El Salvador

Geography

El Salvador is a country at the west coast of Central America and thus the only country in Central America that has no access to the Caribbean. The land has a total area of 21,040 km² (8,124 mi²) and a total coastline of 307 km (190.8 mi). This land area is approximately 84% of the area of Maryland. El Salvador is thus the 27th biggest country in the Americas and in terms of area ranked 154th worldwide. A considerable share of the inhabitants (74%) belongs to the urban population.

El Salvador is comparatively low at an average elevation of 442 meters above sea level. The highest mountain peak (El Pital) is at 2,730 meters. The country has about 20 islands. There are direct national borders with the two neighboring countries Guatemala and Honduras. The distance between New York City and the Capital San Salvador is about 3,350 km (2,082 mi).

The climate in El Salvador

In El Salvador, as in all equatorial countries, there is a tropical climate. Unlike in Europe or the USA, there is almost no difference between the seasons. The daylight hours vary little, and the temperature differences between summer and winter are also lower. Depending on the season, the average daytime temperatures range between 30 and 33 degrees. In some parts of the country, the temperature rises to 34 °C. In the colder months, and depending in the region, the temperature drops to 20 °C in a month's average.

• Detailed climate data for El Salvador and 6 individual regions
• Volcanoes
• Earthquakes
• Tsunamis
• Hurricanes

Languages

Mother tongue	Distribution
Spanish	99.0 %
Nahua	0.4 %
other	0.6 %

Religions

Religion	Distribution
Roman Catholics	57.1%
Protestants	21.2%
Jehovah's Witnesses	1.9%
Mormons	0.7%
nondenominational	16.8%
other	2.3%

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Economy

GDP:	28.74 bn $
Exportations:	8,491.0 M $
Importations:	15,754.0 M $
› Tourism receipts:	755.00 M $
› Debt rate:	82.44 %
› Unemployment rate:	3.8 %
› Inflation rate:	7.20 %
› Corruption index:	33 (bad)
› Energy consumption:	6.4 bn kWh

According to the definition from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), El Salvador is a developing country because of its lower economic performance.

In terms of revenues, El Salvador still ranks 119th in the world and, with an average annual income of 4,260 USD is one of the upper middle-income countries.

Land use

17% Urban areas:	3,598 km²
77% Agricultural areas:	16,268 km²
28% Forest:	5,929 km²
2% Water areas:	320 km²

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Transport

Roadways:	9,012 km
Railways:	13 km
Waterways:	422 km
Commercial harbors:	4
› Airports:	1