Situated on the Pacific coast of Central America, El Salvador has Guatemala to the west and Honduras to the north and east. It is the smallest of the Central American countries, with an area equal to that of Massachusetts, and it is the only one without an Atlantic coastline. Most of the country is on a fertile volcanic plateau about 2,000 ft (607 m) high.
Population
6,822,378 (growth rate: 1.7%); birth rate: 26.6/1000; infant mortality rate: 24.4/1000; life expectancy: 71.5; density per sq mi: 853
Land Area
8,000 sq mi (20,720 sq km); total area: 8,124 sq mi (21,040 sq km)
Monetary unit
Colón; U.S. dollar Language
Spanish, Nahua (among some Amerindians)
Ethnicity mestizo 90%, white 9%, Amerindian 1%
Religion Catholics 83%; growing population of evangelical Protestants (1992)
Transportation Railways: total: 283 km; note: length of operational route reduced from 562 km to 283 km by disuse and lack of maintenance (2004). Highways: total: 10,029 km; paved: 1,986 km (including 327 km of expressways); unpaved: 8,043 km (1999 est.). Waterways: Rio Lempa partially navigable (2004). Ports and harbors: Acajutla, Puerto Cutuco. Airports: 73 (2004 est.).
