbage, onion and carrot topping) and pork rinds with pescaditas (fried baby sardines). The Yuca is sometimes served boiled instead of fried. Panes con Pavo (turkey sandwiches) are warm turkey submarines. The turkey is marinated and then roasted with Pipil spices and handpulled. This sandwich is traditionally served with chicken, tomato, and watercress along with cucumber, onion, lettuce, mayonnaise, and mustard.

One of the most noticeable breakfast plates in El Salvador is fried plantain, usually accompanied with cream and cheese. This is one of El Salvador's typical breakfasts, common in Salvadoran restaurants and homes extending across the United States.

Maria Luisa is an elegant dessert in El Salvador. It is a layered cake that is soaked in orange marmalade and sprinkled with powdered sugar.

Another drink that Salvadorans enjoy is Horchata. Horchata is most commonly made of the morro seed, ground into a powder and added to milk or water, and sugar. Horchata is drunk year round and can be drunk anytime of day. It mostly is accompanied by a plate of pupusas or fried yucca. Horchata from El Salvador has a very distinct taste and is not to be confused with Mexican horchata, which is rice based. Coffee is also a common drink in the morning.

Education

The public education system in El Salvador is severely lacking in resources. Class sizes in public schools can reach 50 children, so Salvadorans who can afford the cost often choose to send their children to private schools. Lower-income families are forced to rely on the public education system.

Education in El Salvador is free through high school. After nine years of basic education (elementary - middle school) students have the option of a two year high school or a three year high school. A two year high school prepares the student to transfer to a university. A three year high school allows the student graduate with a vocational career and enter the workforce or transfer to a university as well to further their education in that field.

The Post-Secondary education varies widely in price.

El Salvador has several private universities:

Universidad Nacional de El Salvador

Universidad Dr. José Matías Delgado, UJMD

Universidad de El Salvador, UES

Universidad Centroamericana “José Simeón Cañas”, UCA

Universidad Francisco Gavidia, UFG

Universidad Tecnologica, UTec

Universidad Don Bosco, UDB

Universidad Evangelica

Universidad Dr Andrés Bello UNAB

Universidad de Nueva San Salvador, UNSSA

Universidad Albert Einstein

Universidad Salvadorena Alberto Masferrer, USAM

Universidad Modular Abierta, UMA

Universidad Monsenor Oscar Arnulfo Romero, UMOAR

Universidad Polytecnica

Universidad Catolica de El Salvador, UNICAES

Escuela de Comunicación Mónica Herrera, ECMH

Escuela Superior de Economía y Negocios, ESEN

Local Foundations and NGOs are fostering further education development.

See also

International rankings of El Salvador

List of Salvadorans

List of National Parks of El Salvador

References

Further reading

"Background Notes", Background Notes: El Salvador, January 2008. Accessed March 6, 2008.

Bonner, Raymond. Weakness and Deceit: U.S. Policy and El Salvador. New York: Times Books, 1984.

CIA World Factbook, "El Salvador", February 28, 2008. Accessed March 6, 2008.

Danner, Mark. The Massacre at El Mozote: A Parable of the Cold War. New York: Vintage Books, 1994.

Montgomery, Tommie Sue. Revolution in El Salvador: From Civil Strife to Civil Peace. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1995.

"Country Specific Information", U.S. State Department, October 3, 2007. Accessed March 6, 2008.

Vilas, Carlos. Between Earthquakes and Volcanoes: Market, State, and the Revolution America. New York: Monthly Review Press. 1995.

Foley, Erin. 'Cultures of the world, El Salvador. 1995

External links

Embassy of El Salvador in London - Content rich site about every aspect of Salvadorean life, government, business, and politics.

Chief of State and Cabinet Members

El Salvador at UCB Libraries GovPubs

Salvadoran American Humanitarian Foundation (SAHF)

Fundacion Salvadoreña Para la Salud y el Desarollo Humano (FUSAL)

Category:Central American countries Category:Countries bordering the Pacific Ocean Category:Former Spanish colonies Category:Liberal democracies Category:Republics Category:Spanish-speaking countries Category:States and territories established in 1842 Category:Member states of the United Nations

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