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El Salvador: A Country of Opportunities
El Salvador is a republic on the Pacific Coast of Central America and is the only Central American country without access to the Caribbean. El Salvador is second only to Guatemala in population in Central America, and is the most densely populated republic on the American mainland. In the 20th century, El Salvador experienced an extensive migration from rural to urban areas. Currently, one-third of its population lives within the metropolitan area of San Salvador, the capital and largest city of El Salvador, which is Spanish for "the Savior". The country’s landscape is dominated by a volcanic mountain range, which provides ideal conditions for coffee cultivation. Coffee has been the mainstay of the Salvadoran economy for more than a century.
Land and Resources
El Salvador is 140 km wide at its widest point and 260 km long, with an area of 21,156 sq km. El Salvador is bounded on the west by Guatemala, on the north and east by Honduras, on the south by the Pacific Ocean, and on the extreme southeast by the Gulf of Fonseca, which it shares with Honduras and Nicaragua. The country’s geography is defined by its volcanic mountains, separated by the plateaus and valleys of the central region. The mountains descend to a narrow, fertile coastal plain, which drops steeply into the Pacific.
Natural Regions
Volcanic ranges span through most of the country. There are more than twenty-five extinct volcanic cones with many small and large craters showing old lava flows. The San Miguel, Santa Ana, San Salvador, and Izalco volcanoes have all been active in modern times. The Santa Ana volcano is the highest point in the country at an elevation of 2,385 meters above sea level. The majority of El Salvador’s population and agricultural land are located at elevations ranging from 600 m to 1,200 m in the central plateaus and valleys. Volcanic ash has enriched the soil, providing ideal conditions for coffee cultivation.
| El Salvador Data |
| Status: |
Presidential Republic divided into 14 departments |
| Location: |
Central America - Pacific Coast
To the west: Guatemala
To the North: Honduras |
| Area: |
21,156 sq km |
| Population: |
6,200,000 inhabitants |
| Population density: |
293 inhabitants per sq km, the densest in Central America |
| Capital: |
San Salvador |
| Language: |
Spanish |
| Religion: |
Roman Catholicism |
| Monetary unit: |
U.S. Dollar |
| Weights and measures: |
Metric system; however some old Spanish units of measurement are still in use. |
| Standard time: |
G.M.T. - 6 hours |
| Telephone country code: |
(503) |
| Agricultural products: |
Coffee, sugarcane, cotton |
| Industrial products: |
Cement, insecticides for agriculture, textiles, pharmaceuticals |
| Other Industries: |
Fishery |
| Climate: |
Temperate in valleys and elevations, hot in the narrow coastal plain.
Dry season: November to April
Rainy season: May to October
Average annual precipitation: 2,500 mm |
| Relief: |
Volcanic mountain range exceeding 2,000 meters in altitude |
| Soil: |
Very fertile red soil due to the beneficial decomposition of volcanic lava
At higher elevations: moors and steppes |
| Coffee planted area: |
150,000 hectares |
| Number of coffee farms: |
approx. 41,000 |
| Botanical species: |
Arabica |
| Botanical varieties: |
Bourbon, Typica, Arabigo (very little), Pacas, Pacamara |
| Origin: |
Introduced in 1740 from the Caribbean Islands |
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