d boundary dispute with Honduras mostly resolved by 11 September 1992
International Court of Justice (ICJ) decision; ICJ referred the maritime
boundary in the Golfo de Fonseca to an earlier agreement in this century and
advised that some tripartite resolution among El Salvador, Honduras and
Nicaragua likely would be required
Climate:
tropical; rainy season (May to October); dry season (November to April)
Terrain:
mostly mountains with narrow coastal belt and central plateau
Natural resources:
hydropower, geothermal power, petroleum
Land use:
arable land:
27%
permanent crops:
8%
meadows and pastures:
29%
forest and woodland:
6%
other:
30%
Irrigated land:
1,200 km2 (1989)
Environment:
the Land of Volcanoes; subject to frequent and sometimes very destructive
earthquakes; deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution
Note:
smallest Central American country and only one without a coastline on
Caribbean Sea

*El Salvador, People

Population:
5,636,524 (July 1993 est.)
Population growth rate:
2.04% (1993 est.)
Birth rate:
33.12 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Death rate:
6.53 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Net migration rate:
-6.21 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
42.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
66.5 years
male:
63.93 years
female:
69.2 years (1993 est.)
Total fertility rate:
3.87 children born/woman (1993 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
Salvadoran(s)
adjective:
Salvadoran
Ethnic divisions:
mestizo 94%, Indian 5%, white 1%
Religions:
Roman Catholic 75%
note:
Roman Catholic about 75%; there is extensive activity by Protestant groups
throughout the country; by the end of 1992, there were an estimated 1
million Protestant evangelicals in El Salvador
Languages:
Spanish, Nahua (among some Indians)
Literacy:
age 15 and over can read and write (1990)
total population:
73%
male:
76%
female:
70%
Labor force:
1.7 million (1982 est.)
by occupation:
agriculture 40%, commerce 16%, manufacturing 15%, government 13%, financial
services 9%, transportation 6%, other 1%
note:
shortage of skilled labor and a large pool of unskilled labor, but manpower
training programs improving situation (1984 est.)

*El Salvador, Government

Names:
conventional long form:
Republic of El Salvador
conventional short for