Country Profile: El Salvador

Last reviewed: 7 July 2008

Country information

Map of El Salvador

EL SALVADOR TODAY

Country Facts

Area: 21,040 sq km
Population: 6.9 million (2005)
Capital City: San Salvador (1.8 million)
People: Mestizo 90%, Caucasian 9%, Indigenous 1%
Languages: The official language is Spanish.
Religion(s): Predominantly Roman Catholic (86%)
Currency: The American Dollar is the official currency in El Salvador. Although some prices are still quoted in the Salvadorean Colon, payment is expected in dollars. The exchange rate is fixed at US$1.00 = 8.75 Salvadorean Colón.
Major Political Parties: Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN), Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA), National Conciliation Party (PCN), Christian Democratic Party (PDC).
Government: El Salvador has a republican system of government consisting of 3 separate and independent branches: the Executive Branch, headed by the President; the Legislative Branch; and the Judicial Branch headed by the Supreme Court.
Head of State: Elias Antonio Saca.
Prime Minister/Premier: Not applicable
Foreign Minister: Francisco Laínez Rivas.
Membership of International Groups/Organisations: El Salvador is a member of the United Nations and several of its specialised agencies; the Organisation of American States (OAS), the Central American Common Market (CACM), The Central American Parliament (PARLACEN) and the Central American Integration System (SICA) whose General Secretariat is based in El Salvador. El Salvador has also been chosen as for the Headquarters of the Puebla-Panama Plan (PPP). It actively participates in the Central American Security Commission (CASC) which seeks to promote regional arms control. El Salvador is a member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and is pursuing regional free trade agreements. El Salvador has joined its 6 Central American neighbours in signing the Alliance for Sustainable Development known as the Conjunta Centro-America – USA or CONCAUSA to promote sustainable economic development in the region. El Salvador was the first Central American country to ratify the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) with the USA on 18 December 2004. The Agreement has now been ratified by all participants with the exception of Costa Rica. Together with its neighbours, El Salvador has successfully negotiated a Political Dialogue and Co-operation Agreement with the EU, which was signed in Rome on 15 December 2004. El Salvador was one of the first members to join the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in 1957.

HEALTH

In El Salvador the quality of and access to healthcare are directly tied to income levels. Adequate health care is available to those able to pay the high cost. Health care for the urban and rural poor is limited.

Health services are not readily accessible to a majority of the population. In the more isolated regions of El Salvador, there are almost no physicians. Government clinics often lack adequate personnel, equipment and medicines.

Life expectancy: Male: 67.31 years, female 74.7 years (2004 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 25.93 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)

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