El Salvador flag

El Salvador Overview

El Salvador is located on the Central American Pacific coast. The country borders Guatemala and Honduras. El Salvador is the smallest state in Central America, and the only Central American country that does not have a coastline towards the Caribbean.

Capital: San Salvador
Biggest city: San Salvador
State: republic
Language: Spanish
Religion: catholicism
Surface: 21 040 km²
Population: 6.3 million (2013)
Population density: 341 residents per km²
Life expectancy: 72 years
Illiteracy: 20%
Currency: US dollar (USD)
1 US dollar = 8.40 kr
GDP per capita: $ 7,400 (2010)
Time difference: -7 hours
Electricity: 110 V AC, 60Hz
National Day: September 15
Country area code: 503
2-Letter country abbreviation: SV (See more abbreviations on Abbreviationfinder)
Business: service sector 70%, industry 22%, agriculture 8%
Climate: tropical with rainy season from May to October; cooler in the mountains

El Salvador flag

El Salvador became independent from Spain in 1821, was briefly part of the Mexican Empire under Agustín de Iturbide and liberated itself from the Central American Federation in 1838. In 1969, the so-called football war against neighboring Honduras was fought for 6 days. In 1980, a civil war broke out that lasted until 1992, killing some 75,000 people. The war ended with the government and left-wing rebels signing an agreement on military and political reforms.

There are 320 km2 of water within the country’s border, and several small rivers flow through El Salvador into the Pacific Ocean, but only the largest river, the Lempa, which flows from Honduras and through El Salvador into the sea, is navigable for commercial ships. A number of lakes have formed in volcanic craters, the most important being Ilopango (70 km2) and Coatepeque (26 km2). Güija is the country’s largest natural lake (44 km2), and several artificial lakes have been created by dam projects.

In recent years, El Salvador’s economy has weakened due to a substandard tax payment system, plant closures, low world coffee prices, Hurricane Mitch in 1998 and a devastating earthquake in 2001. Some positive points are low inflation and a significant increase in total exports. Many households live below the poverty line and the income differences in the country are large.

WORLD HERITAGE

The following objects in El Salvador are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The year in which the item was added to the list is indicated in parentheses.

  • Joya de Ceren Archaeological Site (1993)

ELECTRICAL OUTLET

Electricity and electrical outlets in El Salvador

Voltage: 115 V

Frequency: 60 Hz

Type of plug: A, B

Need an adapter: Yes, Swedes need an adapter.

CLIMATE AND WEATHER

Weather in San Salvador

Climate Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Christmas Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Average temperature °C 28 28 28 29 29 29 29 29 28 28 29 28
Day °C 30 30 32 32 31 30 30 30 29 29 29 30
Night °C 16 17 18 19 20 20 19 19 19 19 18 17
Rain (mm) 3 0 8 44 153 150 126 137 141 207 36 4
Rainy days 22 20 22 21 9 7 12 9 9 8 9 20
Soltim / day 10 9 10 9 8 7 7 7 7 7 9 10

El Salvador 2

San Salvador

According to Countryaah, San Salvador is the capital of El Salvador. At the beginning of the 20th century, San Salvador had only about 30,000 residents, but today is Central America’s third largest metropolitan area, after Guatemala City and San José. At the 2007 census, the city had 316,090 residents, with a total of 1,566,629 residents in the entire metropolitan area, including Apopa, Delgado, Ilopango, Mejicanos, Santa Tecla and Soyapango.

The city is located in the central part of the country, between the volcano with the same name as the city and the country’s largest lake, Lago de Ilopango. The city was founded in 1525, but was subsequently moved a couple of times during the 16th century to its current location. San Salvador has been hit several times by earthquakes, the worst in 1854.