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El SalvadorEl SalvadorThe '''Republic of El Salvador''' (Spanish language|Spanish for "The Savior") is a republic in Central America with a population of approximately 6.7 million people. The country is the most densely populated state on the American mainland and the most industrialised in Central America. {| border=1 align=right cellpadding=4 cellspacing=0 width=300 style="margin: 0 0 1em 1em; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;" |+<big><big>'''República de El Salvador'''</big></big> |- | style="background:#efefef;" align="center" colspan="2" | <table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" style="text-align:center;"> <tr> <td width="140px">Image:El salvador flag large.png|125px|</td> <td width="140px">Image:El_Salvador_coa.gif|80px <tr> <td width="140px">(Flag of El Salvador|In Detail) <td width="140px">(Full size) </table> |- | align="center" colspan=2 | <small>''National motto: Dios, Unión, Libertad<br>(Spanish language|Spanish: God, Union, Liberty)''</small> |- | align=center colspan=2 | Image:LocationElSalvador.png |- | '''Official language''' | Spanish language|Spanish |- | '''Capital''' | San Salvador |- | '''Capital's coordinates''' | {{coor dm|13|40|N|89|10|W|}} |- | '''Largest City''' | San Salvador |- | '''President of El Salvador|President''' | Antonio Saca |- | '''Area'''<br /> - Total <br /> - % water</td> | List of countries by area|Ranked 149th <br /> 21,040 square kilometre|km² <br /> 1.5% |- | '''Population'''<br /> - Total (Year)<br /> - Population density|Density | List of countries by population|Ranked 97th<br /> 6,704,932<br /> 318.7/km² |- | '''Gross Domestic Product|GDP''' (PPP)<br /> - Total (Year)<br /> - GDP/head | List of countries by GDP|Ranked 91th<br />31.17 billion $<br /> $4,600 |- | '''Currency''' | US dollar ($) and El Salvador colón|Salvadoran colón |- | '''Time zone''' | Coordinated Universal Time|UTC -6 |- | '''Independence''' | From Spain: September 15, 1821<br /> From the Central American Federation: 1842 |- | '''National anthem''' || ''Saludemos la Patria orgullosos'' |- | '''Top-level domain|Internet TLD''' || .sv |- | '''List of country calling codes|Calling Code''' || 503 |} ==History== ''Main article: History of El Salvador'' El Salvador obtained its independence from Spain on September 15, 1821 and the Central American Federation in 1839. In 1930 General Maximiliano Hernandez Martinez, who took power through a coup d'etat. Soon after, in 1932 now President of El Salvador|President Martinez repressed a revolt consisting of farmers and natives in the Western part of the country. Now known as the Communist Slaughter of 1932, the revolt was conducted by the newly formed Communist Party, and its leader Agustín Farabundo Martí. It left more than 20,000 people dead, and marked the beginning of a series of military dictatorships in El Salvador, that would finalize in 1979 with a coup d'etat to then leader, General Romero of the Party of National Conciliation|Partido de Conciliación Nacional (PCN). In 1969 a brief war, known as the Football War, took place with Honduras over the eviction of Salvadoran illegal immigrants living in the Honduran countryside, and to a lesser degree over the heated World Cup qualifying series taking place between the two countries. A civil war, that lasted 12 years (1980-1992) and that was seen by some as the result of one of the non-declared confrontations of the Cold War and by others as part of the enormous social and political discrepancies left by previous governments, cost the lives of approximately 75,000 people, most of them at the hands of government supported groups known as Death squad|Death Squads. The war finalized in 1992 when the rebels of the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front|Frente Farabundo Martí para la Liberación Nacional (FMLN), consisting mainly of five extreme left groups, and the government of then President Alfredo Cristiani of the Nationalist Republican Alliance|Alianza Republicana Nacionalista (ARENA), signed "Peace accords" on January 16, 1992 that assured political and military reforms, but did not expound on the social aspect. El Salvador is known for the many earthquakes that occur within its borders. Its is known popularly as the “Valley of the Hammocks” since colonial times. On January 13, 2001 an earthquake that measured 7.6 on the Richter scale caused a landslide that killed more than 800 people. On February 13, 2001 a second earthquake killed 255 people. The population density is high. The highest concentration of people is found in the capital, San Salvador, El Salvador|San Salvador. ==Politics== ''Main article: Politics of El Salvador, Legislative Assembly of El Salvador, List of political parties in El Salvador'' El Salvador is a democratic republic governed by a president and an 84-member unicameral Legislative Assembly. The president is elected by universal suffrage and serves for a 5-year term by absolute majority vote. A second round runoff is required in the event that no candidate receives more than 50% of the first round vote. Members of the assembly (called "deputies", or diputados), also elected by universal suffrage, serve for three-year terms. The country has an independent judiciary and Supreme Court. The current President of El Salvador is Antonio Saca|Elías Antonio Saca González. He was elected president on 21 March 2004 and took office on 1 June 2004. His presidential term ends on 1 June 2009. The current legal system of El Salvador, based on civil and Roman law, with traces of common law came into force with the passage of the constitution on December 23, 1983. ==Geography== Image:El_salvador_sm04.png|thumb|300px|Map of El Salvador ''Main article: Geography of El Salvador'' It is the smallest Central American country (roughly the size of the U.S. state of Massachusetts) and the only one without a coastline on Caribbean Sea. El Salvador is located between the Pacific Ocean|North Pacific Ocean to the south and southwest, with Guatemala in the north-northwest and Honduras to the north-northeast. The climate is tropical. The country experiences a rainy season from May to October and a dry season from November to April. Mostly mountainous with narrow coastal belt and central fertile volcanic plateau it is known as the "Land of the volcanoes", and has been victim to repeated seismic and volcanic acticity thourghout its history. Natural resources include hydropower, geothermal power, petroleum, and arable land. The most important cities are: * San Salvador, El Salvador|San Salvador (capital city) * Santa Ana, El Salvador|Santa Ana * San Miguel, El Salvador|San Miguel * Sonsonate * La Union * Zacatecoluca == Political divisions == The early post colonial rulers, such as Francisco Morazán and Gerardo Barrios, were of French descent and hence sympathetic to the Napoleonic code, which was successfully adapted to El Salvador. For this reason, the country has French style territorial divisions. El Salvador is divided into Departments of El Salvador|14 departments: <table align=center> <tr><td align=center colspan=2>Image:El Salvador departments numbered.png <tr><td> #Ahuachapán Department|Ahuachapán #Cabañas Department|Cabañas #Chalatenango Department|Chalatenango #Cuscatlán Department|Cuscatlán #La Libertad Department|La Libertad #La Paz Department, El Salvador|La Paz #La Unión Department|La Unión <td> <ol start=8> <li>Morazán Department|Morazán <li>San Miguel Department, El Salvador|San Miguel <li>San Salvador Department|San Salvador <li>San Vicente Department|San Vicente <li>Santa Ana Department|Santa Ana <li>Sonsonate Department|Sonsonate <li>Usulután Department|Usulután </ol> </td> </tr> </table> == Economy == ''Main article: Economy of El Salvador'' El Salvador has an economy based on of coffee and other cultivated goods. El Salvador's poor economy suffers from a weak tax collection system, factory closings, the aftermath of Hurricane Mitch, and low world coffee prices. On the bright side, in recent years inflation has fallen to single digit levels, and total exports have grown substantially. The substantial trade deficit has been offset by remittances from the large number of Salvadorans living abroad who fled military repression and economic stagnation, and from external aid. As of December 1999, net international reserves equaled $1.8 billion or roughly 5 months of imports. Having this hard currency buffer to work with, the Salvadoran Government undertook a "monetary integration plan" beginning January 1, 2001, by which the U.S. dollar became legal tender alongside the El Salvador colón|colón. == Demographics == Image:El Salvador demography.png|thumb|250px|right|Chart of El Salvador's population between 1961 and 2003 (figures taken from the Food and Agriculture Organization|FAO, 2005). Population in millions. ''Main article: Demographics of El Salvador'' El Salvador's population numbers about 6.2 million people. Around 90% is mestizo (mixed Amerindian and Spanish), some 9% white, and only 1% indigenous. Very few Amerindians have retained their customs, traditions or languages. Spanish is the language spoken by virtually all inhabitants. The country's people are largely Roman Catholic, though Protestant groups are growing. The capital city of San Salvador has about 1.8 million people; an estimated 42% of El Salvador's population live in rural areas. According to the most recent United Nations survey life expectancy for men was 68 years, and 74 years for women. == Culture == ''Main article: Culture of El Salvador, Music of El Salvador'' A small part of the population speaks Nahua, the native language. The Roman Catholic religion played an important role in the Salvadorenian culture. Painting, ceramics and textile articles are the main manual artistic expressions. We could also name the writers Francisco Gavidia (1863-1955) and Manlio Argueta, and the poet Roque Dalton among the most important artists from El Salvador. <TABLE border="1" align="center" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0"> <CAPTION><font size="+1">'''Holidays'''</font></caption> <TR><TH style="background:#efefef;">Date<TH style="background:#efefef;">English Name<TH style="background:#efefef;">Local Name<TH style="background:#efefef;">Remarks <TR><TD>March/April<TD>Holy Week<TD>Semana Santa<TD>Celebrated with carnival-like events in different cities by the large Catholic population <TR><TD>May 1 <TD>Labor Day<TD>Día de los trabajadores<TD>International Labour Day<TR><TD>May 10 <TD>Mother's Day<TD>Día de la Madre<TD> <TR><TD>September 15<TD>Independence Day<TD>Día de la Independencia<TD>Celebrates independence from Spain, achieved in 1821<TR><TD>October 12<TD>Race Day<TD>Día de la Raza<TD>This day comemorates the discovery of the Americas<TR><TD>November 2<TD>Day of the Dead<TD>Día de los Difuntos<TD><TR><TD>December 25<TD>Christmas Day<TD>Navidad<TD>Prohibited for decades in revolutionary Cuba, the Christmas celebration (and the corresponding holiday) was reinstalled in 1998 after Pope John Paul II visited Cuba </TABLE> == Miscellaneous topics == * Communications in El Salvador * Transportation in El Salvador * Military of El Salvador * Foreign relations of El Salvador * Carlos Hernandez (boxer)|Carlos Hernandez * Óscar Romero * Football War * Category:El Salvadorean football|El Salvadorean football == External links== * [http://www.pdc.org.sv Página del Partido Democrata Cristiano de El Salvador] * [http://www.rsf.fr/article.php3?id_article=4116 World-wide press freedom index] Rank 33 out of 139 countries (2 way tie) * [http://www.geocities.com/elnoyola/ Directorio de Sitios Web Salvadoreños] * [http://www.nuestroblog.com Blogs El Salvador] * [http://www.elsalvadorclasificados.com/ Clasificados Salvadoreños] * [http://luterano.blogspot.com Tim's El Salvador Blog] -- Current Events * [http://www.brevespacio.com Poetry El Salvador] * [http://www.ayvevos.com/ Forums & Salvadorean Community ] * [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4513593.stm El Salvador wildlife]<br> '''Government sites''' * [http://www.casapres.gob.sv/ Casa Presidencial] (Website of the President) * [http://www.asamblea.gob.sv/ Asamblea Legislativa] (Website of the Legislative Assembly) * [http://www.fuerzaarmada.gob.sv/portadafa2.html Ministerio de Defensa Nacional] (Ministry of Defense) * [http://www.fas.gob.sv Fuerza Aerea Salvadoreña] (Air Force of El Salvador) * [http://www.marn.gob.sv/ Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales] (Ministry of the Environment and Natural resources) * [http://www.rree.gob.sv/website/index.html Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores] (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) * [http://www.minec.gob.sv/ Ministerio de Economía] (Ministry of the Economy) * [http://www.elsalvadorturismo.gob.sv/ Ministerio de Turismo] (Ministry of Tourism) * [http://www.csj.gob.sv/idioma.htm Corte Suprema de Justicia] (Supreme Court of Justice) * [http://www.pddh.gob.sv/ Procuraduría para la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos] (Office of the judge advocate general for the Defense of Human rights) '''Salvadoran Newspapers''' * [http://www.apes.org.sv/index.php Asociación de Periodistas de El Salvador] * [http://www.laprensagrafica.com/portada/default.asp La Prensa Grafica] * [http://www.elmundo.com.sv/ El Mundo] * [http://www.elsalvador.com/ El Diario de Hoy] * [http://www.elfaro.net/ El Faro] {{North_America}} Category:Central American countries Category:El Salvador ca:El Salvador cs:Salvador da:El Salvador de:El Salvador et:El Salvador es:El Salvador eo:Salvadoro fr:Salvador id:El Salvador ia:El Salvador it:El Salvador he:אל סלוודור lv:Salvadora (valsts) lt:Salvadoras ms:El Salvador nl:El Salvador nds:El Salvador ja:エルサルバドル no:El Salvador pl:Salwador pt:El Salvador ro:El Salvador ru:Сальвадор sk:Salvádor sl:Salvador fi:El Salvador sv:El Salvador uk:Сальвадор zh:萨尔瓦多 zh-min-nan:El Salvador First page | Prev | Next | Last page | This article on El Salvador is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. 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