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Geography of El Salvador

Location:Central America, bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Guatemala and Honduras
Geographic coordinates:13 50 N, 88 55 W
Map references:Central America and the Caribbean
Area:total: 21,040 sq km
land: 20,720 sq km
water: 320 sq km
Area - comparative:slightly smaller than Massachusetts
Land boundaries:total: 545 km
border countries: Guatemala 203 km, Honduras 342 km
Coastline:307 km
Maritime claims:territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Climate:tropical; rainy season (May to October); dry season (November to April); tropical on coast; temperate in uplands
Terrain:mostly mountains with narrow coastal belt and central plateau
Elevation extremes:lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Cerro El Pital 2,730 m
Natural resources:hydropower, geothermal power, petroleum, arable land
Land use:arable land: 31.37%
permanent crops: 11.88%
other: 56.75% (2005)
Irrigated land:450 sq km (2003)
Natural hazards:known as the Land of Volcanoes; frequent and sometimes destructive earthquakes and volcanic activity; extremely susceptible to hurricanes
Environment - current issues:deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution; contamination of soils from disposal of toxic wastes
Environment - international agreements:party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea
Geography - note:smallest Central American country and only one without a coastline on Caribbean Sea

El Salvador Quickstats

  • Population: 6,948,073 (July 2007 est.)
  • Area: 21,040 sq km
  • Density: 318.7 /km² (32nd)
  • GDP (total): $36.246 billion (93rd)
  • GDP (per capita): 5,515 (101th)
  • Literacy: 80.2%

Languages of El Salvador

Useful to know

  • Currency: United States dollar
  • Dial code: +503¹

International Trade

External sites

More Resources

El Salvador Internet

  • Usage: 587,500
  • Penetration: 9.1 %
  • Top Domain: .es

WT eBusiness info:

  • Success Ranking: 100
  • Market testing: Untested
  • Overall risk: High
  • Overall reward: Low

e-maturity:

  • Tourism: 10%
  • eCommerce: 10%
  • Gaming: 10%
  • eLearning: 10%

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