entral America, bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between
Guatemala and Honduras

Geographic coordinates:

13 50 N, 88 55 W

Map references:

Central America and the Caribbean

Area:

total: 21,040 sq km
land: 20,720 sq km
water: 320 sq km

Area - comparative:

slightly smaller than Massachusetts

Land boundaries:

total: 545 km
border countries: Guatemala 203 km, Honduras 342 km

Coastline:

307 km

Maritime claims:

territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

Climate:

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 point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Cerro El Pital 2,730 m

Natural resources:

hydropower, geothermal power, petroleum, arable land

Land use:

arable land: 31.37%
permanent crops: 11.88%
other: 56.75% (2005)

Irrigated land:

450 sq km (2003)

Total renewable water resources:

25.2 cu km (2001)

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):

total: 1.28 cu km/yr (25%/16%/59%)
per capita: 186 cu m/yr (2000)

Natural hazards:

known as the Land of Volcanoes; frequent and sometimes destructive
earthquakes and volcanic activity; extremely susceptible to
hurricanes

Environment - current issues:

deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution; contamination of soils
from disposal of toxic wastes

Environment - international agreements:

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes,
Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea

Geography - note:

smallest Central American country and only one without a coastline
on Caribbean Sea

People
El Salvador

Population:

7,066,403 (July 2008 est.)

Age structure:

0-14 years: 35.8% (male 1,291,147/female 1,237,453)
15-64 years: 59% (male 1,987,671/female 2,179,620)
65 years and over: 5.2% (male 162,100/female 208,412) (2008 est.)

Median age:

total: 22.2 years
male: 21.1 years
female: 23.4 years (2008 est.)

Population growth rate:

1.679% (2008 est.)

Birth rate:

25.72 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate:

5.53 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Net migration rate:

-3.4 migrant(s)/1,000