r CGT (moderate); United Workers Front or
FUT; business organizations - Productive Alliance or AP
(conservative); National Federation of Salvadoran Small Businessmen or
FENAPES (conservative)

International organization participation: BCIE, CACM, ECLAC, FAO,
G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO,
IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer),
MINURSO, NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO,
UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Ana Cristina SOL
chancery: 2308 California Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 265-9671, 9672
consulate(s) general: Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami,
New Orleans, New York, and San Francisco

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission : Ambassador Anne PATTERSON
embassy: Final Boulevard Santa Elena, Station Antiguo Cuscatlan, San
Salvador
mailing address: Unit 3116, APO AA 34023
telephone: [503] 278-4444
FAX : [503] 278-6011

Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white,
and blue with the national coat of arms centered in the white band;
the coat of arms features a round emblem encircled by the words
REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL; similar to the flag of
Nicaragua, which has a different coat of arms centered in the white
band - it features a triangle encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE
NICARAGUA on top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom; also similar to
the flag of Honduras, which has five blue stars arranged in an X
pattern centered in the white band

Economy

Economy - overview: El Salvador possesses a fast-growing
entrepreneurial economy in which 90% of economic activity is in
private hands, with growth averaging 5% since 1990. Yet, because the
1980s were a decade of civil war and stagnation, per capita GDP has
not regained the level of the late 1970s. The rebound in the 1990s
stems from the government program, in conjunction with the IMF, of
privatization, deregulation, and fiscal stabilization. The economy now
is oriented more toward manufacturing and services compared with
agriculture. The sizable trade deficits are in the main covered by
remittances from the large number of Salvadorans abroad.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $12.2 billion (1996 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 3% (1996 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $2,080 (1996 est.)