El Salvador
Name
| Official name | Republic of El Salvador — República de El Salvador |
|---|---|
| Demonym | Salvadoran; salvadoreño, salvadoreña; guanaco in slang |
| Meaning of the name | "The Savior" — for Jesus Christ, the Divine Savior of the World, the patron; Cuzcatlán, "the place of precious jewels," to the Pipil |
| Motto | "Dios, Unión, Libertad" — God, union, liberty; on the arms |
| Nickname | The Land of Volcanoes; the Tom Thumb of the Americas |
Quick facts
| Capital | San Salvador — founded 1525, the capital since 1839; about 300,000 in the city, 2.4 million in the metropolitan area |
|---|---|
| Largest cities | San Salvador; Soyapango; Santa Ana; San Miguel; Mejicanos; Santa Tecla; Apopa |
| Official language | Spanish; Nawat, the Pipil language, spoken by a few hundred and recognized; English in business |
| Currency | United States dollar — USD, $ — since 1 January 2001; bitcoin legal tender 2021–2025, voluntary since |
| Time zone | Central Standard Time, UTC−6, all year |
| Calling code | +503 |
| Internet domain | .sv |
| ISO 3166 codes | SV · SLV · 222 |
| Vehicle registration code | ES |
| Driving side | Right |
| Electricity | 115 V, 60 Hz; plug types A and B |
| Independence | 15 September 1821, from Spain, with Central America; the republic 2 February 1841 |
| National days | 15 September, Independence Day; 6 August, the feast of the Divine Savior of the World, the August festival; 1 May; 2 November; the second Sunday of November, National Pupusa Day |
| Constitution | 20 December 1983 — amended 1991 by the peace accords, and on 31 July 2025 to allow indefinite presidential re-election, six-year terms and no runoff |
| Population | 6,029,976 at the census of 2024 — the first since 2007; about 6.3 million (UN, 2025 est.) |
| Area | 21,041 km² (8,124 sq mi) — land 20,721 km², water 320 km²; the smallest country in Central America |
Flag & national symbols
| National flag | A horizontal triband of blue, white and blue — the two oceans of Central America and the peace between them — with the coat of arms at the center of the white on the state flag: the five volcanoes of the federation, the Phrygian cap and the motto; the colors of the United Provinces of 1823, adopted 17 May 1912.Flag of El Salvador |
|---|---|
| Coat of arms | A triangle of five volcanoes between two seas, the Phrygian cap on a staff, the rainbow and the date 15 de Septiembre de 1821, within five flags and a laurel wreath of fourteen branches for the departments, over the motto — adopted 15 September 1912 |
| National anthem | "Himno Nacional de El Salvador" — words by Juan José Cañas, music by Juan Aberle; first sung 15 September 1879; official by decree 1953 |
| National motto | "Dios, Unión, Libertad" |
| National colors | Blue and white |
| National bird | The torogoz — the turquoise-browed motmot; declared 21 October 1999 |
| National flower | The flor de izote — the blossom of the yucca, Yucca gigantea, which is also eaten; declared 21 December 1995 |
| National tree | The maquilishuat — Tabebuia rosea, the pink trumpet tree; declared 1 June 1939 |
| National dish | The pupusa — the stuffed corn tortilla; declared by decree 1 April 2005, with the second Sunday of November its day |
| National animal | None designated |
| Symbol status | The flag, arms and anthem are fixed by law; the bird, flower, tree and dish by decree; no animal designated |
Geography
| Location | Central America, on the Pacific — between Guatemala and Honduras, with the Gulf of Fonseca shared with Honduras and Nicaragua; the only Central American country without a Caribbean coast |
|---|---|
| Land borders | 590 km (367 mi) with two countries |
| Border with Honduras | 391 km (243 mi) — settled by the International Court of Justice in 1992 after the war of 1969 |
| Border with Guatemala | 199 km (124 mi) |
| Coastline | 307 km (191 mi) on the Pacific |
| Highest point | Cerro El Pital, 2,730 m (8,957 ft), on the Honduran border |
| Lowest point | The Pacific Ocean, 0 m |
| Mean elevation | 442 m (1,450 ft) |
| Volcanoes | More than twenty — Santa Ana (Ilamatepec), 2,381 m, the highest, which erupted in 2005; Izalco, the "lighthouse of the Pacific," in eruption 1770–1958; San Salvador (Quezaltepec) above the capital; San Miguel (Chaparrastique), erupting in 2013; San Vicente; the caldera lakes of Ilopango and Coatepeque |
| Rivers and lakes | The Lempa, 422 km, the largest river of the Pacific slope of Central America, with the dams of Cerrón Grande and the 15 de Septiembre; Lake Ilopango, about 72 km², the largest, a caldera whose eruption of about 431 AD darkened the world; Lake Coatepeque; Lake Güija shared with Guatemala |
| Terrain | The coastal plain; the southern range of volcanoes; the central plateau where the cities lie; the northern mountains on the Honduran border |
| Climate | Tropical — the wet season from May to October, the dry from November to April; cooler on the plateau and in the north |
| Natural hazards | Earthquakes — San Salvador 10 October 1986, and the two of 13 January and 13 February 2001; volcanoes; hurricanes and tropical storms — Mitch 1998, Ida 2009, the floods of 2020; drought in the dry corridor |
| Natural resources | Hydropower, geothermal energy — about a quarter of electricity — arable land; gold and silver, whose mining was banned in 2017 and allowed again in December 2024 |
| Land use | Agricultural land about 75%; forest about 13% — the least forested country in Central America |
| National parks | El Imposible in the west, the largest; Montecristo, with the cloud forest at the three-country point; Los Volcanes; the mangroves of the Bahía de Jiquilisco, a biosphere reserve |
| UNESCO World Heritage | 1 — the Joya de Cerén archaeological site (1993), a Maya farming village buried by the Loma Caldera eruption of about 600 and called the Pompeii of the Americas |
| Administrative divisions | 14 departments; 44 municipalities since the reform of May 2024, which merged the former 262 |
People
| Population | 6,029,976 (census of 2024); about 6.3 million (2025 est.) |
|---|---|
| Population density | About 290 per km² (750 per sq mi) — the highest on the American mainland |
| Population growth | About 0.4% a year — emigration takes most of the increase |
| Median age | About 28 years |
| Life expectancy | About 74 years |
| Fertility rate | About 1.8 births per woman |
| Urban population | About 76% |
| Adult literacy | About 90% |
| Ethnic groups | Mestizo about 86%; white about 13%; Indigenous about 1% — the Pipil, Lenca and Kakawira; a small Afro-Salvadoran community |
| Languages | Spanish by nearly all — Salvadoran Spanish with its voseo; Nawat, nearly extinct, revived in schools; English among the returnees |
| Religion | Roman Catholic about 43%; Protestant and evangelical about 40%, among the highest shares in Latin America; no religion about 15% |
| Human Development Index | 0.678 (2023 data, 2025 report) — medium; about 130th of 193 |
| Incarceration | About 110,000 prisoners — some 1,600 per 100,000 people, the highest rate in the world, after the state of exception |
| Sport | Football — La Selecta at the World Cups of 1970 and 1982; the Football War of 1969 fought with Honduras after the qualifiers; surfing — El Sunzal and Punta Roca, the world championships of 2021 and 2023; the Central American and Caribbean Games of 2023 hosted |
| Diaspora | About 2.5 million Salvadorans and their children in the United States — Los Angeles, Washington and Houston — with Canada, Mexico, Italy and Spain; more than a third of the nation abroad |
Government
| Form of government | Unitary presidential republic under the Constitution of 1983 — the president head of state and government; five-year terms without consecutive re-election until 2024; six-year terms with indefinite re-election and no runoff from 2027 |
|---|---|
| President | Nayib Bukele (New Ideas), since 1 June 2019 — the 43rd; mayor of San Salvador 2015–2018, born 24 July 1981; elected 3 February 2019 with 53.1% in the first round, the first president from outside the two parties of the war; re-elected 4 February 2024 with 84.7% on a turnout of 52%, after the Supreme Court chamber his Assembly had installed in 2021 ruled the ban on consecutive terms did not apply |
| Vice President | Félix Ulloa (New Ideas), since 1 June 2019 |
| The amendment of 2025 | On 31 July 2025 the Legislative Assembly approved and ratified the same day, 57 votes to 3, changes to five articles: indefinite presidential re-election, the term lengthened from five to six years, the runoff abolished, and the president's current term cut short from 1 June 2029 to 1 June 2027; "democracy in El Salvador has died," the ARENA deputy Marcela Villatoro said, and the Assembly's vice president that power had returned to the people |
| The next election | Presidential, legislative and municipal together in 2027 — the first under the new rules; New Ideas nominated Bukele for a third term in July 2026 |
| Legislative Assembly | 60 deputies since 2024, cut from 84, elected for three years — New Ideas 54; the Assembly of 2021 removed the Constitutional Chamber and the attorney general on its first day |
| The state of exception | Declared 27 March 2022 after 87 murders in a weekend, and renewed monthly since — the suspension of the rights of association, defense counsel and time limits on detention; more than 90,000 arrested, most accused of gang membership; the Terrorism Confinement Center, CECOT, opened January 2023 with a capacity of 40,000; rights groups count some 400 deaths in custody and thousands of innocents held; the government's approval above 80% |
| The homicide fall | From 6,656 murders and 106 per 100,000 in 2015 — the highest rate in the world — to 114 murders and 1.9 per 100,000 in 2024, and lower in 2025, among the lowest in the Americas; the government's figures, which exclude some deaths in custody and clashes |
| The United States | The closest ally under Trump — CECOT received more than 250 Venezuelan deportees and a wrongly deported Salvadoran, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, in March 2025 under a US$6 million agreement; the Bukele visit to the White House of April 2025 |
| Legal system | Civil law; the Supreme Court of Justice with its Constitutional Chamber; the Foreign Agents Law of May 2025 taxing foreign-funded groups |
| Departments | 14, each under a governor appointed by the president |
| United Nations | A founding member, 24 October 1945 |
| Memberships | The Central American Integration System (SICA), whose headquarters are in San Salvador; the OAS; the WTO; CAFTA-DR since 2006; the Central American Parliament |
Economy
| GDP (nominal) | About US$36 billion (2025, IMF) |
|---|---|
| GDP per capita | About US$5,700 (2025) |
| GDP per capita (PPP) | About US$13,000 (2025) |
| GDP growth | About 2.5–3% a year (2024–25) |
| Economy by sector | Services about 65%, industry about 25%, agriculture about 5% |
| Currency | United States dollar (USD) |
| Remittances | About US$8.5 billion a year from the diaspora — about a quarter of GDP, the highest share in Central America after Honduras; the largest source of foreign exchange |
| Bitcoin | Legal tender from 7 September 2021, the first country in the world, with the Chivo wallet and the volcano-bond plans; made voluntary in January 2025 under the IMF program; the state's holdings about 6,000 bitcoin, bought one a day; Bitcoin City at Conchagua unbuilt |
| The IMF program | US$1.4 billion agreed in December 2024 and approved February 2025 — the bitcoin rollback, a fiscal adjustment of 3.5% of GDP; public debt about 85% of GDP |
| Exports | Textiles and apparel from the maquilas about 40%; sugar; coffee, once the mainstay, now about 5%; plastics; the United States about a third of trade |
| Tourism | A record 3.9 million visitors in 2024 — Surf City on the Pacific coast, the volcanoes, the safety dividend; the world surfing championships |
| Energy | Geothermal about a quarter of electricity — among the highest shares in the world; hydropower on the Lempa; the Bitcoin mine at the Tecapa volcano |
| Income classification | Upper-middle income (World Bank) |
Transport & infrastructure
| Main airport | Monseñor Óscar Arnulfo Romero International Airport at Comalapa, 40 km from the capital; the Pacific Airport at La Unión under construction |
|---|---|
| Airline | Avianca El Salvador — the former TACA, founded 1931, among the oldest airlines in the Americas, merged into Avianca in 2013 |
| Main ports | Acajutla, the country's cargo port; La Unión on the Gulf of Fonseca, built 2008 and little used |
| Railways | None in service — the FENADESAL lines closed in 2002 and 2005; the Pacific Train from the airport to the capital announced |
| Roads | About 9,000 km (5,600 mi), about half paved; the Pan-American Highway across the country; the Coastal Highway; the Los Chorros bypass |
| Transit | The buses of San Salvador, and the aerial cable car of the capital planned |
History in dates
| c. 600 | Joya de Cerén buried by the Loma Caldera |
|---|---|
| c. 900 | The Pipil settle Cuzcatlán |
| 1524 | Pedro de Alvarado invades; San Salvador founded, 1525 |
| 1811 | The first cry of independence in Central America, San Salvador, 5 November |
| 1821 | Independence with Central America, 15 September |
| 1841 | The Republic of El Salvador, 2 February |
| 1912 | The flag and arms of today |
| 1932 | La Matanza — the peasant rising and the massacre of some 10,000 to 30,000, January |
| 1969 | The Football War with Honduras, 14–18 July |
| 1980 | Archbishop Óscar Romero assassinated at the altar, 24 March; the civil war begins |
| 1981 | The El Mozote massacre, 11 December — some 1,000 killed |
| 1992 | The Chapultepec Peace Accords, 16 January — 75,000 dead in twelve years |
| 2001 | The dollar, 1 January; the earthquakes of 13 January and 13 February |
| 2018 | Romero canonized, 14 October |
| 2019 | Nayib Bukele president, 1 June |
| 2021 | Bitcoin legal tender, 7 September |
| 2022 | The state of exception, 27 March |
| 2023 | CECOT opens, 31 January |
| 2024 | Bukele re-elected, 4 February; the census; the municipalities cut to 44 |
| 2025 | Bitcoin voluntary, January; the deportees to CECOT, March; the amendment, 31 July |
| 2026 | Bukele nominated for a third term, July |
Records & firsts
| The smallest country in Central America | 21,041 km² |
|---|---|
| The most densely populated on the mainland | About 290 per km² |
| The first country to make bitcoin legal tender | 7 September 2021 |
| From the murder capital to among the safest | 106 per 100,000 in 2015 to about 2 in 2024 |
| The highest incarceration rate in the world | About 1,600 per 100,000 |
| The largest prison in the Americas | CECOT, for 40,000 |
| The Pompeii of the Americas | Joya de Cerén |
| The Football War | 100 hours, July 1969 |
| A saint of the war | Óscar Romero, canonized 2018 |
| The pupusa | A national dish by decree, with its own day |
| The lighthouse of the Pacific | Izalco, erupting for 188 years |
| A nation a third abroad | Some 2.5 million in the United States |
Frequently asked questions
What is the official name of El Salvador?
The Republic of El Salvador — República de El Salvador — since the republic of 1841. The name is Spanish for "the Savior," given by Pedro de Alvarado to the province he conquered in 1524 in the name of Jesus Christ, the Divine Savior of the World — the country's patron, whose feast on 6 August is the national holiday. The Pipil who lived here called the land Cuzcatlán, "the place of precious jewels."
What is the capital of El Salvador?
San Salvador, in the Valley of the Hammocks below the San Salvador volcano — founded in 1525 and the capital since 1839, rebuilt after earthquakes in every century, with about 300,000 people in the city and 2.4 million in the metropolitan area, a third of the country. Santa Ana in the west and San Miguel in the east are the next cities; Soyapango and Mejicanos are suburbs of the capital.
How big is El Salvador, and how many people live there?
About 21,041 km² (8,124 sq mi) — the smallest country in Central America and the only one with no Caribbean coast, a little smaller than New Jersey. The census of 2024, the first in seventeen years, counted 6,029,976 people; the UN estimates about 6.3 million. About 300 people per square kilometer makes it the most densely populated country on the American mainland, and some 2.5 million Salvadorans live in the United States, more than a third of the nation.
What are the highest and lowest points of El Salvador?
Cerro El Pital, 2,730 m (8,957 ft), on the Honduran border in the north — the one cool place in the country, where it can frost; and the Pacific. The Land of Volcanoes has more than twenty, the Santa Ana volcano at 2,381 m the highest of them, Izalco the "lighthouse of the Pacific" that erupted almost without pause from 1770 to 1958, and San Salvador looming over the capital.
What currency does El Salvador use?
The United States dollar (ISO code USD, $), sole legal tender since 1 January 2001, when it replaced the colón at 8.75. Bitcoin was legal tender beside it from 7 September 2021, the first country in the world to adopt it, until January 2025, when the law was amended under the IMF program to make its acceptance voluntary; the state keeps buying it. Clocks keep Central Standard Time, UTC−6, all year.
Who governs El Salvador?
President Nayib Bukele of New Ideas, in office since 1 June 2019 and re-elected on 4 February 2024 with 84.7 percent of the vote, after a Supreme Court his party had appointed set aside the constitutional ban on consecutive terms. On 31 July 2025 his party's supermajority amended the constitution to allow indefinite re-election, lengthen the term to six years and abolish the runoff, and cut his current term short to 1 June 2027, so that presidential, legislative and municipal elections fall together in 2027; his party has nominated him for a third term. He governs under a state of exception in force since 27 March 2022, with more than 90,000 arrested, which has taken homicides from among the highest rates in the world to among the lowest, and which rights groups call mass arbitrary detention. Félix Ulloa is vice president.
World knowledge, A to Z — the flags of every country, the sciences, places, people and more.
We Value Your Opinion Comments