El Salvador

Republic of El Salvador República de El Salvador
Flag Coat of arms
Motto:"Dios, Unión, Libertad"(in Spanish) "God, Unity, Freedom"
Anthem:Himno Nacional de El Salvador National anthem of El Salvador
Capital and largest city	San Salvador 13°40′N89°10′W
Official languages	Spanish
Recognised regional languages	Nahuatl
Ethnic groups	Mestizo: 80% White: 17% Black: 0% Native American: 1% Other: 2%
Demonym(s)	Salvadoran or Salvadorian
Government	Federalpresidentialconstitutional republic
•Acting President	Claudia Rodríguez de Guevara
•Speaker of the Assembly	Norman Quijano
•Supreme Court President	José Salomón Padilla
Legislature	Legislative Assembly
Independence
• fromSpain	September 15, 1821
• Recognized bySpain	June 24, 1865
• from theGreater Republic of Central America	November 13, 1898
Area
• Total	21,040 km2(8,120 sq mi) (153rd)
• Water (%)	1.4
Population
• 2009 census	5,744,113
• Density	341.5/km2(884.5/sq mi) (47th)
GDP(PPP)	2010 estimate
• Total	$43.567 billion
• Per capita	$7,429
GDP(nominal)	2010 estimate
• Total	$21.700 billion
• Per capita	$3,700
Gini(2002)	52.4 high
HDI(2015)	0.704 high·90th
Currency	United States dollar(USD) Bitcoin(BTC, XBT)(USD, BTC)
Time zone	UTC−6(CST)
Driving side	right
Calling code	+5031
ISO 3166 code	SV
Internet TLD	.sv
Telephone companies (market share): Tigo (45%), Claro (25%), Movistar (24%), Digicel (5.5%), Red (0.5%). Bitcoinand theUnited States dollarare the currencies in use. Financial information can be expressed in U.S. Dollars, Bitcoin and inSalvadoran colón,but the colón is out of circulation. On theCoat of Arms of El Salvador,the country's name is written "Republica de El Salvador en la America Central", Meaning "Republic of El Salvador in Central America"

El Salvador(Spanish:República de El Salvador) is the smallest and most densely populated country inCentral America.The country'scapitaland largest city isSan Salvador.Other important cities are:Santa AnaandSonsonate.El Salvador borders thePacific Oceanon the south,Guatemalato the west andHondurasto the north and east.

Background

In 2010 El Salvador ranked in the top 10 Latin American countries in terms ofHuman Development Index.It was in the top 3 in Central America (behindCosta RicaandPanama). Also,tropicalforests and overall forests have expanded by nearly 20% from the year 1992 to 2010, making it one of the few countries experiencingreforestation.

In El Salvador there are only twoseasons.The dry season starts in mid-October and it lasts until mid May. During the dry season, it hardly ever rains. The wet season starts in mid-May and ends in mid-October. It rains every day. The dry season is called summer and the rainy season is called winter.

Most of the population ismestizo,a mixture of European and American people.

In June 2021, it became the first country in the world to makeBitcoinlegal tender.In September 2021, the country began acceptingBitcoinas an officialcurrency,making it the first country to do so.

History

Thecivilization of El Salvador began around 1500 B.C., leaving an evidence that would be theTazumalRuins andChalchuapaRuins. The firstinhabitantswerePocomanes,LencasandPipiles.They stayed in the middle and east zone of El Salvador until about the eleventh century. TheSpaniardAndrés Niñoled an expedition from Central America and arrived inMeanguera Islandin theGulf of Fonsecaon May 31, 1522. That was the first Salvadoran territory visited by Spaniard men.

In June 1524,Pedro de Alvaradobegan a war of conquest againstCuzcatlán(Land of beautiful things) that was populated by the native tribes of the country. During 17 days of bloody battles many natives and Spaniard men died, including the nativeAtlacatl.Pedro de Alvarado, deterred and injured, left the battle and set off toGuatemala,leaving his brother,Gonzalo de Alvarado,to continue the conquest of Cuzcatlan. After this, their cousin, Diego de Alvardo established the San Salvador Ville on April 1525 in a site named La Bermuda, nearSuchitoto City.In 1546,Carlos Ifrom Spain named San Salvador a city.

During the following years, the country grew under Spaniard control. In 1810 a feeling of freedom formed in the countries of Central America. On the morning of November 5th, 1811, the priestJosé Matías Delgadorang the bells of La Merced Church in San Salvador, calling for an uprising. After many internal conflicts, the Declaration of Independence of Central América was signed in Guatemala on September 15th, 1821. That day is the Independence day all around Central America.

Geography

El Salvador has a total area of 21,041 km²(8,124 sq mi). As the smallest country in continental America, El Salvador is sometimes calledPulgarcito de America(the "Tom Thumbof the Americas "). The highest point in El Salvador isCerro El Pital,at 2,730 metres (8,957 ft), on the border withHonduras.

El Salvador has a long history of destructiveearthquakesandvolcanic eruptions.The capital San Salvador was destroyed in 1756 and 1854, and suffered heavy damage in the 1919, 1982, and 1986 tremors. El Salvador has over twenty volcanoes. Two of them,San MiguelandIzalco,have been active in recent years.

El Salvador has over 300 rivers. The most important is theRio Lempa.Important lakes areLake Ilopango(70 km²) andLake Coatepeque(26 km²).

Flora and Fauna

There are eight species ofsea turtlesin the world. Of these six nest on the coasts of Central America, and four make their home on the Salvadoran coast: theleatherback turtle,thehawksbill,theGalapagos green turtleand theolive ridley sea turtle.

It is estimated that there are 500 species of birds, 1,000 species ofbutterflies,400 species oforchids,800 species of trees, and 800 species of marine fish in El Salvador.

There are 4national parksin El Salvador:El Imposible,Los Volcanes,Montecristo,andSan Diego y San Felipe Las Barras.

Departments

El Salvador is divided into 14departments(departamentos). These are divided into 262municipalities(municipios).

Departments of El Salvador
Western El Salvador Ahuachapán(Ahuachapán) Santa Ana(Santa Ana) Sonsonate(Sonsonate)	Central El Salvador La Libertad(Santa Tecla) Chalatenango(Chalatenango) Cuscatlán(Cojutepeque) San Salvador(San Salvador) La Paz(Zacatecoluca) Cabañas(Sensuntepeque) San Vicente(San Vicente)	Eastern El Salvador Usulután(Usulután) San Miguel(San Miguel) Morazán(San Francisco Gotera) La Unión(La Unión)
Note: Departmental capitals are in parentheses.