Editing El Salvador

{{Short description|Country in North Central America}}
{{About|the country in Central America}}
{{Pp-move}}{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2022}}{{Use Oxford spelling|date = June 2020}}
{{Infobox country
| conventional_long_name = Republic of El Salvador
| common_name            = El Salvador
| native_name            = {{native name|es|República de El Salvador}}
| image_flag             = Flag of El Salvador.svg
| image_coat             = Coat of arms of El Salvador.svg
| national_motto         = {{native phrase|es|Dios, Unión, Libertad|paren=off}}<br />"God, Union, Liberty"
| national_anthem        = {{native name|es|Himno Nacional de El Salvador|paren=off}}<br />"[[National Anthem of El Salvador]]"{{parabr}}{{center|[[File:El_Salvador%27s_national_anthem_(abridged).ogg]]}}
| image_map              = Orthographic Map of El Salvador.svg
| image_map2             = El Salvador Base map.png
| capital                = [[San Salvador]]
| coordinates            = {{coord|13|42|N|89|12|W|type:city_region:SV-SS}}
| largest_city           = capital
| official_languages     = [[Salvadoran Spanish|Spanish]]{{efn|The official language of El Salvador is established in the Article 62 of the Constitution of 1983 to be Castilian.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.asamblea.gob.sv/sites/default/files/documents/decretos/69A06B07-4F30-4F0E-8FB1-D664A3E6D8CC.pdf |language= es |title=Constitución de la República de El Salvador (1983), art. 62 |access-date=October 30, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240224220905/https://www.asamblea.gob.sv/sites/default/files/documents/decretos/69A06B07-4F30-4F0E-8FB1-D664A3E6D8CC.pdf |archive-date=2024-02-24}}</ref>}}
| languages_type         = Recognized languages
| languages              = [[Nawat language|Nawat]]{{efn|[[English language|English]] is also an academic language in public schools. For more information, see [[Languages of El Salvador]].}}
| ethnic_groups          = {{vunblist
   | 86.3% [[Mestizo]] (mixed [[White Latin Americans|White]] and [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas#El Salvador|Indigenous]])
   | 12.7% [[White Latin Americans|White]]
   | 0.2% [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas#El Salvador|Indigenous]]
   | 0.1% [[Afro-Salvadorans|Black]]
   | 0.6%  other}}
| ethnic_groups_ref      = <ref name="El Salvador Census 2007">{{cite web|url=http://www.digestyc.gob.sv/biblioteca/CENSOS/CENAPOVI2007/Tomo_IV_Vol.I_Municipios_Caracteristicas_Generales.pdf|title=VI Censo de población y V de vivienda 2007|page=336|publisher=Dirección General de Estadística y Censos|access-date=6 January 2023|language=es|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191220071530/http://www.digestyc.gob.sv/biblioteca/CENSOS/CENAPOVI2007/Tomo_IV_Vol.I_Municipios_Caracteristicas_Generales.pdf|archive-date=20 December 2019}}</ref>
| demonym                = [[Salvadoran]]
| government_type        = Unitary [[presidential republic]]
| leader_title1          = [[President of El Salvador|President]]
| leader_name1           = [[Nayib Bukele]]
| leader_title2          = [[Vice President of El Salvador|Vice President]]
| leader_name2           = [[Félix Ulloa]]
| legislature            = [[Legislative Assembly of El Salvador|Legislative Assembly]]
| sovereignty_type       = [[Independence]]
| established_event1     = [[Act of Independence of Central America|Declared from Spain]]
| established_date1      = 15 September 1821
| established_event2     = Declared from the [[First Mexican Empire]]
| established_date2      = 1 July 1823
| established_event3     = {{nowrap|Declared from the<br />[[Federal Republic of Central America|Federal Republic of<br />Central America]]}}
| established_date3      = 30 January 1841
| established_event4     = International recognition<ref name="FitzGerald2014">{{cite book|author=David Scott FitzGerald|title=Culling the Masses|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ldNoAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA363|date=22 April 2014|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-674-36967-2|page=363|access-date=6 November 2015|archive-date=10 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240110213917/https://books.google.com/books?id=ldNoAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA363#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref>
| established_date4      = 18 February 1841
| established_date5      = 13 November 1898<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Slade|first1=William F.|title=The Federation of Central America|journal=The Journal of Race Development|year=1917|volume=8|issue=2|pages=204–276|doi=10.2307/29738239|jstor=29738239|hdl=2027/inu.30000056731338|hdl-access=free}}</ref>
| established_event5     = Withdrew from the [[Greater Republic of Central America]]
| area_km2               = 21,041
| area_rank              = 148th <!-- Area rank should match [[List of countries and dependencies by area]] -->
| area_sq_mi             = 8,124 <!--Do not remove per [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Dates and numbers]]-->
| percent_water          = 1.5
| population_census      = {{IncreaseNeutral}} 6,029,976<ref name="census">{{cite web|url=https://censo2024.bcr.gob.sv/wp-content/uploads/tablas-geoportal/presentacion-de-resultados-censo-de-poblacion-y-vivienda-el-salvador-2024-segunda-entrega.pdf |title= Presentación Nacional de Resultados Censo de Población y Vivienda El Salvador 2024 (Segunda Entrega) |trans-title= National Presentation of Results of the Population and Housing Census of El Salvador 2024 (2nd Edition)|language=es|date=30 January 2025 |access-date=22 February 2025|work=[[Central Reserve Bank of El Salvador]] |url-status= live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20250222101906/https://censo2024.bcr.gob.sv/wp-content/uploads/tablas-geoportal/presentacion-de-resultados-censo-de-poblacion-y-vivienda-el-salvador-2024-segunda-entrega.pdf |archive-date= 2025-02-22}}</ref>
| population_census_year = 2024
| population_census_rank = 114th
| population_density_km2 = 286.6
| population_density_sq_mi = 742.2 <!--Do not remove per [[WP:MOSNUM]]-->
| population_density_rank = 48th
| GDP_PPP                = {{increase}} $88.323 billion<ref name="IMFWEO.SV">{{cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2024/October/weo-report?c=253,&s=NGDPD,PPPGDP,NGDPDPC,PPPPC,&sy=1980&ey=2029&ssm=0&scsm=1&scc=0&ssd=1&ssc=0&sic=0&sort=country&ds=.&br=1 |title= World Economic Outlook Database, October 2024 Edition. (El Salvador) |publisher=[[International Monetary Fund]] |website=IMF.org |date=10 October 2024 |access-date=2 January 2025}}</ref>
| GDP_PPP_rank           = 107th
| GDP_PPP_year           = 2025
| GDP_PPP_per_capita     = {{increase}} $13,753<ref name="IMFWEO.SV" />
| GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = 114th
| GDP_nominal            = {{increase}} $37.843 billion<ref name="IMFWEO.SV" />
| GDP_nominal_rank       = 104th
| GDP_nominal_year       = 2025
| GDP_nominal_per_capita = {{increase}} $5,893<ref name="IMFWEO.SV" />
| GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank = 108th
| Gini                   = 38.8 <!--number only-->
| Gini_year              = 2022
| Gini_change            = steady <!--increase/decrease/steady-->
| Gini_ref               = <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/field/gini-index-coefficient-distribution-of-family-income/country-comparison/ |title=Gini Index coefficient|publisher=[[The World Factbook]]|access-date=24 September 2024}}</ref>
| Gini_rank              = 
| HDI                    = 0.678 <!--number only-->
| HDI_year               = 2023<!-- Please use the year to which the data refers, not the publication year-->
| HDI_change             = increase <!--increase/decrease/steady-->
| HDI_ref                = <ref name="UNHDR">{{Cite web |date=6 May 2025 |title=Human Development Report 2025 |url=https://hdr.undp.org/system/files/documents/global-report-document/hdr2025reporten.pdf|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250506051232/https://hdr.undp.org/system/files/documents/global-report-document/hdr2025reporten.pdf |archive-date=6 May 2025 |access-date=6 May 2025 |publisher=[[United Nations Development Programme]] |language=en}}</ref>
| HDI_rank               = 132nd
| currency               = {{unbulleted list 
  | [[United States dollar]] ([[ISO 4217|USD]]; since 2001)
  | [[Salvadoran colón]] (no longer in circulation, still legal) }}{{efn|The [[United States dollar|U.S. dollar]] is the main currency in use. Financial information can be expressed in U.S. dollars and in [[Salvadoran colón]]s, but the colón is out of circulation.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bcr.gob.sv/ingles/integracion/ley.html |title=Main Aspects of the Law |access-date=8 July 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070708094105/http://www.bcr.gob.sv/ingles/integracion/ley.html |archive-date=8 July 2007 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://elsalvadorinfo.net/legal-currency-of-el-salvador/ |title=Legal currency of El Salvador | access-date=24 March 2025}}</ref> [[Bitcoin]] was designated as legal tender in 2021.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-57398274 |title=Bitcoin: El Salvador makes cryptocurrency legal tender |date=9 June 2021 |website=BBC |publisher= |access-date=9 June 2021 |quote= |archive-date=23 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210623180912/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-57398274 |url-status=live }}</ref>}}
| time_zone              = [[Central Time Zone|CST]]
| utc_offset             = −6
| utc_offset_DST         = 
| drives_on              = right
| calling_code           = [[Telephone numbers in El Salvador|+503]]{{efn| Telephone companies (market share): Tigo (45%), Claro (25%), Movistar (24%), Digicel (5.5%), Red (0.5%).}}
| cctld                  = [[.sv]]
| footnotes              = {{notelist|group=infobox}}
<!----ORPHANED:
| footnote_? = On the [[Coat 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"
 ----->| religion_year          = 2017
| religion_ref           = <ref name="state2017">{{cite web |title=International Religious Freedom Report for 2017: El Salvador |url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/religiousfreedom/index.htm?year=2017&dlid=281072 |website=www.state.gov |access-date=31 December 2018 |archive-date=6 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210606032924/https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/religiousfreedom/index.htm?year=2017&dlid=281072 |url-status=live }} For percentages it cites the Institute of Public Opinion of the University of Central America May 2017 survey.</ref>
| religion               = {{unbulleted list
|{{Tree list}}
* 84.1% [[Christianity]]
** 44.9% [[Catholic Church in El Salvador|Catholicism]]
** 37.1% [[Protestantism]]
**2.1% other [[List of Christian denominations|Christian]]
{{Tree list/end}}
|15.2% [[Irreligion in Latin America|no religion]]|0.7% [[Religion in El Salvador|other]]}}
| today                  = 
}}

'''El Salvador''',{{efn|{{IPAc-en|audio=En-us-El Salvador.ogg|ɛ|l|_|ˈ|s|æ|l|v|ə|d|ɔr}}; {{IPA|es|el salβaˈðoɾ|lang|ES-pe - El Salvador.ogg}}, meaning "[[Jesus|The Saviour]]"}} officially the '''Republic of El Salvador''',{{efn|{{langx|es|República de El Salvador}}}} is a country in [[Central America]]. It is bordered on the northeast by [[Honduras]], on the northwest by [[Guatemala]], and on the south by the [[Pacific Ocean]]. El Salvador's capital and largest city is [[San Salvador]]. The country's population in 2024 was estimated to be 6 million according to a government census.<ref name="census" />

Among the [[Mesoamerica]]n nations that historically controlled the region are the [[Maya peoples|Maya]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.fundar.org.sv/e_joyadeceren.html|title=Joya De Ceren Archaeological Park|website=FUNDAR|access-date=4 April 2020|archive-date=14 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190914063837/http://www.fundar.org.sv/e_joyadeceren.html}}</ref> and then the [[Cuzcatlan|Cuzcatlecs]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Campbell|first=Lyle|title=The Pipil Language of El Salvador|publisher=Mouton Publishers|year=1985|pages=9}}</ref> Archaeological monuments also suggest an early [[Olmec]] presence around the first millennium BC.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ej1Ya6YDvpoC&q=olmec+stone+tazumal|title=An Archaeological Guide to Northern Central America: Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador|last=Kelly|first=Joyce|year=1996|page=288|publisher=University of Oklahoma Press|isbn=978-0-8061-2861-0|access-date=4 April 2020|archive-date=10 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240110142627/https://books.google.com/books?id=Ej1Ya6YDvpoC&q=olmec+stone+tazumal#v=snippet&q=olmec%20stone%20tazumal&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> In the beginning of the 16th century, the [[Spanish conquest of El Salvador|Spanish Empire conquered]] the Central American territory, incorporating it into the Viceroyalty of [[New Spain]] ruled from [[Mexico City]]. However, the Viceroyalty of New Spain had little to no influence in the daily affairs of the isthmus, which was colonized in 1524. In 1609, the area was declared the [[Captaincy General of Guatemala]] by the Spanish, which included the territory that would become El Salvador until its independence from Spain in 1821. It was [[Central America under Mexican rule|forcibly incorporated]] into the [[First Mexican Empire]], then seceded, joining the [[Federal Republic of Central America]] in 1823. When the federation dissolved in 1841, El Salvador became a sovereign state, then formed a short-lived union with Honduras and [[Nicaragua]] called the [[Greater Republic of Central America]], which lasted from 1896 to 1898.<ref name="Boland2001">{{cite book|first=Roy|last=Boland|title=Culture and Customs of El Salvador|url=https://archive.org/details/culturecustomsof00bola|url-access=registration|date=1 January 2001|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-313-30620-4|page=[https://archive.org/details/culturecustomsof00bola/page/2 2]}}</ref><ref name="IhrieOropesa2011">{{cite book|first1=Maureen|last1=Ihrie|first2=Salvador|last2=Oropesa|title=World Literature in Spanish: An Encyclopedia &#91;3 volumes&#93;: An Encyclopedia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zPDFHE_5besC&pg=PA332|date=20 October 2011|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-0-313-08083-8|page=332|access-date=6 November 2015|archive-date=10 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240110142632/https://books.google.com/books?id=zPDFHE_5besC&pg=PA332|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Haskin2012">{{cite book|first=Jeanne M.|last=Haskin|title=From Conflict to Crisis: The Danger of U.S. Actions|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O9hr0Ze14H0C&pg=PA152|year=2012|publisher=Algora Publishing|isbn=978-0-87586-961-2|page=152|access-date=6 November 2015|archive-date=10 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240110142623/https://books.google.com/books?id=O9hr0Ze14H0C&pg=PA152#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref>

From the late 19th to the mid-20th century, El Salvador endured chronic political and economic instability characterized by coups, revolts, and a succession of authoritarian rulers. Persistent socioeconomic inequality and civil unrest culminated in the [[Salvadoran Civil War]] from 1979 to 1992, fought between the military-led government backed by the [[United States]], and a coalition of left-wing [[Guerrilla warfare|guerrilla]] groups. The conflict ended with the [[Chapultepec Peace Accords]]. This negotiated settlement established a multiparty constitutional republic, which remains in place to this day. 
During the civil war and afterwards, large numbers of Salvadorans emigrated to the United States. From 1980 through 2008, nearly one million Salvadorans emigrated to the United States, such that by 2008, they were the sixth largest immigrant group in the US.<ref name=migrationPolicy2010>{{cite web|last=Terrazas|first=Aaron Terrazas Aaron|date=5 January 2010|title=Salvadoran Immigrants in the United States in 2008|url=https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/salvadoran-immigrants-united-states-2008|access-date=25 October 2020|website=migrationpolicy.org|archive-date=10 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240110142624/https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/salvadoran-immigrants-united-states-2008|url-status=live}}</ref>

El Salvador's [[economy of El Salvador|economy]] has historically been dominated by agriculture, beginning with the Spanish taking control of the indigenous [[cacao bean|cacao]] crop in the 16th century, with production centred in [[Izalco]], along with balsam from the ranges of [[La Libertad Department (El Salvador)|La Libertad]] and [[Ahuachapán Department|Ahuachapán]]. This was followed by a boom in use of the [[Indigofera|indigo plant]] in the 19th century, mainly for its use as a dye.<ref name="Montgomery1995">{{cite book|author=Tommie Sue Montgomery|title=Revolution in El Salvador: From Civil Strife to Civil Peace|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6xTklQxPGe8C&pg=PA27|year=1995|publisher=Westview Press|isbn=978-0-8133-0071-9|page=27}}</ref><ref name="Murray1997">{{cite book|first=Kevin|last=Murray|title=El Salvador: Peace on Trial|url=https://archive.org/details/elsalvadorpeaceo0000murr|url-access=registration|date=1 January 1997|publisher=Oxfam|isbn=978-0-85598-361-1|pages=[https://archive.org/details/elsalvadorpeaceo0000murr/page/8 8]–}}</ref> Thereafter the focus shifted to [[coffee]], which by the early 20th century accounted for 90% of export earnings.<ref name="Boland2001b">{{cite book|first=Roy|last=Boland|title=Culture and Customs of El Salvador|url=https://archive.org/details/culturecustomsof00bola|url-access=registration|date=1 January 2001|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-313-30620-4|page=[https://archive.org/details/culturecustomsof00bola/page/8 8]}}</ref><ref name="Pearcy2006">{{cite book|first=Thomas L.|last=Pearcy|title=The History of Central America|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BJRoO1VWCSYC&pg=PA43|year=2006|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-313-32293-8|page=43|access-date=6 November 2015|archive-date=10 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240110142732/https://books.google.com/books?id=BJRoO1VWCSYC&pg=PA43|url-status=live}}</ref> El Salvador has since reduced its dependence on coffee and embarked on diversifying its economy by opening up trade and financial links and expanding the manufacturing sector.<ref name="FoleyHapipi2005">{{cite book|first1=Erin|last1=Foley|first2=Rafiz|last2=Hapipi|title=El Salvador|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PPwwabJIEdkC&pg=PA43|year=2005|publisher=Marshall Cavendish|isbn=978-0-7614-1967-9|page=43|access-date=6 November 2015|archive-date=10 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240110142730/https://books.google.com/books?id=PPwwabJIEdkC&pg=PA43#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Salvadoran colón|colón]], the currency of El Salvador since 1892, was replaced by the [[United States dollar]] in 2001.<ref>{{cite web|title=Main Aspects of the Law|url=http://www.bcr.gob.sv/ingles/integracion/ley.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070708094105/http://www.bcr.gob.sv/ingles/integracion/ley.html|archive-date=8 July 2007|access-date=8 July 2007}} bcr.gob.sv</ref> As of 2019 economic improvements had led to El Salvador experiencing the lowest level of [[Economic inequality|income inequality]] among nearby countries. Among 77 countries included in a 2021 study, El Salvador had one of the least complex economies for doing business.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Barrera |first1=Jose |title=El Salvador está entre las 10 economías menos complejas para hacer negocios |date=15 September 2021 |url=https://diario.elmundo.sv/el-salvador-esta-entre-las-10-economias-menos-complejas-para-hacer-negocios/ |publisher=Diario El Mundo |access-date=19 September 2021 |archive-date=16 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210916040429/https://diario.elmundo.sv/el-salvador-esta-entre-las-10-economias-menos-complejas-para-hacer-negocios/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Etymology ==

After the [[Spanish conquest of El Salvador|Spanish conquest]], the land was divided into the province of San Salvador, the Spanish version of "Holy Saviour", a biblical title for [[Jesus]]. From 1579 that also included the province of [[San Miguel, El Salvador|San Miguel]] (Saint Michael). San Salvador would become, throughout the colonial era, an {{lang|es|alcaldía mayor}} ('great mayor's office'), [[Intendancy of San Salvador|intendancy]], and finally a province with a provincial council, and the province of Izalco (which would become be called the mayor's office of [[Sonsonate, El Salvador|Sonsonate]]). In 1824 the two jurisdictions were united in the State of Salvador, a part of the [[Federal Republic of Central America]].<ref name="el nombre El Salvador">{{Cite book |url=http://issuu.com/sec-sv/docs/el_nombre_de_el_salvador_fd686d53bef9b0 |author1=Carlos Pérez Pineda |author2=Óscar Meléndez |title=El nombre oficial de la República de El Salvador |edition=1st |publisher=Dirección de Publicaciones e Impresos |location=[[San Salvador]] |page=37 |date=9 June 2015 |access-date=14 January 2024 |archive-date=6 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406041018/https://issuu.com/sec-sv/docs/el_nombre_de_el_salvador_fd686d53bef9b0 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Ejercicio gobernar">{{Cite book |last=Herrera Mena |first=Sajid Alfredo |title=El ejercicio de gobernar: Del cabildo borbónico al ayuntamiento liberal. El Salvador colonial, 1750–1821 |trans-title=The exercise of governance: From the Bourbon council to the liberal city council. Colonial El Salvador, 1750–1821 |date=2013 |publisher=[[Jaume I University]] Press |isbn=978-84-15443-13-1}}</ref>

After the dissolution of the Federal Republic of Central America, the country was referred to as the ''Republic of Salvador'' ({{lang|es|República del Salvador}}), but in 1915, the [[Legislative Assembly of El Salvador|Legislative Assembly]] passed a law which officially stated that the country's name should be rendered as the definite form {{lang|es|El Salvador}} ('The Saviour') — again a reference to Jesus — rather than {{Lang|es|Salvador}}. With another law passed in 1958, the legislature reaffirmed the country's name as {{lang|es|El Salvador}}.<ref>{{Cite book |title=El nombre oficial de la República de El Salvador |trans-title=The official name of the Republic of El Salvador |publisher=[[Government of El Salvador]] |year=2015 |isbn=978-99923-0-274-3 |url=http://www.cultura.gob.sv/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/El-nombre-de-El-Salvador.pdf |access-date=6 September 2020 |archive-date=11 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111203357/http://www.cultura.gob.sv/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/El-nombre-de-El-Salvador.pdf |pages=11 & 26–28 }}</ref>

==History==
{{Main|History of El Salvador}}<!--Conquest of Cuzcatlán/Independence/20th century subsections have many paragraphs without citations, Spanish conquest subsection has none-->

===Prehistoric===
During the [[Pleistocene]] El Salvador was inhabited by now extinct [[megafauna]] species, including the elephant-sized giant ground sloth ''[[Eremotherium]]'', the rhinoceros-like ''[[Mixotoxodon]]'', the [[gomphothere]] (elephant-relative) ''[[Cuvieronius]]'', the [[glyptodont]] ''[[Glyptotherium]]'', the llama ''[[Hemiauchenia]]'', and the horse ''[[Equus conversidens]]''.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Cisneros |first=Juan Carlos |date=2005-12-30 |title=New Pleistocene vertebrate fauna from El Salvador |url=https://www.sbpbrasil.org/revista/edicoes/8_3/cisneros.pdf |journal=Revista Brasileira de Paleontologia |volume=8 |issue=3 |pages=239–255 |doi=10.4072/rbp.2005.3.09 |issn=1519-7530}}</ref><ref>Cisneros, J.C., 2008, The fossil mammals of El Salvador: New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin, 44, 375–380.  </ref> El Salvador has likely been occupied by humans since the [[Paleo-Indians|Paleoindian]] period, based on fluted stone points found in western El Salvador.<ref>“Las tradiciones Clovis y Cola de Pescado en Centroamérica” Anales de la Academia de Geografía e Historia de Guatemala, LXXXVII (2012): 181–212. Guatemala, 2014.</ref>

===Pre-Columbian era===
Archaeological knowledge of Pre-Columbian civilization in El Salvador is poor, due to its high population density limiting excavation, as well as volcanic eruptions blanketing potential archaeological sites. This lack of knowledge particularly affects the [[Mesoamerican chronology#Preclassic Era or Formative Period|Preclassic Period]] and earlier.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Szymański |first=Jan |date=2020-12-31 |title=Recent Research at San Isidro, El Salvador, in the Context of Southeastern Mesoamerican Archaeology |url=https://estudioslatinoamericanos.pl/index.php/estudios/article/view/342 |journal=Estudios Latinoamericanos |volume=40 |pages=5–32 |doi=10.36447/estudios2020.v40.art1 |issn=0137-3080|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

A notable archaeological site in western El Salvador is [[:es:Chalchuapa#Época prehispánica|Chalchuapa]], which was first settled around 1200 BC, and became a major urban settlement on the periphery of the [[Mayan civilization|Maya civilization]] during the Preclassic Period and was heavily involved in the trading of valuable items like ceramics, obsidian, cacao and hematite. The settlement was heavily damaged around 430 AD by a volcanic eruption, after which it never regained its former prominence.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Dull |first=Robert A. |date=March 2007 |title=Evidence for Forest Clearance, Agriculture, and Human-Induced Erosion in Precolumbian El Salvador |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8306.2007.00527.x |journal=Annals of the Association of American Geographers |volume=97 |issue=1 |pages=127–141 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-8306.2007.00527.x |issn=0004-5608|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Another major Pre-Columbian settlement is [[Cara Sucia (Mesoamerican site)|Cara Sucia]] in the far west of the country, which began as a small settlement around 800 BC at the beginning of the Middle Preclassic, during the [[Late Classic]] (600–900 AD), Cara Sucia emerged as a major urban settlement, before being abruptly destroyed during the 10th century.<ref>Moraga, Regina, Elisa Mencos, Philippe Costa y Sébastien Perrot-Minnot 2010 La Relación entre Cara Sucia (El Salvador) y la zona de Cotzumalguapa (Guatemala): La perspectiva desde un análisis cerámico. En XXIII Simposio de Investigaciones Arqueológicas en Guatemala, 2009 (editado por B. Arroyo, A. Linares y L. Paiz), pp.1180-1192. Museo Nacional de Arqueología y Etnología, Guatemala (versión digital).</ref>[[File:Temazcal en Joya de Cerén.jpg|thumb|[[Temazcal]] in [[Joya de Cerén]]]]

The [[Pipil people]], [[Nahuan languages|Nahua]] speaking groups migrated from [[Anahuac (Aztec)|Anahuac]] beginning around 800 AD and occupied the central and western regions of El Salvador.<ref name="Campbell1985">{{cite book |last=Campbell |first=Lyle |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NUKKQacUsPwC&pg=PA924 |title=The Pipil Language of El Salvador |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |year=1985 |isbn=978-0-89925-040-3 |pages=924–925 |access-date=6 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240110213911/https://books.google.com/books?id=NUKKQacUsPwC&pg=PA924 |archive-date=10 January 2024 |url-status=live}}</ref> The Nahua Pipil were the last indigenous people to arrive in El Salvador.<ref name="Fowler1991">{{cite book|author=William R. Fowler, Jr.|date=6 August 1991|isbn=978-0-8493-8831-6|page=8|publisher=CRC Press|title=The Formation of Complex Society in Southeastern Mesoamerica|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_nN2rNywnWcC&pg=PA8|access-date=6 November 2015|archive-date=10 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240110143138/https://books.google.com/books?id=_nN2rNywnWcC&pg=PA8#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> They called their territory ''Kuskatan'', a [[Nawat language|Nawat]] word<ref name="Cárdenas1950">{{cite book
|author=Juan Luna Cárdenas
|title=Tratado de etimologías de la lengua aztekatl: para uso de profesores y estudiantes de historias de América y de México, de ciencias naturales y ciencias sociales de las escuela secundarias, normales y preparatorias
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qspQAAAAMAAJ
|year=1950
|publisher=U. Tl. I. Aztekatl
|page=27
|access-date=6 November 2015
|archive-date=10 January 2024
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240110143140/https://books.google.com/books?id=qspQAAAAMAAJ
|url-status=live
}}</ref> meaning "The Place of Precious Jewels", [[back-formation|back-formed]] into [[Classical Nahuatl]] ''Cōzcatlān'', and as ''Cuzcatlán''.<ref name="Baratta1951">{{cite book|author=María de Baratta|date=1951|page=15|publisher=Ministerio de Cultura|title=Cuzcatlán típico: ensayo sobre etnofonía de El Savator, folklore, folkwisa y folkway|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kqHYAAAAMAAJ|access-date=6 November 2015|archive-date=10 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240110143244/https://books.google.com/books?id=kqHYAAAAMAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Cárdenas1964">{{cite book|author=Juan Luna Cárdenas|page=47|publisher=Secretaría de Educación Pública|title=Aztequismos en el español de México|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RrcuAAAAYAAJ|year=1964|access-date=6 November 2015|archive-date=10 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240110143141/https://books.google.com/books?id=RrcuAAAAYAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> It was the largest domain in Salvadoran territory up until European contact. The term ''Cuzcatleco'' is commonly used to identify someone of Salvadoran heritage, although the majority of the eastern population has an indigenous heritage of Lenca origin, as do their place names such as [[Intipucá|Intipuca]], [[Chirilagua]], and [[Lolotique]].

Most of the archaeological sites in western El Salvador such as [[Lake Güija|Lago de Guija]] and [[Joya de Cerén|Joya De Ceren]] indicate a pre-Columbian Mayan culture. [[Cihuatán|Cihuatan]] shows signs of material trade with northern Nahua culture, eastern Mayan and Lenca culture, and southern Nicaraguan and Costa Rican indigenous culture.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://userwww.sfsu.edu/kbruhns/cihuatan/welcome.html|title=Cihuatan|last=Olson Bruhns|first=Karen|website=Cihuatan: El Salvador's Ancient City|access-date=5 April 2020|archive-date=20 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200220140910/http://userwww.sfsu.edu/kbruhns/cihuatan/welcome.html}}</ref> [[Tazumal]]'s smaller B1-2 structure shows a [[Talud-tablero|talud]]-[[Talud-tablero|tablero]] style of architecture that is associated with Nahua culture and corresponds with their migration history from Anahuac. In eastern El Salvador, the Lenca site of [[Quelepa]] is highlighted as a major pre-Columbian cultural centre and demonstrates links to the Mayan site of [[Copán|Copan]] in western Honduras as well as the previously mentioned sites in Chalchuapa, and Cara Sucia in western El Salvador. An investigation of the site of La Laguna in [[Usulután|Usulutan]] has also produced Copador items that link it to the Lenca-Maya trade route.

=== European arrival (1522) ===
By 1521, the indigenous population of the Mesoamerican area had been drastically reduced by the [[History of smallpox|smallpox epidemic]] that was spreading throughout the territory, although it had not yet reached pandemic levels in Cuzcatlán or the northern portion Managuara.<ref name="Peters2005">{{cite book|author=Stephanie True Peters|title=Smallpox in the New World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v0zEiM_hijsC&pg=PA13|year=2005|publisher=Marshall Cavendish|isbn=978-0-7614-1637-1|pages=13–18|access-date=6 November 2015|archive-date=10 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240110143249/https://books.google.com/books?id=v0zEiM_hijsC&pg=PA13#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Card2007">{{cite thesis|first=Jeb J.|last=Card|title=The Ceramics of Colonial Ciudad Vieja, El Salvador: Culture Contact and Social Change in Mesoamerica| institution= Tulane University | degree= PhD |year=2007|page=99}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Explorer's Guide El Salvador: A Great Destination|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b9Jm7PERatwC&pg=PA36|date=4 October 2010|publisher=Countryman Press|isbn=978-1-58157-114-1|page=36|access-date=6 November 2015|archive-date=10 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240110143140/https://books.google.com/books?id=b9Jm7PERatwC&pg=PA36#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> The first known visit by Spaniards to what is now Salvadoran territory was made by the admiral [[Andrés Niño]], who led an expedition to Central America. He disembarked in the [[Gulf of Fonseca]] on 31 May 1522, at [[Meanguera del Golfo|Meanguera island]], naming it Petronila,<ref name="Valdés2006">{{cite book|author=Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés|title=Writing from the edge of the world: the memoirs of Darién, 1514–1527|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=shlqAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Andr%C3%A9s%20Ni%C3%B1o%22%20%22Petronila%22|date=28 August 2006|publisher=University of Alabama Press|isbn=978-0-8173-1518-4|page=164|access-date=16 September 2015|archive-date=10 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240110143256/https://books.google.com/books?id=shlqAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Andr%C3%A9s%20Ni%C3%B1o%22%20%22Petronila%22|url-status=live}}</ref> and then traversed to [[Jiquilisco Bay]] on the mouth of [[Lempa River]]. The first indigenous people to have contact with the Spanish were the Lenca of eastern El Salvador.

====Conquest of Cuzcatlán and Managuara====
{{main|Spanish conquest of El Salvador}}
[[File:Pedro de Alvarado (Tomás Povedano).jpg|thumb|upright|Spanish Conquistador [[Pedro de Alvarado]]]]

In 1524, after participating in the [[Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire|conquest of the Aztec Empire]], [[Pedro de Alvarado]], his brother Gonzalo, and their men crossed the [[Paz River|Rio Paz]] southwards into Cuzcatlec territory.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Pipils of El Salvador |url=https://www.teachingcentralamerica.org/pipils-el-salvador |access-date=2025-05-07 |website=Teaching Central America |language=en-US}}</ref> Upon their arrival, Spaniards were disappointed to discover that the Pipil had little gold compared to what they had found in Guatemala or Mexico. The small amount of gold that was available had to be panned so that it could be obtained. Eventually, the Spaniards recognized the richness of the land's volcanic soil. Following this discovery, the Spanish crown began granting land based on the terms of the encomienda system.<ref>{{citation |url=https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/master/frd/frdcstdy/el/elsalvadorcountr00hagg/elsalvadorcountr00hagg.pdf |title=El Salvador: A Country Study |series=Area handbook |editor-last=Haggerty |editor-first=Richard A. |publisher=Federal Research Division, Library of Congress |date=1990 |pages=4–5}}</ref>

Pedro Alvarado led the first incursion to extend their dominion to the domain of Cuzcatlan in June 1524.<ref name="NicholsPool2012">{{cite book
|first1=Deborah L.
|last1=Nichols
|first2=Christopher A.
|last2=Pool
|title=The Oxford Handbook of Mesoamerican Archaeology
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D4zSRvPvuiMC&pg=PA94
|date=18 October 2012
|publisher=Oxford University Press
|isbn=978-0-19-539093-3
|page=94
|access-date=6 November 2015
|archive-date=10 January 2024
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240110143751/https://books.google.com/books?id=D4zSRvPvuiMC&pg=PA94#v=onepage&q&f=false
|url-status=live
}}</ref> When he arrived at the borders of the kingdom, he saw that civilians had been evacuated. Cuzcatlec warriors moved to the coastal city of [[Acajutla]] and waited for Alvarado and his forces. Alvarado approached, confident that the result would be similar to what occurred in Mexico and Guatemala. He thought he would easily deal with this new indigenous force since the Mexican allies on his side and the Pipil spoke a similar language.<ref name="Pan AmericanUnion1934">{{cite book|author=Lily de Jongh Osborne|title=Index to the Bulletin of the Pan American Union|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7aobAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA182|series=1-12|volume=LXVII|year=1934|publisher=Pan American Union|page=182|chapter=El Salvador|access-date=4 January 2020|archive-date=10 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240110143803/https://books.google.com/books?id=7aobAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA182#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref>

Alvarado described the Cuzcatlec soldiers as having shields decorated with colourful exotic feathers, a vest-like armour made of three inch cotton which arrows could not penetrate, and long spears.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2023-12-28 |title=JUNE 8, 1524 |url=https://indigenousamericacalendar.org/2023/12/27/june-8-1524/ |access-date=2025-05-07 |website=Indigenous America Calendar |language=en}}</ref> Both armies suffered many casualties, with a wounded Alvarado retreating and losing a lot of his men, especially among the Mexican Indian auxiliaries. Once his army had regrouped, Alvarado decided to head to the Cuzcatlan capital and again faced armed Cuzcatlec. Wounded, unable to fight and hiding in the cliffs, Alvarado sent his Spanish men on their horses to approach the Cuzcatlec to see if they would fear the horses, but they did not retreat, Alvarado recalls in his letters to [[Hernán Cortés]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.fundar.org.sv/referencias/buscacuscatlan.pdf|title=En la Búsqueda de Cuscatlan|last=Amaroli|first=Paul|date=1986|website=FUNDAR|access-date=4 April 2020|archive-date=31 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200731030112/http://www.fundar.org.sv/referencias/buscacuscatlan.pdf}}</ref>

The Cuzcatlec attacked again, and on this occasion stole Spanish weaponry. Alvarado retreated and sent Mexican messengers to demand that the Cuzcatlec warriors return the stolen weapons and surrender to their opponent's king. The Cuzcatlec responded with the famous response, "If you want your weapons, come get them". As days passed, Alvarado, fearing an ambush, sent more Mexican messengers to negotiate, but these messengers never came back and were presumably executed.

[[File:Tazumal 10.jpg|thumb|[[Tazumal]] (built between AD 250–1200), Maya site in [[Santa Ana Department]]]]

The Spanish efforts were firmly resisted by Pipil and their Mayan-speaking neighbours. They defeated the Spaniards and what was left of their [[Tlaxcala]]n allies, forcing them to withdraw to Guatemala. After being wounded, Alvarado abandoned the war and appointed his brother, [[Gonzalo de Alvarado]], to continue the task. Two subsequent expeditions (the first in 1525, followed by a smaller group in 1528) brought the Pipil under Spanish control, since the Pipil also were weakened by a regional epidemic of smallpox. In 1525, the conquest of Cuzcatlán was completed and the city of San Salvador was established. The Spanish faced much resistance from the Pipil and were not able to reach eastern El Salvador, the area of the Lencas.

In 1526 the Spanish founded the garrison town of [[San Miguel, El Salvador|San Miguel]] in northern Managuara—territory of the Lenca, headed by another explorer and conquistador, [[Luis de Moscoso Alvarado]], nephew of Pedro Alvarado. Oral history holds that a Maya-Lenca crown princess, Antu Silan Ulap I, organized resistance to the conquistadors.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/eoir/legacy/2014/02/19/Indigenous%20peoples_1.pdf |title=World Directory of Minorities |author=Minority Rights Group International |access-date=3 June 2016 |archive-date=21 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161021203914/https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/eoir/legacy/2014/02/19/Indigenous%20peoples_1.pdf }}</ref> The commonwealth of the Lenca was alarmed by de Moscoso's invasion, and Antu Silan travelled from village to village, uniting all the Lenca towns in present-day El Salvador and Honduras against the Spaniards. Through surprise attacks and overwhelming numbers, they were able to drive the Spanish out of San Miguel and destroy the garrison.

For ten years the Lencas prevented the Spanish from building a permanent settlement. Then the Spanish returned with more soldiers, including about 2,000 forced conscripts from indigenous communities in Guatemala. They pursued the Lenca leaders further up into the mountains of [[Intibucá Department|Intibucá]].

Antu Silan Ulap eventually handed over control of the Lenca resistance to [[Lempira (Lenca ruler)|Lempira]] (also called Empira).<ref>{{Cite web |title=World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples - El Salvador : Lencas |url=https://www.refworld.org/reference/countryrep/mrgi/2017/en/119087 |access-date=2025-05-07 |website=Refworld |language=en}}</ref> Lempira was noteworthy among indigenous leaders in that he mocked the Spanish by wearing their clothes after capturing them and using their weapons captured in battle. Lempira fought in command of thousands of Lenca forces for six more years in Managuara until he was killed in battle. The remaining Lenca forces retreated into the hills. The Spanish were then able to rebuild their garrison town of San Miguel in 1537.

=== Colonial period (1525–1821) ===
[[File:Iglesia Colonial Metapan.jpg|thumb|Colonial Church of San Pedro Apóstol in [[Metapán]], built between 1736 and 1743]]
[[File:Proclama de libertad (indep. Centroamérica).jpg|thumb|A painting of the First Independence Movement celebration in San Salvador. At the centre, [[José Matías Delgado]].]]
During the colonial period, San Salvador and San Miguel were part of the Captaincy General of Guatemala, also known as the Kingdom of Guatemala ({{langx|es|Reino de Guatemala}}), created in 1609 as an administrative division of [[New Spain]]. The Salvadoran territory was administered by the mayor of Sonsonate, with San Salvador being established as an ''[[Intendancy of San Salvador|intendencia]]'' in 1786.

In 1811, a combination of internal and external factors motivated Central American elites to attempt to gain independence from the Spanish Crown. The most important internal factors were the desire of local elites to control the country's affairs free of involvement from Spanish authorities, and the long-standing Creole aspiration for independence. The main external factors motivating the independence movement were the success of the [[French Revolution|French]] and [[American Revolution|American]] revolutions in the 18th century, and the weakening of the Spanish Crown's military power as a result of the [[Napoleonic Wars]], with the resulting inability to control its colonies effectively.

In November 1811 Salvadoran priest [[José Matías Delgado]] rang the bells of Iglesia La Merced in San Salvador, calling for insurrection and launching the [[1811 Independence Movement]]. This insurrection was suppressed, and many of its leaders were arrested and served sentences in jail. Another insurrection was launched in 1814, which was also suppressed.

=== Independence (1821) ===
In 1821, in light of unrest in Guatemala, Spanish authorities capitulated and signed the [[Act of Independence of Central America]], which released all of the Captaincy General of Guatemala (comprising current territories of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica and the Mexican state of [[Chiapas]]) from Spanish rule and declared its independence. In 1821, El Salvador joined Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua in a union named the [[Federal Republic of Central America]].
[[File:Vergara detalle firmaacta1821.JPG|thumb|left|[[José Matías Delgado]] signing the [[Act of Independence of Central America]], 15 September 1821]]
In early 1822, the authorities of the newly independent Central American provinces, meeting in Guatemala City, [[Central America under Mexican rule|voted to join]] the newly constituted [[First Mexican Empire]] under [[Agustín de Iturbide]]. El Salvador resisted, insisting on autonomy for the Central American countries. A Mexican military detachment marched to San Salvador and suppressed dissent, but with the fall of Iturbide on 19 March 1823, the army decamped back to Mexico. Shortly thereafter, the authorities of the provinces revoked the vote to join Mexico, deciding instead to form a [[Federation|federal union]] of the five remaining provinces (Chiapas permanently joined Mexico at this juncture) known as the [[Federal Republic of Central America]]. El Salvador declared its independence from the Federal Republic of Central America on 30 January 1841.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Marure|first1=Alejandro|date=1895|title=Efemérides de los Hechos Notables Acaecidos en la República de Centro-América Desde el Año de 1821 Hasta el de 1842|trans-title=Ephemeris of the Notable Events that Occurred in the Republic of Central America from the Year 1821 to that of 1842|url=https://archive.org/details/efemeridesdeloshe00alejguat/page/n11/mode/2up|language=es|location=Central America|publisher=Tipografía Nacional|page=127|oclc=02933391|access-date=26 April 2024}}</ref> El Salvador joined Honduras and Nicaragua in 1896 to form the [[Greater Republic of Central America]], which dissolved in 1898.

[[File:Woman and girl in el salvador making bread.png|thumb|Woman and girl in El Salvador making bread, 1910]]
After the mid-19th century, the economy was based on coffee growing. As the world market for indigo withered away, the economy prospered or suffered as the world coffee price fluctuated. The enormous profits that coffee yielded as a monoculture export served as an impetus for the concentration of land into the hands of an oligarchy of just a few families.<ref>{{cite book |first=Thomas P. |last=Anderson |title=Politics in Central America: Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uar_iWVhSaIC |access-date=29 July 2012 |year=1988 |via=Google Books |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-275-92883-4 |archive-date=10 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240110143657/https://books.google.com/books?id=uar_iWVhSaIC |url-status=live }}</ref> Throughout the last half of the 19th century, a succession of presidents from the ranks of the Salvadoran oligarchy, nominally both conservative and liberal, generally agreed on the promotion of coffee as the predominant [[cash crop]], the development of infrastructure (railroads and port facilities) primarily in support of the coffee trade, the elimination of communal landholdings to facilitate further coffee production, the passage of anti-[[vagrancy]] laws to ensure that displaced ''[[Peasant|campesinos]]'' and other rural residents provided sufficient labour for the coffee ''fincas'' (plantations), and the suppression of rural discontent. In 1912, the national guard was created as a rural police force.

===20th century===
[[File:Tomas Regalado1.jpg|thumb|upright|Gen. [[Tomás Regalado (Salvadoran politician)|Tomás Regalado]]]]

In 1898, General [[Tomás Regalado (Salvadoran politician)|Tomas Regalado]] gained power by force, deposing [[Rafael Antonio Gutiérrez]] and ruling as president until 1903. Once in office he revived the practice of presidents designating their successors. After serving his term, he remained active in the Army of El Salvador and was killed on 11 July 1906, at El Jicaro, during a [[Totoposte Wars|war against Guatemala]]. Until 1913 El Salvador was politically stable, with undercurrents of popular discontent. When President [[Manuel Enrique Araujo]] was killed in 1913, many hypotheses were advanced for the political motive of his murder.

Manuel Enrique Araujo's administration was followed by the [[Meléndez–Quiñónez dynasty]] that lasted from 1913 to 1927. [[Pío Romero Bosque]], a former minister and a trusted collaborator of the dynasty, succeeded President [[Alfonso Quiñónez Molina]], and in 1930 announced free elections, in which [[Arturo Araujo]] came to power on 1 March 1931, in what was considered the country's first freely contested election. His government lasted only nine months before it was overthrown by junior military officers who accused his [[Salvadoran Laborist Party]] of lacking political and governmental experience and of using its government offices inefficiently. Arturo Araujo faced general popular discontent, as the people had expected economic reforms and the redistribution of land. There were demonstrations in front of the National Palace from the first week of his administration. His vice president and minister of war was General [[Maximiliano Hernández Martínez]].

[[File:Hernandez Martinez.jpg|thumb|left| General [[Maximiliano Hernández Martínez]], President of El Salvador (1931–1944)|248x248px]]

In December 1931, a [[1931 Salvadoran coup d'état|coup d'état was organized]] by junior officers and led by Martínez. Only the First Regiment of Cavalry and the National Police defended the presidency (the National Police had been on its payroll), but later that night, after hours of fighting, the badly outnumbered defenders surrendered to rebel forces. The Directorate, composed of officers, hid behind a shadowy figure,<ref>{{cite book |first=Thomas P. |last=Anderson |title=Matanza: The 1932 "Slaughter" That Traumatized a Nation, Shaping US-Salvadoran Policy to This Day |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w5xqAAAAMAAJ |access-date=29 July 2012 |year=1992 |publisher=Curbstone Press |isbn=978-1-880684-04-7 |archive-date=10 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240110143756/https://books.google.com/books?id=w5xqAAAAMAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> a rich anti-communist banker called Rodolfo Duke, and later installed the vice-president Martínez as president. The revolt was probably caused by the army's discontent at not having been paid by President Araujo for some months. Araujo left the National Palace and unsuccessfully tried to organize forces to defeat the revolt.

The U.S. Minister in El Salvador met with the Directorate and later recognized the government of Martínez, which agreed to hold presidential elections. He resigned six months prior to running for re-election, winning back the presidency as the only candidate on the ballot. He ruled from 1935 to 1939, then from 1939 to 1943. He began a fourth term in 1944 but resigned in May after a general strike. Martínez had said he was going to respect the constitution, which stipulated he could not be re-elected, but he refused to keep his promise.

==== La Matanza ====
{{Main|La Matanza}}
Beginning in January 1932, there was brutal suppression of a rural revolt known as [[La Matanza]]. In the unstable political climate of the previous few years, social activist and revolutionary leader [[Farabundo Martí]] helped found the Communist Party of Central America, and led a communist alternative to the Red Cross, called "[[International Red Aid]]", serving as one of its representatives. Their goal was to help poor and underprivileged Salvadorans through the use of [[Marxism–Leninism|Marxist–Leninist]] ideology. In December 1930, at the height of the country's economic and social depression, Martí was once again exiled because of his popularity among the nation's poor and rumours of his upcoming nomination for president the following year. Once Araujo was elected president in 1931, Martí returned to El Salvador and, along with Alfonso Luna and Mario Zapata, began the movement that was later truncated by the military.

[[File:José Napoleón Duarte 1987b.jpg|thumb|[[José Napoleón Duarte]]]]

On 22 January 1932, thousands of poorly armed peasants in the western part of El Salvador revolted against 
the government and Martínez.
The rebellion occurred amid widespread unrest over suppression of democratic political freedoms following the cancellation of the results of the&nbsp;1932 legislative election. The rebels were led by&nbsp;[[Feliciano Ama]]&nbsp;and&nbsp;[[Farabundo Martí]] and were largely composed of indigenous people and communists. The rebellion made gains initially, capturing several towns and cities across the western&nbsp;part of the country, killing an estimated 2,000 people. The government suppressed the rebellion brutally, killing between 10,000 and 40,000 people, mostly, [[Pipil people|Pipil]] peasants. Many of the rebellion's leaders, including Ama and Martí, were&nbsp;captured and executed.<ref name=Ching>{{cite journal|last=Ching|first=Erik|title=In Search of the Party: The Communist Party, the Comintern, and the Peasant Rebellion of 1932 in El Salvador|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/615B58195201C855F08807DB851AB74B/S0003161500027553a.pdf/in-search-of-the-party-the-communist-party-the-comintern-and-the-peasant-rebellion-of-1932-in-el-salvador-.pdf|date=October 1998|journal=The Americas|volume=55|issue=2|pages=204–239|publisher=[[Furman University]]|location=[[Greenville, South Carolina]]|access-date=7 January 2022|doi=10.2307/1008053|jstor=1008053|doi-access=free|archive-date=2 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230102075904/https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/615B58195201C855F08807DB851AB74B/S0003161500027553a.pdf/in-search-of-the-party-the-communist-party-the-comintern-and-the-peasant-rebellion-of-1932-in-el-salvador-.pdf|url-status=live| issn=0003-1615}}</ref><ref name=Lindo-Fuentes>{{cite book|last1=Lindo-Fuentes|first1=Héctor|last2=Ching|first2=Erik|last3=Lara-Martínez|first3=Rafael A.|name-list-style=amp|date=2007|title=Remembering a Massacre in El Salvador: The Insurrection of 1932, Roque Dalton, and the Politics of Historical Memory|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AubqWtPHt1kC|pages=28|location=[[Albuquerque, New Mexico]]|publisher=[[University of New Mexico|University of New Mexico Press]]|isbn=978-0-8263-3604-0|access-date=15 July 2022|archive-date=10 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240110143807/https://books.google.com/books?id=AubqWtPHt1kC|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=Beverly>{{cite journal|last1=Beverly|first1=John|date=1982|title=El Salvador|journal=Social Text|publisher=Duke University Press|issue=5|pages=55–72|doi=10.2307/466334|jstor=466334}}</ref>

Historically, the high Salvadoran population density has contributed to tensions with neighbouring [[Honduras]], as land-poor Salvadorans emigrated to less densely populated Honduras and established themselves as squatters on unused or underused land. This phenomenon was a major cause of the [[Football War|1969 Football War]] between the two countries.<ref>{{cite web |title=El Salvador - Demographics |url=http://countrystudies.us/el-salvador/22.htm |website=Country Studies US |publisher=U.S. Library of Congress |access-date=17 March 2020 |archive-date=12 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111012083021/http://countrystudies.us/el-salvador/22.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> As many as 130,000 Salvadorans were forcibly expelled or fled from Honduras.<ref>{{cite web |title=El Salvador - MIGRATION |url=http://countrystudies.us/el-salvador/32.htm |website=Country Studies US |publisher=U.S. Library of Congress |access-date=17 March 2020 |archive-date=12 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111012075923/http://countrystudies.us/el-salvador/32.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[Christian Democratic Party (El Salvador)|Christian Democratic Party]] (PDC) and the [[National Coalition Party (El Salvador)|National Conciliation Party]] (PCN) were active in Salvadoran politics from 1960 until 2011, when they were disbanded by the Supreme Court because they had failed to win enough votes in the 2004 presidential election.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=El Salvador Supreme Court disbands two parties |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-13251247 |work=BBC News |date=30 April 2011 |access-date=2 July 2014 |archive-date=3 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141003202110/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-13251247 |url-status=live }}</ref> Both parties have since reconstituted. They share common ideals, but one represents the middle class and the latter the interests of the Salvadoran military.

PDC leader [[José Napoleón Duarte]] was the mayor of San Salvador from 1964 to 1970, winning three elections during the regime of PCN president, [[Julio Adalberto Rivera Carballo]], who allowed free elections for mayors and the National Assembly. Duarte later ran for president with a political grouping called the [[National Opposition Union (El Salvador)|National Opposition Union]] (UNO) but was defeated in the 1972 presidential elections. He lost to the ex-minister of interior, Colonel [[Arturo Armando Molina]], in an election that was widely viewed as fraudulent; Molina was declared the winner even though Duarte was said to have received a majority of the votes. Duarte, at some army officers' requests, supported a revolt to protest the election fraud, but was captured, tortured and later exiled. Duarte returned to the country in 1979 to enter politics after working on projects in Venezuela as an engineer.

=== Salvadoran Civil War (1979–1992) ===
{{Further|Salvadoran Civil War}}
[[File:32-0032 Monumento a la Memoria y la Verdad.jpg|thumb|A monument carved in black marble which contains the names of thousands of victims of [[List of massacres in El Salvador|massacres]] that occurred during the civil war]]
[[Carlos Humberto Romero]] was the final president of the [[Military dictatorship in El Salvador|country's military dictatorship which began in 1931]]. The U.S. had been Romero's biggest supporter, but by October 1979, the Carter administration decided that El Salvador needed [[United States involvement in regime change|regime change]].<ref>{{cite journal|title=Continuity and Change in U.S. Foreign Policy: Carter and Reagan on El Salvador|last=Pastor|first=Robert|journal=Journal of Policy Analysis and Management|volume=3|issue=2|pages=170–190|date=1984|publisher=Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management|jstor=3323931|doi=10.1002/pam.4050030202}}</ref>

On 15 October 1979, a [[1979 Salvadoran coup d'état|coup d'état]] brought the [[Revolutionary Government Junta of El Salvador|Revolutionary Government Junta]] (JRG) to power. It nationalized many private companies and took over much privately owned land. The purpose of this new junta was to stop the revolutionary movement already underway in response to Duarte's stolen election. Nevertheless, the oligarchy opposed [[agrarian reform]], and a junta formed with young reformist elements from the army such as Colonels [[Adolfo Arnoldo Majano]] and [[Jaime Abdul Gutiérrez]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Román Mayorga asume embajada en Venezuela |url=http://www.elsalvador.com/mwedh/nota/nota_completa.asp?idCat=6351&idArt=4199885 |website=elsalvador.com |access-date=17 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140811214354/http://www.elsalvador.com/mwedh/nota/nota_completa.asp?idCat=6351&idArt=4199885 |archive-date=11 August 2014 |date=29 October 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Chronology of the Civil War in El Salvador |url=http://kellogg.nd.edu/romero/Salvador.htm |website=Kellogg Institute for International Studies |publisher=University of Notre Dame |access-date=17 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170408194257/http://kellogg.nd.edu/romero/Salvador.htm |archive-date=8 April 2017 }}</ref> as well as with progressives such as [[Guillermo Ungo]] and Alvarez.

[[File: O.Romero 1979 autographed photo.jpg|thumb|left|[[Archbishop Romero]] spoke out against social injustice and violence amid the escalating conflict between the military government and left-wing insurgents that led to the Salvadoran Civil War.]]

Pressure from the oligarchy soon dissolved the junta because of its inability to control the army in its repression of the people fighting for unionization rights, agrarian reform, better wages, accessible health care and freedom of expression. In the meantime, the guerrilla movement was spreading to all sectors of Salvadoran society. Middle and high school students were organized in MERS (Movimiento Estudiantil Revolucionario de Secundaria, Revolutionary Movement of Secondary Students); college students were involved with AGEUS (Asociacion de Estudiantes Universitarios Salvadorenos; Association of Salvadoran College Students); and workers were organized in BPR (Bloque Popular Revolucionario, Popular Revolutionary Block). In October 1980, several other major guerrilla groups of the Salvadoran left had formed the [[Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front]], or FMLN. By the end of the 1970s, government-contracted death squads were killing about 10 people each day. Meanwhile, the FMLN had 6,000 to 8,000 active guerrillas and hundreds of thousands of part-time militia, supporters, and sympathizers.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Mason |first=T.D. |author2=D.A. Krane |title=The Political Economy of Death Squads: Toward a Theory of the Impact of State-Sanctioned Terror |journal=International Studies Quarterly |year=1989 |volume=33 |issue=2 |pages=175–198 |doi=10.2307/2600536|jstor=2600536 |s2cid=36082281 |url=http://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/6698/d4568a77c41a133fbcb5da2750db91cde582.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200731003053/http://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/6698/d4568a77c41a133fbcb5da2750db91cde582.pdf |archive-date=31 July 2020 }}</ref>

The U.S. supported and financed the creation of a second junta to change the political environment and stop the spread of a leftist insurrection. Napoleón Duarte was recalled from his exile in Venezuela to head this new junta. However, a revolution was already underway and his new role as head of the junta was seen by the general population as opportunistic. He was unable to influence the outcome of the insurrection.

[[Óscar Romero]], the [[Roman Catholic]] Archbishop of San Salvador, denounced injustices and massacres committed against civilians by government forces. He was considered "the voice of the voiceless", but he was assassinated by a [[Death squads in El Salvador|death squad]] while saying Mass on 24 March 1980.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Golden |first1=Renny |title=Oscar Romero: Bishop of the Poor |url=http://www.uscatholic.org/culture/social-justice/2009/02/oscar-romero-bishop-poor |website=U.S. Catholic |access-date=17 March 2020 |date=25 February 2009 |archive-date=19 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130119005101/http://www.uscatholic.org/culture/social-justice/2009/02/oscar-romero-bishop-poor |url-status=live }}</ref> Some consider this to be the beginning of the full [[Salvadoran Civil War]], which lasted from 1980 to 1992.

An unknown number of people "disappeared" during the conflict, and the UN reports that more than 75,000 were killed.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Boutros-Ghali |first1=Boutros |title=Report of the UN Truth Commission on El Salvador |url=http://www.derechos.org/nizkor/salvador/informes/truth.html |website=El Equipo Nizkor |publisher=United Nations Security Council |access-date=17 March 2020 |date=29 March 1993 |archive-date=23 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170223031646/http://www.derechos.org/nizkor/salvador/informes/truth.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Salvadoran Army]]'s US-trained [[Atlácatl Battalion]] was responsible for the [[El Mozote massacre]] where more than 800 civilians were murdered, over half of them children, the [[El Calabozo massacre]], and the [[murder of UCA scholars]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Wilkinson |first1=Tracy |title=Notorious Salvadoran Battalion Is Disbanded: Military: U.S.-trained Atlacatl unit was famed for battle prowess but was also implicated in atrocities. |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-12-09-mn-1714-story.html |access-date=17 March 2020 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=9 December 1992 |archive-date=19 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200319215642/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-12-09-mn-1714-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File: Protest against the Salvadoran Civil War Chicago 1989 5.jpg|thumb|Protest against US involvement in the Salvadoran Civil War in Chicago, Illinois, in March 1989]]

On 16 January 1992, the government of El Salvador, represented by president [[Alfredo Cristiani]], and the FMLN, represented by the commanders of the five guerrilla groups – [[Schafik Hándal]], [[Joaquín Villalobos]], [[Salvador Sánchez Cerén]], Francisco Jovel and [[Fermán Cienfuegos|Eduardo Sancho]], all signed peace agreements brokered by the United Nations ending the 12-year civil war. This event, held at [[Chapultepec Castle]] in Mexico, was attended by U.N. dignitaries and other representatives of the international community. After signing the armistice, the president stood and shook hands with the newly ex-guerrilla commanders, an action which was widely admired.

=== Post-war (1992–2019) ===
The [[Chapultepec Peace Accords]] mandated reductions in the size of the army, and the dissolution of the National Police, the Treasury Police, the National Guard and the Civilian Defence, a paramilitary group. A new Civil Police was to be organized. Judicial immunity for crimes committed by the armed forces ended; the government agreed to submit to the recommendations of a [[Commission on the Truth for El Salvador]] ''(Comisión de la Verdad Para El Salvador)'', which would "investigate serious acts of violence occurring since 1980, and the nature and effects of the violence, and...recommend methods of promoting national reconciliation". In 1993 the Commission delivered its findings reporting human rights violations on both sides of the conflict.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Betancur |first1=Belisario |last2=Planchart |first2=Reinaldo Figueredo |last3=Buergenthal |first3=Thomas |title=From Madness to Hope: The 12-Year War in El Salvador: Report of the Commission on the Truth for El Salvador |url=https://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/file/ElSalvador-Report.pdf |website=United States Institute for Peace |publisher=The Commission on the Truth for El Salvador |access-date=17 March 2020 |date=1 January 1993 |archive-date=1 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130201122202/http://www.usip.org/files/file/ElSalvador-Report.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> Five days later the Salvadoran legislature passed an amnesty law for all acts of violence during the period.

From 1989 until 2004, Salvadorans favoured the [[Nationalist Republican Alliance]] (ARENA), voting in ARENA presidents in every election ([[Alfredo Cristiani]], [[Armando Calderón Sol]], [[Francisco Flores Pérez]], [[Antonio Saca]]) until 2009. The unsuccessful attempts of the left-wing party to win presidential elections led to its selection of a journalist rather than a former guerrilla leader as a candidate. On 15 March 2009, [[Mauricio Funes]], a television figure, became the first president from the FMLN. He was inaugurated on 1 June 2009.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-jun-02-fg-el-salvador-funes2-story.html|title=El Salvador elects its first leftist president, TV host Mauricio Funes|date=2 June 2009|website=Los Angeles Times|access-date=11 April 2021|archive-date=11 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411193343/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-jun-02-fg-el-salvador-funes2-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> One focus of the Funes government has been revealing the alleged corruption from the past government.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.diariocolatino.com/es/20090612/nacionales/67865/ |title=Funes saca a luz corrupción en gobiernos de ARENA |publisher=Diario CoLatino |year=2009 |language=es |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140706065656/http://www.diariocolatino.com/es/20090612/nacionales/67865/ |archive-date=6 July 2014 }}</ref>
[[File: XXIV Conmemoración de los Acuerdos de Paz. (23793774503).jpg|thumb|The signatories of the Peace Agreements. on its XXIV anniversary; The agreements led to a series of transformations that marked a before and after in national history.]]
ARENA formally expelled Saca from the party in December 2009. With 12 loyalists in the National Assembly, Saca established his own party, the [[Grand Alliance for National Unity]] (GANA), and entered into a tactical legislative alliance with the FMLN.{{citation needed|date=July 2023}} After three years in office, with Saca's GANA party providing the FMLN with a legislative majority, Funes had not taken action to either investigate or to bring corrupt former officials to justice.

Economic reforms since the early 1990s brought major benefits in terms of improved social conditions, diversification of the export sector, and access to international financial markets at investment grade level. Crime remains a major problem for the investment climate. Early in the new millennium, El Salvador's government created the Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales&nbsp;— the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MARN)&nbsp;— in response to climate change concerns.<ref name="cdkn.org">{{cite web |title=El Salvador builds resilience in the face of a stormy future |url=https://cdkn.org/2013/12/el-salvador-builds-resilience-in-face-of-a-stormy-future/?loclang=en_gb |website=Climate & Development Knowledge Network |access-date=17 March 2020 |date=24 December 2013 |archive-date=10 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200110224503/https://cdkn.org/2013/12/el-salvador-builds-resilience-in-face-of-a-stormy-future/?loclang=en_gb |url-status=live }}</ref>

In March 2014, former FMLN guerrilla leader Cerén narrowly won the [[2014 Salvadoran presidential election|election]]. He was sworn in as president on 31 May 2014. He was the first former guerrilla to become the president of El Salvador.<ref name=bbcnews>{{cite web |title=Ex-rebel becomes El Salvador leader |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-27568032 |website=BBC News |date=1 June 2014 |access-date=26 March 2021 |archive-date=6 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210706185233/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-27568032 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In October 2017, an El Salvador court ruled that former president Funes and one of his sons had illegally enriched themselves. Funes had sought asylum in Nicaragua in 2016.<ref>{{cite web |title=Salvador court finds ex-president Funes illegally enriched himself |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-el-salvador-corruption-idUSKBN1DS2VP |website=Reuters |date=28 November 2017 |access-date=11 April 2021 |archive-date=11 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411191507/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-el-salvador-corruption-idUSKBN1DS2VP |url-status=live }}</ref>

In September 2018, former president Saca was sentenced to 10 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to diverting more than US$300 million in state funds to his own businesses and third parties.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Papachristou |first1=Lucy |title=Salvadoran Ex-President Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison |url=https://www.occrp.org/en/daily/8578-salvadoran-ex-president-sentenced-to-10-years-in-prison |website=www.occrp.org |access-date=11 April 2021 |archive-date=11 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411191507/https://www.occrp.org/en/daily/8578-salvadoran-ex-president-sentenced-to-10-years-in-prison |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Bukele presidency (2019–present) ===

[[File: Nayib Bukele talks at his inauguration ceremony.jpg|thumb|Nayib Bukele speaks at his inauguration ceremony.]]
On 1 June 2019, [[Nayib Bukele]] became the new president of El Salvador.<ref>{{cite web |last1=ALEMAN |first1=MARCOS |title=El Salvador's president sworn in, ending 2-party dominance |url=https://apnews.com/article/d1f6dee4a85e4fb3a6cf133335e31f7e |website=AP NEWS |date=1 June 2019 |access-date=26 March 2021 |archive-date=19 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210619065325/https://apnews.com/article/d1f6dee4a85e4fb3a6cf133335e31f7e |url-status=live }}</ref> Bukele was the winner of February [[2019 Salvadoran presidential election|2019 presidential election]]. He represented GANA, as he was denied participating with the newly formed Nuevas Ideas party. ARENA and the FMLN, El Salvador's two main parties, had dominated politics in El Salvador over the past three decades.<ref>{{cite web |title=El Salvador election: Nayib Bukele claims presidency |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-47113249 |website=BBC News |date=4 February 2019 |access-date=26 March 2021 |archive-date=9 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220309112718/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-47113249 |url-status=live }}</ref>

According to a report by the [[International Crisis Group]] (ICG) 2020, the homicide rate in El Salvador had dropped by as much as 60% since Bukele became president in June 2019. The reason might{{Weasel inline|date=June 2024}} have been a "non-aggression deal" between parts of the government and the gangs.<ref>{{cite web |last1=DUDLEY |first1=STEVEN |title=The El Salvador President's Informal Pact with Gangs |url=https://insightcrime.org/news/analysis/el-salvador-nayib-bukele-gangs/ |website=InSight Crime |date=2 October 2020 |access-date=11 April 2021 |archive-date=11 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411185730/https://insightcrime.org/news/analysis/el-salvador-nayib-bukele-gangs/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The party [[Nuevas Ideas]] (NI, "New Ideas"), founded by Bukele, with its ally (GANA) won around 63% of the vote in the February 2021 [[2021 Salvadoran legislative election|legislative elections]]. His party and allies won 61 seats, well over the coveted supermajority of 56 seats in the 84-seat parliament, allowing for uncontested decisions at the legislative level. The supermajority permits President Bukele's party to appoint judiciary members and pass laws with little to no opposition, for instance, to remove presidential term limits.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Brigida |first1=Anna-Catherine |last2=Sheridan |first2=Mary Beth |title=El Salvador's leader wins control of legislature in midterm vote; critics fear rising authoritarianism |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/salvador-bukele-legislative-midterm-election-authoritarian/2021/02/28/5f2ac302-77c9-11eb-8115-9ad5e9c02117_story.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=27 March 2021 |archive-date=12 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210412030843/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/salvador-bukele-legislative-midterm-election-authoritarian/2021/02/28/5f2ac302-77c9-11eb-8115-9ad5e9c02117_story.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=centralamerica>{{cite web |last1=Dyde |first1=James |title=El Salvador Legislative Elections 2021 |url=https://www.centralamerica.com/opinion/el-salvador-legistlative-elections-2021/ |website=centralamerica |date=1 March 2021 |access-date=27 March 2021 |archive-date=13 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413072002/https://www.centralamerica.com/opinion/el-salvador-legistlative-elections-2021/ |url-status=live }}</ref> On 8 June 2021, at the initiative of President Bukele, pro-government deputies in the [[Legislative Assembly of El Salvador|Legislative Assembly]] voted [[Bitcoin Law|legislation]] to make [[bitcoin]] [[legal tender]] in the country.<ref name=btcasamblea202106>[https://www.asamblea.gob.sv/node/11282 El Salvador, primer país del mundo en reconocer al Bitcoin como moneda de curso legal] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211222071910/https://www.asamblea.gob.sv/node/11282 |date=22 December 2021 }}, 9 June 2021, official website of the [[Legislative Assembly of El Salvador]]</ref><ref name=btcelsalvador20210608>{{cite news|title=Diputados oficialistas aprueban el Bitcoin como moneda de curso legal, ¿en qué consiste?|url=https://www.elsalvador.com/noticias/nacional/oficialismo-aprobar-bitcoin-moneda-legal-el-salvador/846796/2021/|work=El Salvador|date=8 June 2021|access-date=9 June 2021|archive-date=18 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211018183800/https://www.elsalvador.com/noticias/nacional/oficialismo-aprobar-bitcoin-moneda-legal-el-salvador/846796/2021/|url-status=live}}</ref> In September 2021, El Salvador's Supreme Court ruled to allow Bukele to run for a second term in 2024, despite the fact that the constitution prohibits the president to serve two consecutive terms in office. The decision was organized by judges appointed to the court by Bukele.<ref>{{cite web |date=4 September 2021 |title=El Salvador court drops ban on presidential reelection |url=https://apnews.com/article/elections-el-salvador-9dcbdb58df7fec5b43b289c3eb269730 |access-date=29 April 2022 |website=AP NEWS |archive-date=6 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230606033203/https://apnews.com/article/elections-el-salvador-9dcbdb58df7fec5b43b289c3eb269730 |url-status=live }}</ref> On 25 February 2021, El Salvador became the first Central American country to be awarded certification for the elimination of [[malaria]] by the [[World Health Organization|WHO]].<ref>{{cite web |title=El Salvador certified as malaria-free by WHO |url=https://www.who.int/news/item/25-02-2021-el-salvador-certified-as-malaria-free-by-who |website=www.who.int |language=en |access-date=23 August 2023 |archive-date=23 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230823230611/https://www.who.int/news/item/25-02-2021-el-salvador-certified-as-malaria-free-by-who |url-status=live }}</ref>

In January 2022, the [[International Monetary Fund]] (IMF) urged El Salvador to reverse its decision to make [[cryptocurrency]] legal tender. Bitcoin had rapidly lost about half of its value, meaning economic difficulties and, as of May 2022, with government bonds trading at 40% of their original value, the prospect of a looming [[sovereign default]];<ref>{{cite web|url=https://english.elpais.com/economy-and-business/2022-05-10/el-salvador-expected-to-default-as-bitcoin-plummets.html|first=Isabella|last=Cota|title=El Salvador expected to default as bitcoin plummets|website=[[El País]]|date=10 May 2022|access-date=13 May 2022|archive-date=13 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220513120812/https://english.elpais.com/economy-and-business/2022-05-10/el-salvador-expected-to-default-as-bitcoin-plummets.html|url-status=live}}</ref> however, as of April 2025, the value of bitcoin since it was declared legal tender is trading twice the price that it was when El Salvador made it legal tender. Bukele announced back in January 2022 plans to build [[Bitcoin City]] at the base of a volcano in El Salvador.<ref>{{cite news |title=IMF urges El Salvador to remove bitcoin as legal tender |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-60135552 |work=BBC News |date=26 January 2022 |access-date=8 February 2022 |archive-date=8 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220208190323/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-60135552 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2022, the Salvadoran government initiated a massive [[2022 Salvadoran gang crackdown|fight against criminal gangs]] and gang-related violence. A state of emergency was declared on 27 March and was extended on 20 July. More than 53,000 suspected gang members were arrested, precipitating the highest reported [[List of countries by incarceration rate|incarceration rate]] in the world.<ref>{{cite news |title=El Salvador gangs: State of emergency extended again |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-62205981 |work=BBC News |date=20 July 2022 |access-date=9 November 2022 |archive-date=9 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221109105219/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-62205981 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Ending El Salvador's Cycle of Gang Violence |url=https://www.usip.org/publications/2022/10/ending-el-salvadors-cycle-gang-violence |website=United States Institute of Peace |language=en |access-date=9 November 2022 |archive-date=9 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221109101404/https://www.usip.org/publications/2022/10/ending-el-salvadors-cycle-gang-violence |url-status=dead }}</ref> The crackdown has reportedly produced hundreds of deaths of detainees, with international human rights organizations such as [[Amnesty International]] declaring it the worst abuse of human rights in the country since its civil war.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/el-salvador-experiencing-alarming-regression-human-rights-report-2023-12-05/|title=El Salvador experiencing 'alarming regression' on human rights -report|publisher=Reuters|date=December 5, 2023|access-date=August 17, 2024}}</ref>

On 30 November 2023, the Legislative Assembly granted Bukele and Vice President Felix Ulloa a leave of absence so that they could focus on their [[2024 Salvadoran general election|2024 re-election campaign]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=BATRES |first=Oscar |title=El Salvador's Bukele Granted Leave Of Absence For Reelection Bid |url=https://www.barrons.com/news/el-salvador-s-bukele-granted-leave-of-absence-for-reelection-bid-a68107e4 |access-date=2023-12-14 |website=www.barrons.com |language=en-US |archive-date=16 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231216101457/https://www.barrons.com/news/el-salvador-s-bukele-granted-leave-of-absence-for-reelection-bid-a68107e4 |url-status=live }}</ref> Bukele was succeeded by [[Claudia Rodríguez de Guevara]] as acting president, the first female president in Salvadoran history.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.laprensagrafica.com/elsalvador/Asamblea-otorga-permiso-a-Bukele-para-que-realice-campana-20231130-0091.html|title=Asamblea Otorga Permiso a Bukele para que Realice Campaña|trans-title=Assembly Grants Bukele Permission to Realize His Campaign|language=es|date=30 November 2023|access-date=30 November 2023|work=[[La Prensa Gráfica]]|first1=Gabriel|last1=Campos Madrid|archive-date=1 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231201233327/https://www.laprensagrafica.com/elsalvador/Asamblea-otorga-permiso-a-Bukele-para-que-realice-campana-20231130-0091.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In January 2024, it was announced that homicide rate dropped nearly 70% year over year, with 154 in 2023 compared to 495 homicides in 2022.<ref>{{cite news |title=Drastic drop in murders caused the popularity of El Salvador's president to soar {{!}} Semafor |url=https://www.semafor.com/article/01/04/2024/drastic-drop-in-murders-caused-the-popularity-of-el-salvadors-president-to-soar |work=www.semafor.com |date=4 January 2024 |language=en}}</ref> On 4 February 2024, Bukele won re-election with 83% of the vote in [[2024 Salvadoran general election|general election]].<ref>{{cite news |title=El Salvador: Bukele confirmed as president after final count – DW – 02/10/2024 |url=https://www.dw.com/en/el-salvador-bukele-confirmed-as-president-after-final-count/a-68222384 |work=dw.com |language=en |access-date=15 February 2024 |archive-date=15 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240215090601/https://www.dw.com/en/el-salvador-bukele-confirmed-as-president-after-final-count/a-68222384 |url-status=live }}</ref> His party Nuevas Ideas won 58 of the parliament's 60 seats.<ref>{{cite news |title=El Salvador votes must be recounted, says electoral court – DW – 02/06/2024 |url=https://www.dw.com/en/el-salvador-votes-must-be-recounted-says-electoral-court/a-68181487 |work=dw.com |language=en |access-date=15 February 2024 |archive-date=21 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240221174137/https://www.dw.com/en/el-salvador-votes-must-be-recounted-says-electoral-court/a-68181487 |url-status=live }}</ref> On 1 June 2024, he was sworn in for his second five-year term.<ref>{{cite news |title=El Salvador's 'all-powerful' gang-busting President Bukele sworn in for second term |url=https://www.france24.com/en/americas/20240601-el-salvador-s-all-powerful-gang-busting-president-bukele-sworn-in-for-second-term |work=France 24 |date=1 June 2024 |language=en}}</ref> In February 2025, El Salvador’s Congress agreed to remove Bitcoin's legal tender status, following pressure from the [[International Monetary Fund]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://dig.watch/updates/bitcoin-is-no-longer-legal-tender-in-el-salvador|title=Bitcoin is no longer legal tender in El Salvador |date=7 February 2025|website=Digital Watch Observatory}}</ref>

==Geography==
{{Main|Geography of El Salvador}}

[[File:El Salvador Topography.png|thumb|upright=1.3|El Salvador's topography]]
El Salvador lies in the isthmus of Central America between latitudes [[13th parallel north|13°]] and [[15th parallel north|15°N]], and longitudes [[87th meridian west|87°]] and [[91st meridian west|91°W]]. It stretches {{convert|168|mi|km|order=flip|abbr=on}} from west-northwest to east-southeast and {{convert|88|mi|km|order=flip|abbr=on}} north to south, with a total area of {{convert|21,041|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}. As the smallest and most densely populated country in continental [[Americas|America]], El Salvador is affectionately called ''Pulgarcito de America'' (the "[[Tom Thumb]] of the Americas"). El Salvador shares borders with Guatemala and Honduras, as well as a coastline with the [[Pacific Ocean]]. The total national boundary length is {{convert|339|mi|km|order=flip|abbr=on}}: {{convert|126|mi|km|order=flip|abbr=on}} with Guatemala and {{convert|213|mi|km|order=flip|abbr=on}} with Honduras. It is the only Central American country that has no Caribbean coastline. The coastline on the Pacific is {{convert|191|mi|km|order=flip|abbr=on}} long.

El Salvador has over 300 rivers, the most important of which is the [[Lempa River|Rio Lempa]]. Originating in Guatemala, the Rio Lempa cuts across the northern range of mountains, flows along much of the central plateau, and cuts through the southern volcanic range to empty into the Pacific. It is El Salvador's only navigable river. It and its tributaries drain about half of the country's area. Other rivers are generally short and drain the Pacific lowlands or flow from the central plateau through gaps in the southern mountain range to the Pacific. These include the [[Goascorán River|Goascorán]], [[Jiboa River|Jiboa]], [[Torola River|Torola]], [[Paz River|Paz]] and the [[Río Grande de San Miguel]].
[[File:Santa Ana - El Salvador (50899359306).jpg|thumb|Ilamatepec (Santa Ana) Volcano]]
The geography of El Salvador is volcanic. El Salvador is a country located on the [[Ring of Fire]], where the majority of the earth's volcanos and earthquakes occur.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Where do earthquakes occur? |url=https://www.bgs.ac.uk/discovering-geology/earth-hazards/earthquakes/where-do-earthquakes-occur/#:~:text=Over%2080%20per%20cent%20of,active%20zone%20in%20the%20world. |website=bgs.ac.uk}}</ref> The most notable volcano is [[San Miguel (volcano)|Volcan Chaparrastique]] (San Miguel Volcano), which also exhibits the most volcanic activity. The tallest volcano is [[Santa Ana Volcano|Ilamatepec]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Santa Ana Volcano |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Santa-Ana-Volcano |website=britannica.com}}</ref> (Santa Ana Volcano), reaching {{convert|7,821|ft|m|abbr=off|sp=us}} above sea level. Along with these, [[List of volcanoes in El Salvador|there are 20 other volcanoes]], many which are active, or potentially active. El Salvador has the second highest number of volcanoes of any Central American country.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Which countries have the most volcanoes? |url=https://volcano.si.edu/faq/index.cfm?question=countries |website=volcano.si.edu}}</ref>

There are several lakes enclosed by volcanic craters in El Salvador, the most important of which are [[Lake Ilopango]] ({{cvt|70|km2|disp=or}}) and [[Lake Coatepeque]] ({{cvt|26|km2|disp=or}}). [[Lake Güija]] is El Salvador's largest natural lake ({{cvt|44|km2|disp=or}}). Several artificial lakes were created by the damming of the Lempa, the largest of which is [[Cerrón Grande Reservoir]] ({{cvt|135|km2|disp=or}}). There are a total {{convert|123.6|sqmi|km2|order=flip|abbr=on}} of water within El Salvador's borders.

The highest point in El Salvador is [[Cerro El Pital]], at {{convert|8,957|ft|m|order=flip}}, on the border with Honduras. Two parallel mountain ranges cross El Salvador to the west with a central plateau between them and a narrow coastal plain hugging the Pacific. These physical features divide the country into two physiographic regions. The mountain ranges and central plateau, covering 85% of the land, comprise the interior highlands. The remaining coastal plains are referred to as the Pacific lowlands.

===Climate===
{{Main|Climate of El Salvador}}
[[File:Koppen-Geiger Map SLV present.svg|upright=1.3|thumb|Köppen climate classification of El Salvador]]

El Salvador has a [[tropical]] climate with pronounced wet and dry seasons.<ref name=":0" /> Temperatures vary primarily with elevation and show little seasonal change.<ref name=":0" /> The Pacific lowlands are uniformly hot and humid; the central plateau and mountain areas are more moderate.<ref name=":0" />

The rainy season, known locally as ''invierno'', extends from May to October.<ref name=":0" /> Almost all the annual rainfall during this time, and yearly rain totals, particularly on southern-facing mountain slopes, can be as high as {{convert|2000|mm|in|1|sp=us}}.<ref name=":0" /> Protected areas and the central plateau receive lesser, although still significant, amounts.<ref name=":0" /> Rainfall during this season generally comes from low pressure over the Pacific and usually falls in heavy afternoon thunderstorms.<ref name=":0" /> Although [[hurricane]]s occasionally form in the Pacific, they seldom affect El Salvador, with the notable exception of [[Hurricane Mitch]] in 1998 (which actually formed over the Atlantic Basin) and [[1973 Pacific hurricane season#Hurricane Emily|Hurricane Emily]] in 1973.<ref name=":0" />

From November through April, the northeast [[trade winds]] control weather patterns.<ref name=":0" /> During these months, air flowing from the Caribbean has lost most of its precipitation while passing over the mountains in Honduras.<ref name=":0" /> By the time this air reaches El Salvador, it is dry, hot, and hazy.<ref name=":0" /> This season is known locally as ''verano'', or summer.<ref name=":0" />

Temperatures vary little with season; elevation is the primary determinant.<ref name=":0" /> The Pacific lowlands are the hottest region, with annual averages ranging from {{convert|25|to|29|°C|°F|1}}.<ref name=":0" /> San Salvador is representative of the central plateau, with an annual average temperature of {{convert|23|°C}} and absolute high and low readings of {{convert|38|and|6|°C|°F|1}}, respectively.<ref name=":0" /> Mountain areas are the coolest, with annual averages from {{convert|12|to|23|°C|°F|1}} and minimum temperatures sometimes approaching freezing.<ref name=":0" />

===Natural disasters===

====Extreme weather events====
El Salvador's position on the Pacific Ocean also makes it subject to severe weather conditions, including heavy rainstorms and severe droughts, both of which may be made more extreme by the [[El Niño]] and [[La Niña]] effects.<ref>[http://cdkn.org/2013/12/el-salvador-builds-resilience-in-face-of-a-stormy-future/?loclang=en_gb El Salvador builds resilience in the face of a stormy future] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101000032/http://cdkn.org/2013/12/el-salvador-builds-resilience-in-face-of-a-stormy-future/?loclang=en_gb |date=1 January 2016 }} [[Climate & Development Knowledge Network]], 24 December 2013</ref> Hurricanes occasionally form in the Pacific with the notable exception of [[Hurricane Mitch]], which formed in the Atlantic and crossed Central America.

In the summer of 2001 a severe drought destroyed 80% of El Salvador's crops, causing famine in the countryside.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/shows/elsalvador/photo6.html|title=Photo Essay: El Salvador, the Makings of a Gangland|publisher=Pbs.org|date=11 July 2006|access-date=2 May 2010|archive-date=16 April 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080416015450/http://www.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/shows/elsalvador/photo6.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fiu.edu/~oberbaue/el_salvador.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070702202332/http://www.fiu.edu/~oberbaue/el_salvador.pdf|archive-date=2 July 2007|title=El Salvador|work=Fiu.edu|access-date=2 May 2010}}</ref> On 4 October 2005, severe rains resulted in dangerous flooding and landslides, which caused at least 50 deaths.<ref name="tdfiyp"/>

====Earthquakes and volcanic activity====
[[File:Vulkan Chaparrastique, El Salvador 2013 01.JPG|thumb|[[San Miguel (volcano)|San Miguel]] volcano in 2013]]
El Salvador lies along the Pacific [[Ring of Fire]] and is thus subject to significant tectonic activity, including frequent [[earthquake]]s and [[volcano|volcanic]] activity. The capital San Salvador was destroyed in 1756 and 1854, and it suffered heavy damage in the 1919, 1982, and 1986 tremors. Recent examples include the earthquake on 13 January 2001 that measured 7.7 on the [[Richter magnitude scale]] and caused a [[landslide]] that killed more than 800 people;<ref name="tdfiyp">{{cite web |url=https://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1109.html |title=El Salvador landslide |publisher=Travel.state.gov |access-date=2 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100510070619/http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1109.html |archive-date=10 May 2010 }}</ref> and another earthquake only a month later, on 13 February 2001, that killed 255 people and damaged about 20% of the country's housing. A [[Moment magnitude scale|5.7 M<sub>w</sub>]] earthquake in 1986 resulted in 1,500 deaths, 10,000 injuries, and 100,000 people left homeless.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Harlow|first=David H.|year=1993|title=The San Salvador earthquake of 10 October 1986 and its historical context|url=http://bssa.geoscienceworld.org/content/83/4/1143.abstract|journal=Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America|volume=83|issue=4|pages=1143–1154|doi=10.1785/BSSA0830041143|bibcode=1993BuSSA..83.1143H|s2cid=130882786|access-date=29 July 2012|archive-date=13 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121013005411/http://bssa.geoscienceworld.org/content/83/4/1143.abstract|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1 = Bommer|first1=Julian|year=1987|title=The San Salvador earthquake of 10th October 1986|journal=Disasters|volume=11 |issue=2|pages=83–95|doi=10.1111/j.1467-7717.1987.tb00620.x|last2=Ledbetter|first2=Stephen|bibcode=1987Disas..11...83B }}</ref>

El Salvador has over twenty volcanoes; two of them, San Miguel and [[Izalco (volcano)|Izalco]], have been active in recent years. From the early 19th century to the mid-1950s, Izalco erupted with a regularity that earned it the name "Lighthouse of the Pacific". Its brilliant flares were clearly visible for great distances at sea, and at night its glowing lava turned it into a brilliant luminous cone. The most recent destructive volcanic eruption took place on 1 October 2005, when the [[Santa Ana Volcano]] spewed a cloud of ash, hot mud and rocks that fell on nearby villages and caused two deaths. The most severe volcanic eruption in this area occurred in the 5th century AD when the [[Lake Ilopango|Ilopango]] volcano erupted with a [[Volcanic Explosivity Index|VEI]] strength of 6, producing widespread [[pyroclastic flow]]s and devastating [[Maya civilization|Mayan cities]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Dull|first=Robert A.|year=2001|title=Volcanism, Ecology and Culture: A Reassessment of the Volcan Ilopango Tbj eruption in the Southern Maya Realm|journal=Latin American Antiquity|volume=12 |issue=1|pages=25–44|doi=10.2307/971755|author2=Southon|author3=Sheets|jstor=971755|s2cid=163686184}}</ref>

===Flora and fauna===
[[File:Eumomota superciliosa.jpg|thumb|The [[torogoz]] is El Salvador's national bird.]]

It is estimated that there are 500 species of birds, 1,000 species of butterflies, 400 species of orchids, 800 species of trees, and 800 species of marine (saltwater) fish in El Salvador.

Of the eight species of sea turtles in the world, six of them nest on the coasts of Central America, and four make their home on the Salvadoran coast: the [[Leatherback sea turtle|leatherback turtle]], the [[Hawksbill sea turtle|hawksbill]], the [[green sea turtle]], and the [[olive ridley sea turtle|olive ridley]]. The hawksbill is critically endangered.

Recent conservation efforts provide hope for the future of the country's biological diversity. In 1997, the government established the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources. A general environmental framework law was approved by the National Assembly in 1999. Several non-governmental organizations are doing work to safeguard some of the country's most important forested areas. Foremost among these is SalvaNatura, which manages [[El Imposible National Park|El Imposible]], the country's largest national park under an agreement with El Salvador's environmental authorities.

El Salvador is home to six terrestrial ecosystems: [[Central American montane forests]], [[Sierra Madre de Chiapas moist forests]], [[Central American dry forests]], [[Central American pine-oak forests]], [[Gulf of Fonseca mangroves]], and [[Northern Dry Pacific Coast mangroves]].<ref name="DinersteinOlson2017">{{cite journal|last1=Dinerstein|first1=Eric|last2=Olson|first2=David|last3=Joshi|first3=Anup|last4=Vynne|first4=Carly|last5=Burgess|first5=Neil D.|last6=Wikramanayake|first6=Eric|last7=Hahn|first7=Nathan|last8=Palminteri|first8=Suzanne|last9=Hedao|first9=Prashant|last10=Noss|first10=Reed|last11=Hansen|first11=Matt|last12=Locke|first12=Harvey|last13=Ellis|first13=Erle C|last14=Jones|first14=Benjamin|last15=Barber|first15=Charles Victor|last16=Hayes|first16=Randy|last17=Kormos|first17=Cyril|last18=Martin|first18=Vance|last19=Crist|first19=Eileen|last20=Sechrest|first20=Wes|last21=Price|first21=Lori|last22=Baillie|first22=Jonathan E. M.|last23=Weeden|first23=Don|last24=Suckling|first24=Kierán|last25=Davis|first25=Crystal|last26=Sizer|first26=Nigel|last27=Moore|first27=Rebecca|last28=Thau|first28=David|last29=Birch|first29=Tanya|last30=Potapov|first30=Peter|last31=Turubanova|first31=Svetlana|last32=Tyukavina|first32=Alexandra|last33=de Souza|first33=Nadia|last34=Pintea|first34=Lilian|last35=Brito|first35=José C.|last36=Llewellyn|first36=Othman A.|last37=Miller|first37=Anthony G.|last38=Patzelt|first38=Annette|last39=Ghazanfar|first39=Shahina A.|last40=Timberlake|first40=Jonathan|last41=Klöser|first41=Heinz|last42=Shennan-Farpón|first42=Yara|last43=Kindt|first43=Roeland|last44=Lillesø|first44=Jens-Peter Barnekow|last45=van Breugel|first45=Paulo|last46=Graudal|first46=Lars|last47=Voge|first47=Maianna|last48=Al-Shammari|first48=Khalaf F.|last49=Saleem|first49=Muhammad|title=An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm|journal=BioScience|volume=67|issue=6|year=2017|pages=534–545|issn=0006-3568|doi=10.1093/biosci/bix014|pmid=28608869|pmc=5451287|doi-access=free}}</ref> It had a 2018 [[Forest Landscape Integrity Index]] mean score of 4.06/10, ranking it 136th globally out of 172 countries.<ref name="FLII-Supplementary">{{cite journal|last1=Grantham|first1=H. S.|last2=Duncan|first2=A.|last3=Evans|first3=T. D.|last4=Jones|first4=K. R.|last5=Beyer|first5=H. L.|last6=Schuster|first6=R.|last7=Walston|first7=J.|last8=Ray|first8=J. C.|last9=Robinson|first9=J. G.|last10=Callow|first10=M.|last11=Clements|first11=T.|last12=Costa|first12=H. M.|last13=DeGemmis|first13=A.|last14=Elsen|first14=P. R.|last15=Ervin|first15=J.|last16=Franco|first16=P.|last17=Goldman|first17=E.|last18=Goetz|first18=S.|last19=Hansen|first19=A.|last20=Hofsvang|first20=E.|last21=Jantz|first21=P.|last22=Jupiter|first22=S.|last23=Kang|first23=A.|last24=Langhammer|first24=P.|last25=Laurance|first25=W. F.|last26=Lieberman|first26=S.|last27=Linkie|first27=M.|last28=Malhi|first28=Y.|last29=Maxwell|first29=S.|last30=Mendez|first30=M.|last31=Mittermeier|first31=R.|last32=Murray|first32=N. J.|last33=Possingham|first33=H.|last34=Radachowsky|first34=J.|last35=Saatchi|first35=S.|last36=Samper|first36=C.|last37=Silverman|first37=J.|last38=Shapiro|first38=A.|last39=Strassburg|first39=B.|last40=Stevens|first40=T.|last41=Stokes|first41=E.|last42=Taylor|first42=R.|last43=Tear|first43=T.|last44=Tizard|first44=R.|last45=Venter|first45=O.|last46=Visconti|first46=P.|last47=Wang|first47=S.|last48=Watson|first48=J. E. M.|title=Anthropogenic modification of forests means only 40% of remaining forests have high ecosystem integrity - Supplementary Material|journal=Nature Communications|volume=11|issue=1|year=2020|page=5978|issn=2041-1723|doi=10.1038/s41467-020-19493-3|pmid=33293507|pmc=7723057|bibcode=2020NatCo..11.5978G |doi-access=free}}</ref>

==Government and politics==
{{Multiple image
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| align             = right
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| image1            = Presidente Nayib Bukele (cropped).jpg
| image2            = Félix Ulloa with the TSE (cropped).jpg
| caption1          = [[Nayib Bukele]]<br /><small>[[President of El Salvador]]<br />since 2019</small>
| caption2          = [[Félix Ulloa]]<br /><small>[[Vice President of El Salvador]]<br />since 2019</small>
| alt1              = 
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}}
The 1983 constitution has the highest legal authority in the country. El Salvador has a democratic and representative government, whose three bodies are:
# The Executive Branch, headed by the President of the Republic, who is elected by direct vote and remains in office for five years with no re-election but can be elected after sitting out one electoral period. The president has a Cabinet of Ministers whom he appoints, and is also the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.
# The Legislative Branch, called El Salvador's Legislative Assembly (unicameral), consisting of 84 deputies.
# The Judiciary, headed by the Supreme Court, which is composed of 15 judges, one of them being elected as President of the Judiciary.

The political framework of El Salvador is a [[presidential system|presidential]] [[representative democracy|representative democratic]] [[republic]] with a multiform, multi-party system. The [[President of El Salvador|president]], currently [[Nayib Bukele]], is both [[head of state]] and [[head of government]]. [[Executive (government)|Executive power]] is exercised by the government. [[Legislature|Legislative power]] is vested in both the government and the [[Legislative Assembly of El Salvador|Legislative Assembly]]. The country also has an independent judiciary and [[Supreme Court of El Salvador|Supreme Court]]. It was ranked the 5th least electoral [[democracy in Latin America and the Caribbean|democratic country in Latin America and the Caribbean]] in 2023 by [[V-Dem Institute#Democracy Report|V-Dem Democracy Report]].<ref name="vdem report">{{Cite web |url=https://www.v-dem.net/documents/29/V-dem_democracyreport2023_lowres.pdf |title=Democracy Report 2023, Table 3, V-Dem Institute, 2023 |access-date=3 February 2024 |archive-date=23 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230523162326/https://v-dem.net/documents/29/V-dem_democracyreport2023_lowres.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Politics===
{{Main|Politics of El Salvador}}
{{Further|List of political parties in El Salvador}}
[[File:XIII Legislative Assembly of El Salvador.jpg|thumb|[[Legislative Assembly of El Salvador]]]]
El Salvador has a [[multi-party system]]. Two [[political parties]], the [[Nationalist Republican Alliance]] (ARENA) and the [[Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front]] (FMLN) have tended to dominate elections. ARENA candidates won four consecutive presidential elections until the election of [[Mauricio Funes]] of the FMLN in March 2009. The FMLN Party is leftist in ideology, and is split between the dominant [[Marxist-Leninist]] faction in the legislature, and the [[Social liberalism|social liberal]] wing led by Mauricio Funes until 2014. However, the two-party dominance was broken after [[Nayib Bukele]], a candidate from [[Grand Alliance for National Unity|GANA]] won the [[2019 Salvadoran presidential election]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Delcid |first1=Merlin |last2=Guy |first2=Jack |title=The strange political path of Nayib Bukele, El Salvador's new President |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2019/02/09/americas/el-salvador-president-bukele-profile-intl/index.html |website=CNN |date=10 February 2019 |access-date=27 March 2021 |archive-date=29 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210329041921/https://edition.cnn.com/2019/02/09/americas/el-salvador-president-bukele-profile-intl/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In February 2021, the results of [[2021 Salvadoran legislative election|legislative election]] caused a major change in the politics of El Salvador. The new allied party of president Nayib Bukele, [[Nuevas Ideas]] (New Ideas) won the biggest congressional majority in the country's history.<ref name=centralamerica/>

[[Departments of El Salvador|The departments]] of the Central region, especially the capital and the coastal regions, known as ''{{lang|es|departamentos rojos}}'' (red departments) are relatively leftist. The ''{{lang|es|departamentos azules}}'' (blue departments) in the east, western and highland regions are relatively conservative.<ref name=bbcnews/>

=== Foreign relations ===
{{Main|Foreign relations of El Salvador}}
[[File:Secretary Pompeo Participates in Signing Ceremony for the CSL Lease Extension - 48342132177.jpg|thumb| U.S. Secretary of State [[Mike Pompeo]] participates in a signing ceremony for the CSL Lease Extension with Salvadoran President [[Nayib Bukele]].]]
El Salvador is a member of the [[United Nations]] and several of its specialized agencies. It is also member of the [[Organization of American States]], the [[Central American Parliament]], and the [[Central American Integration System]] among others. It actively participates in the Central American Security Commission, which seeks to promote regional arms control. El Salvador is a member of the [[World Trade Organization]] and is pursuing regional free trade agreements. An active participant in the [[Summits of the Americas|Summit of the Americas]] process, El Salvador chairs a working group on market access under the [[Free Trade Area of the Americas]] initiative.
[[File:Elementos de seguridad en CECOT.jpg|thumb|right|220px|Soldiers and police officers]]
In November 1950, El Salvador was the only country to help the newly empowered [[14th Dalai Lama]] by supporting his [[Tibet (1912–1951)|Tibetan]] Government cabinet minister's telegram requesting an appeal before the [[United Nations General Assembly|General Assembly of the United Nations]] to stop the [[annexation of Tibet by the People's Republic of China]].<ref name="The Story of Tibet" /> With no other countries in support, "the UN unanimously dropped the Tibetan plea from its agenda".<ref name=":0" />

El Salvador is a party to the [[Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://asp.icc-cpi.int/en_menus/asp/states%20parties/latin%20american%20and%20caribbean%20states/Pages/latin%20american%20and%20caribbean%20states.aspx |title=Latin American and Caribbean State Parties to the Rome Statute, International Criminal Court. Retrieved 10 July 2021 |access-date=16 November 2021 |archive-date=9 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210809030312/https://asp.icc-cpi.int/en_menus/asp/states%20parties/latin%20american%20and%20caribbean%20states/Pages/latin%20american%20and%20caribbean%20states.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite press release |last1=El Abdallah |first1=Fadi |date=22 October 2021 |title=Vice President of El Salvador visits International Criminal Court |url=https://www.icc-cpi.int/Pages/item.aspx?name=pr1620 |url-status=live |type=Press release |language=en, es |publisher=Head of Public Affairs Unit, International Criminal Court |access-date=16 November 2021 |quote=On 22 October 2021, H.E. Mr Félix Ulloa, Vice President of El Salvador, visited the International Criminal Court (ICC), where he was received by the President of the Court, Judge Piotr Hofmański, ICC Prosecutor Karim A.A. Khan QC and ICC Registrar Peter Lewis. |archive-date=6 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220206130956/https://www.icc-cpi.int/Pages/item.aspx?name=pr1620 }}</ref>

=== Incarceration ===

As of February 2025, El Salvador had the highest prisoner rate worldwide, with over 1,600 prisoners per 100,000 of the national population.<ref>{{cite web |title=Most prisoners per capita by country 2025 {{!}} Statista |url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/262962/countries-with-the-most-prisoners-per-100-000-inhabitants/ |website=Statista |language=en}}</ref> 

El Salvador’s [[Terrorism Confinement Center]] (CECOT) mega-prison is considered the largest prison in the Americas with a capacity of 40,000 inmates. The incarcerations have been part of president Bukele’s efforts to reduce high crime rates and gang violence.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Rios |first1=Michael |title=What we know about El Salvador’s ‘mega prison’ where Trump is sending alleged Venezuelan gang members |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2025/03/17/americas/el-salvador-prison-trump-deportations-gangs-intl-latam/index.html |work=CNN |date=17 March 2025 |language=en}}</ref> In March 2025, the United States transferred more than 200 immigrants, alleging them to be members of a Venezuelan gang, to be imprisoned in El Salvador in violation of court orders.<ref>{{cite news |title=US deports over 200 Venezuelan immigrants to El Salvador despite court ban |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/3/16/venezuelan-immigrants-deported-to-el-salvador-despite-us-court-ban |work=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref>

=== Military ===
{{Main|Armed Forces of El Salvador}}
The [[Armed Forces of El Salvador]] have three branches: the [[Salvadoran Army]], the [[Salvadoran Air Force]] and the [[Navy of El Salvador]]. There are around 25,000 personnel in the armed forces in total.<ref name=IISSp413>{{cite book| url=https://www.iiss.org/publications/the-military-balance/the-military-balance-2021| title=The Military Balance 2021| author1=International Institute for Strategic Studies| author-link1=International Institute for Strategic Studies| date=25 February 2021| publisher=[[Routledge]]| location=[[London]]| page= 413| isbn=9781032012278}}</ref>

===Human rights===
{{Main|Human rights in El Salvador}}
[[Amnesty International]] has drawn attention to several arrests of police officers for unlawful police killings. Other issues to gain Amnesty International's attention include missing children, failure of law enforcement to properly investigate and prosecute crimes against women properly, and rendering [[labor unions|organized labour]] illegal.<ref>{{cite web |title=El Salvador Human Rights |url=http://www.amnestyusa.org/all-countries/el-salvador/page.do?id=1011148 |website=Amnesty International |access-date=17 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429054839/http://www.amnestyusa.org/all-countries/el-salvador/page.do?id=1011148 |archive-date=29 April 2011 }}</ref>

Abortion is banned, with no exceptions for rape, incest, or threat to the mother's life; as a result, 180 women have been imprisoned in the last two decades, some for up to 30 years.<ref>{{cite web |title=Woman who suffered miscarriage sentenced to 30 years for aggravated homicide in El Salvador — The Independent |url=https://apple.news/AELY_WYA9TxubvdEblX4flw |access-date=12 May 2022 |website=apple.news |archive-date=13 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220513031850/https://apple.news/AELY_WYA9TxubvdEblX4flw |url-status=live }}</ref> Discrimination against [[LGBT rights in El Salvador|LGBT people]] in El Salvador is very widespread.<ref>{{cite news |title=LGBT in El Salvador: Beatings, intolerance, death |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2015/08/lgbt-el-salvador-beatings-intolerance-death-150805075132892.html |work=Al-Jazeera |date=12 August 2015 |access-date=14 August 2019 |archive-date=14 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190814122215/https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2015/08/lgbt-el-salvador-beatings-intolerance-death-150805075132892.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title='Terrorized at home', Central America's LGBT people to flee for their lives: report |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-latam-lgbt-rights/terrorized-at-home-central-americas-lgbt-people-to-flee-for-their-lives-report-idUSKBN1DR28O |work=Reuters |date=27 November 2017 |access-date=14 August 2019 |archive-date=26 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190426045942/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-latam-lgbt-rights/terrorized-at-home-central-americas-lgbt-people-to-flee-for-their-lives-report-idUSKBN1DR28O |url-status=live }}</ref> According to a 2013 survey by [[Pew Research Center|Pew Research]], 53% of Salvadorans believe that [[homosexuality]] should not be accepted by society.<ref name="pewglobal.org">{{Cite web |title=LGBT Rights in El Salvador |url=https://www.equaldex.com/region/el-salvador |website=equaldex.com}}</ref> Although homosexuality itself is legal, gay marriage is legally not recognized, as proposals were rejected twice in 2006, and once again in 2009.

===Administrative divisions===
{{Further|Departments of El Salvador}}

El Salvador is [[Departments of El Salvador|divided into 14 departments]] (''departamentos''), which in turn are subdivided into 44 [[Municipalities of El Salvador|municipalities]] (''municipios'') which are also divided into 262 districts.

{{center|
{{El Salvador labeled map}}
}}

==Economy==
{{Main|Economy of El Salvador}}
[[File:GDP per capita development in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.svg|thumb|right|Historical GDP per capita development of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras]]
El Salvador's economy has been hampered at times by natural disasters such as earthquakes and hurricanes, by government policies that mandate large economic subsidies, and by official corruption. Subsidies became such a problem that in April 2012, the International Monetary Fund suspended a $750&nbsp;million loan to the central government. President Funes' chief of cabinet, Alex Segovia, acknowledged that the economy was at the "point of collapse".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Quintanilla |first1=Lourdes |title=FMI suspende acuerdo de préstamo con el país |url=http://www.laprensagrafica.com/economia/nacional/259909-fmi-suspende-acuerdo-de-prestamo-con-el-pais.html |access-date=17 March 2020 |work=La Prensa Grafica |date=26 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120702214809/http://www.laprensagrafica.com/economia/nacional/259909-fmi-suspende-acuerdo-de-prestamo-con-el-pais.html |archive-date=2 July 2012}}</ref>

Gross domestic product ([[Gross domestic product|GDP]]) in [[purchasing power parity]] estimate for 2021 is US$57.95&nbsp;billion growing real GDP at 4.2% for 2021.<ref name="IMFWEOSV">{{cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2021/April/weo-report?c=253,&s=NGDP_RPCH,NGDPD,PPPGDP,NGDPDPC,PPPPC,LUR,&sy=2019&ey=2023&ssm=0&scsm=1&scc=0&ssd=1&ssc=0&sic=0&sort=country&ds=.&br=1 |title=World Economic Outlook Database, April 2021 |publisher=[[International Monetary Fund]] |website=IMF.org |access-date=1 July 2021 |archive-date=9 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709183151/https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2021/April/weo-report?c=253,&s=NGDP_RPCH,NGDPD,PPPGDP,NGDPDPC,PPPPC,LUR,&sy=2019&ey=2023&ssm=0&scsm=1&scc=0&ssd=1&ssc=0&sic=0&sort=country&ds=.&br=1 |url-status=live }}</ref> The service sector is the largest component of GDP at 64.1%, followed by the industrial sector at 24.7% (2008 est.) and agriculture represents 11.2% of GDP (2010 est.). The GDP grew after 1996 at an annual rate that averaged 3.2% real growth. The government committed to free market initiatives and the 2007 GDP's real growth rate hit 4.7%.<ref>{{cite web |title=Gross Domestic Product, annual rates, main economic sectors |publisher=[[Banco Central de Reserva de El Salvador]] |url=http://www.bcr.gob.sv/ingles/estadisticas/sr_produccion.html |access-date=17 November 2007| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071107150307/http://www.bcr.gob.sv/ingles/estadisticas/sr_produccion.html| archive-date = 7 November 2007}}</ref> As of December 2017, net [[Foreign exchange reserves|international reserves]] stood at $3.57&nbsp;billion.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/el-salvador/#economy|title=El Salvador - The World Factbook|website=www.cia.gov|date=July 2022|access-date=9 July 2021|archive-date=21 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220321170220/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/el-salvador#economy|url-status=live}}</ref>

It has long been a challenge in El Salvador to develop new growth sectors for a more diversified economy. In the past, the country produced gold and silver,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Oancea |first1=Dan |title=Mining in Central America |url=http://magazine.mining.com/Issues/0901/MiningCentralAmerica.pdf |website=MINING.com |access-date=17 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110516031334/http://magazine.mining.com/Issues/0901/MiningCentralAmerica.pdf |archive-date=16 May 2011 |date=January 2009 }}</ref> but recent attempts to reopen the mining sector, which were expected to add hundreds of millions of dollars to the local economy, collapsed after President Saca shut down the operations of [[Pacific Rim Mining Corporation]]. Nevertheless, according to the Central American Institute for Fiscal Studies (Instituto Centroamericano for Estudios Fiscales), the contribution of metallic mining was a minuscule 0.3% of the country's GDP between 2010 and 2015.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://icefi.org/noticias/estudio-sobre-mineria-metalica-en-triangulo-norte-se-presenta-en-el-salvador|title=Estudio sobre minería metálica en triángulo norte se presenta en El Salvador|date=7 April 2017|access-date=29 December 2017|archive-date=25 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170825035318/http://www.icefi.org/noticias/estudio-sobre-mineria-metalica-en-triangulo-norte-se-presenta-en-el-salvador|url-status=live}}</ref> Saca's decision although not lacking political motives, had strong support from local residents and grassroots movements in the country. President Funes later rejected a company's application for a further permit based on the risk of cyanide contamination on one of the country's main rivers.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nacla.org/blog/2012/6/8/pacific-rim-ruling-threatens-el-salvador%25E2%2580%2599s-national-sovereignty|title=Pacific Rim Ruling Threatens El Salvador's National Sovereignty|website=NACLA|access-date=3 January 2018|archive-date=4 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180104192358/https://nacla.org/blog/2012/6/8/pacific-rim-ruling-threatens-el-salvador%25E2%2580%2599s-national-sovereignty|url-status=live}}</ref>

As with other former colonies, El Salvador was considered a mono-export economy (an economy that depended heavily on one type of export) for many years. During colonial times, El Salvador was a thriving exporter of [[Indigo dye|indigo]], but after the invention of synthetic dyes in the 19th century, the newly created modern state turned to [[coffee]] as the main export.

[[File:San Miguel El Salvador.png|thumb|[[San Miguel, El Salvador|San Miguel]] is an important economic centre of El Salvador and home to the "Carnival of San Miguel", one of the biggest festivals of entertainment and food in Central America.<ref name="Herrera-Sobek2012">{{cite book|first=Maria|last=Herrera-Sobek|title=Celebrating Latino Folklore|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lY-tY62V1FIC&pg=PA459|date=31 July 2012|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-0-313-34340-7|page=459|access-date=6 November 2015|archive-date=10 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240110143656/https://books.google.com/books?id=lY-tY62V1FIC&pg=PA459|url-status=live}}</ref>]]
The government has sought to improve the collection of its current revenues, with a focus on indirect taxes. A 10% [[value-added tax]] (IVA in Spanish), implemented in September 1992, was raised to 13% in July 1995. Inflation has been steady and among the lowest in the region. As a result of the free trade agreements, from 2000 to 2006, total exports have grown 19% from $2.94&nbsp;billion to $3.51&nbsp;billion, and total imports have risen 54% from $4.95&nbsp;billion to $7.63&nbsp;billion. This has resulted in a 102% increase in the trade deficit, from $2.01&nbsp;billion to $4.12&nbsp;billion.<ref>{{cite web|title=Trade Balance, Annual and Monthly Accumulated|publisher=Banco Central de Reserva de El Salvador|url=http://www.bcr.gob.sv/ingles/estadisticas/se_balanzacom.html |access-date=17 November 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071014112428/http://bcr.gob.sv/ingles/estadisticas/se_balanzacom.html|archive-date=14 October 2007}}</ref>

In 2006, El Salvador was the first country to ratify the Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement ([[Dominican Republic–Central America Free Trade Agreement|CAFTA]]) — negotiated by the five countries of Central America and the [[Dominican Republic]] — with the United States. CAFTA requires that the Salvadoran government adopt policies that foster [[free trade]]. CAFTA has bolstered exports of processed foods, sugar, and ethanol, and supported investment in the apparel sector, which faced Asian competition with the expiration of the [[Multi Fibre Arrangement]] in 2005. In anticipation of the declines in the apparel sector's competitiveness, the previous administration sought to diversify the economy by promoting the country as a regional distribution and logistics hub, and by promoting tourism investment through tax incentives.

In June 2021, President [[Nayib Bukele]] said he would introduce legislation to make [[Bitcoin]] [[legal tender]] in El Salvador.<ref name=cnbc20210605>{{cite news |title=El Salvador looks to become the world's first country to adopt bitcoin as legal tender |url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/el-salvador-hopes-to-becomes-the-world-s-first-country-to-adopt-bitcoin-as-legal-tender/ar-AAKK3CW |work=CNBC |date=5 June 2021 |access-date=5 June 2021 |archive-date=5 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210605215745/https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/el-salvador-hopes-to-becomes-the-world-s-first-country-to-adopt-bitcoin-as-legal-tender/ar-AAKK3CW |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Bitcoin Law]] was passed by the [[Legislative Assembly of El Salvador]] on 9 June 2021. Bitcoin officially became a legal tender on 7 September 2021.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/bitcoin-comes-to-el-salvador-first-country-to-adopt-crypto-as-national-currency-11631005200|title=El Salvador Becomes First Country to Adopt Bitcoin as National Currency|website=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|last=Pérez|first=Santiago|date=7 September 2021|access-date=7 September 2021|archive-date=7 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210907233833/https://www.wsj.com/articles/bitcoin-comes-to-el-salvador-first-country-to-adopt-crypto-as-national-currency-11631005200|url-status=live}}{{subscription required}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-57398274 |title=Bitcoin: El Salvador makes cryptocurrency legal tender |date=9 June 2021 |website=BBC |publisher= |access-date=9 June 2021 |quote= |archive-date=23 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210623180912/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-57398274 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=ft>{{cite web |url=https://www.ft.com/content/7b5b1cc4-50bb-437f-aa16-f106d2dbc1c7 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/7b5b1cc4-50bb-437f-aa16-f106d2dbc1c7 |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=El Salvador becomes first country to adopt bitcoin as legal tender |last1=Webber |first1=Jude |last2=Szalay |first2=Eva |date=9 June 2021 |website= |publisher=Financial Times |access-date=9 June 2021 |quote=}}</ref> As part of the law, foreigners can gain permanent residence in El Salvador if they invest 3 Bitcoin into the country.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdx_alPrmVY| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211027/qdx_alPrmVY| archive-date=27 October 2021|title=Why El Salvador Made Bitcoin Legal Tender with President Nayib Bukele| date=23 June 2021|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref> The implementation of the law has been met with protests,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-58459098|title=Bitcoin crashes on first day as El Salvador's legal tender|last=Silver|first=Katie|website=BBC|date=8 September 2021|access-date=8 September 2021|archive-date=8 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908115325/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-58459098|url-status=live}}</ref> with the majority of the country being against using Bitcoin as legal tender.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-58473260|quote=More than 68% of those questioned said they disagreed with using cryptocurrency as a legal tender.|website=BBC|first=Joe|last=Tidy|date=7 September 2021|title=Fear and excitement in El Salvador as Bitcoin becomes legal tender|access-date=8 September 2021|archive-date=26 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230926081220/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-58473260|url-status=live}}</ref> According to a survey conducted by the Salvadoran Chamber of Commerce, as of March 2022 only 14% of merchants in the country processed at least one Bitcoin transaction.<ref name="Linea 2022">{{cite web | author=Michael McDonald | title=Pocas empresas en El Salvador usan el bitcoin, revela encuesta | website=Bloomberg Linea | date=19 March 2022 | url=https://www.bloomberglinea.com/2022/03/19/pocas-empresas-en-el-salvador-usan-el-bitcoin-revela-encuesta/ | language=es | access-date=19 March 2022 | archive-date=25 March 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220325033808/https://www.bloomberglinea.com/2022/03/19/pocas-empresas-en-el-salvador-usan-el-bitcoin-revela-encuesta/ | url-status=live }}</ref> Since May 2024, an official government entity named the Bitcoin Office of El Salvador reports that the government holds 5,750 bitcoin (approximately $354 million circa May 2024) -- with nearly 474 bitcoin (approx $29 million circa May 2024) mined since September 2021 using geothermal energy from the Tecapa volcano.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Renteria |first=Nelson |date=May 15, 2024 |title=El Salvador mined nearly 474 bitcoins, adding to state crypto holding, in last three years |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/el-salvador-mined-nearly-474-bitcoins-adding-state-crypto-holding-last-three-2024-05-14/ |access-date=September 24, 2024 |website=Reuters}}</ref>

El Salvador leads the region in [[remittance]]s per capita, with inflows equivalent to nearly all export income; in 2019 2.35 million Salvadorans lived in the U.S.<ref>{{cite web |url-status=dead |title=Hispanic origin groups in the U.S., 2019 |date=9 September 2021 |publisher=Pew Research Center |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/09/09/key-facts-about-u-s-latinos-for-national-hispanic-heritage-month/ft_21-09-01_keyfactslatinos_origin_table_final1/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210913155140/https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/09/09/key-facts-about-u-s-latinos-for-national-hispanic-heritage-month/ft_21-09-01_keyfactslatinos_origin_table_final1/ |archive-date=13 September 2021 }}</ref> and about a third of all households received remittances. Remittances from Salvadorans living in the United States, sent to family members in El Salvador, are a major source of foreign income and offset the trade deficit. Remittances have increased steadily since the early 2000s, growing from $3.32&nbsp;billion, or approximately 16.2% of GDP in 2006,<ref>{{cite web|title=Family Remittances|publisher=Banco Central de Reserva de El Salvador|url=http://www.bcr.gob.sv/ingles/estadisticas/se_remesas.html |access-date=17 November 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071107112652/http://www.bcr.gob.sv/ingles/estadisticas/se_remesas.html|archive-date=7 November 2007}}</ref> to nearly $6 billion (around 20% of GDP in 2019, one of the highest rates in the world, according to the World Bank.)<ref>{{Cite news |last=Wilson |first=Tom |last2= |first2= |date=2021-06-14 |title=EXCLUSIVE El Salvador bitcoin transfers soar, but still a fraction of dollar remittances |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/exclusive-el-salvador-bitcoin-transfers-soar-still-fraction-dollar-remittances-2021-06-14/ |access-date=2023-05-10 |archive-date=13 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210913155921/https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/exclusive-el-salvador-bitcoin-transfers-soar-still-fraction-dollar-remittances-2021-06-14/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In December 2024, Nayib Bukele's [[government]] purchased 11 new BTC for over a million dollars, thus strengthening its strategic reserves.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-12-19 |title=El Salvador strikes $1.4bn IMF deal after scaling back Bitcoin policies |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c20e3l3xllwo |access-date=2024-12-24 |website=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref>

===Energy===

El Salvador's [[energy]] industry is diversified across, relying on [[fossil fuel]]s, [[Hydroelectricity|hydro]], other [[Renewable Energy|renewables]] (mainly [[Geothermal Energy|geothermal]]) for local electricity production, along with a reliance on imports for [[Petroleum|oil]]. El Salvador has an installed capacity of 1,983 [[Watt#Megawatt|MW]] generating 5,830 [[Watt#Gigawatt|GWh]] of [[electricity]] per year, 84% of this comes from renewable sources including 26.85% from geothermal (produced from the country's many [[Geography of El Salvador#Physical features|volcanoes]]), 29.92% from hydro and the rest is from fossil fuels.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Barrera |first1=Jose A |title=El Salvador está generando 84.3% de su energía de fuentes renovables |url=https://diario.elmundo.sv/el-salvador-esta-generando-84-3-de-su-energia-de-fuentes-renovables/ |website=diario.elmundo.sv |date=16 August 2021 |publisher=Diario el mundo |access-date=16 September 2021 |archive-date=22 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210822053024/https://diario.elmundo.sv/el-salvador-esta-generando-84-3-de-su-energia-de-fuentes-renovables/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/el-salvador/#energy|title=El Salvador - The World Factbook|website=www.cia.gov|date=July 2022|access-date=1 July 2021|archive-date=21 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220321170220/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/el-salvador#energy|url-status=live}}</ref>

According to the National Energy Commission, 94.4% of total injections during January 2021 came from hydroelectric plants (28.5% - 124.43 GWh), geothermal (27.3% - 119.07 GWh), biomass (24.4% 106.43 GWh), photovoltaic solar (10.6% - 46.44 GWh) and wind (3.6% - 15.67 GWh).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Singh |first1=Nanda |title=Las energías renovables crecen mientras las tarifas eléctricas disminuyen en El Salvador |url=https://www.energiaestrategica.com/las-energias-renovables-crecen-mientras-las-tarifas-electricas-disminuyen-en-el-salvador/ |website=energiaestrategica.com |date=10 February 2021 |publisher=energía estrategica |access-date=16 September 2021 |archive-date=16 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210916005634/https://www.energiaestrategica.com/las-energias-renovables-crecen-mientras-las-tarifas-electricas-disminuyen-en-el-salvador/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Energías renovables mantuvieron más del 80 % de generación en 2020 en el El Salvador y la eólica inicia su participación en el mercado |url=https://www.bnamericas.com/es/noticias/energias-renovables-mantuvieron-mas-del-80--de-generacion-en-2020-en-el-el-salvador-y-la-eolica-inicia-su-participacion-en-el-mercado |website=www.bnamericas.com |publisher=Bnamericas |access-date=16 September 2021 |archive-date=16 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210916221332/https://www.bnamericas.com/es/noticias/energias-renovables-mantuvieron-mas-del-80--de-generacion-en-2020-en-el-el-salvador-y-la-eolica-inicia-su-participacion-en-el-mercado |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Telecommunications and media===
{{main|Telecommunications in El Salvador}}
El Salvador has 900,000 fixed telephone lines, 500,000 fixed broadband lines and 9.4 million mobile cellular subscriptions.<ref name="cia.gov">{{Cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/el-salvador/#communications|title=El Salvador - The World Factbook|website=www.cia.gov|date=July 2022|access-date=2 July 2021|archive-date=21 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220321170220/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/el-salvador#communications|url-status=live}}</ref> Much of the population is able to access the [[internet]] through their smartphones and mobile networks, which liberal government regulation promotes mobile penetration over fixed line including the deployment of [[5G]] coverage (which testing of began in 2020).<ref name="cia.gov"/> Transition to digital transmission of TV/radio networks was done in 2018 with the adaptation of the [[ISDB-T International|ISDB-T]] standard. There are hundreds of privately owned national TV networks, cable TV networks (that also carry international channels), and radio stations available; while there is also 1 government owned broadcast station.<ref name="cia.gov"/>

===Official corruption and foreign investment===
{{further|Corruption in El Salvador}}
In an analysis of ARENA's electoral defeat in 2009, the U.S. Embassy in San Salvador pointed to [[Corruption in El Salvador|official corruption]] under the Saca administration as a significant reason for public rejection of continued ARENA government.{{citation needed|date=July 2023}} Subsequent policies under Funes administrations improved El Salvador to foreign investment, and the World Bank in 2014 rated El Salvador 109, a little better than Belize (118) and Nicaragua (119) in the World Bank's annual "[[Ease of doing business index|Ease of doing business]]" index.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.doingbusiness.org/rankings |title=Economy Rankings |access-date=1 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150206025936/http://www.doingbusiness.org/rankings |archive-date=6 February 2015 }} Annual index, Doing Business 2014, World Bank.</ref>

As per Santander Trade, a Spanish think tank in foreign investment, "Foreign investment into El Salvador has been steadily growing during the last few years. In 2013, the influx of FDI increased. Nevertheless, El Salvador receives less FDI than other countries of Central America. The government has made little progress in terms of improving the business climate. In addition to this, the limited size of its domestic market, weak infrastructures and institutions, as well as the high level of criminality have been real obstacles to investors. However, El Salvador is the second most 'business friendly' country in Central America in terms of business taxation. It also has a young and skilled labour force and a strategic geographical position. The country's membership in the DR-CAFTA, as well as its reinforced integration to the C4 countries (producers of cotton) should lead to an increase of FDI".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://en.santandertrade.com/establish-overseas/el-salvador/investing-3|title=Foreign investment in El Salvador - Santandertrade.com|website=en.santandertrade.com|access-date=13 April 2015|archive-date=14 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150414013243/https://en.santandertrade.com/establish-overseas/el-salvador/investing-3}}</ref>

Foreign companies have lately resorted to arbitration in international trade tribunals in total disagreement with Salvadoran government policies. In 2008, El Salvador sought international arbitration against Italy's Enel Green Power, on behalf of Salvadoran state-owned electric companies for a geothermal project Enel had invested in. Four years later, Enel indicated it would seek arbitration against El Salvador, blaming the government for technical problems that prevent it from completing its investment.<ref>{{cite news |title=CEL a punto de ir a otro arbitraje |url=http://www.elsalvador.com/mwedh/nota/nota_completa.asp?idCat=47861&idArt=6919711 |access-date=17 March 2020 |work=elsalvador.com |date=21 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129045947/http://www.elsalvador.com/mwedh/nota/nota_completa.asp?idCat=47861&idArt=6919711 |archive-date=29 November 2014}}</ref> The government came to its defence claiming that Art 109 of the constitution does not allow any government (regardless of the party they belong), to privatize the resources of the national soil (in this case geothermic energy). The dispute came to an end in December 2014 when both parties came to a settlement, from which no details have been released. The small country had yielded to pressure from the Washington-based powerful [[International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes|ICSID]].<ref>{{cite news |title=El Salvador y Enel ponen fin a litigio por acciones de la CEL |url=http://www.lapagina.com.sv/nacionales/101837/2014/12/07/El-Salvador-y-Enel-ponen-fin-a-litigio-por-acciones-de-La-Geo |access-date=17 March 2020 |work=La Página |date=7 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161107110631/http://www.lapagina.com.sv/nacionales/101837/2014/12/07/El-Salvador-y-Enel-ponen-fin-a-litigio-por-acciones-de-La-Geo |archive-date=7 November 2016}}</ref> The U.S. Embassy warned in 2009 that the Salvadoran government's populist policies of mandating artificially low electricity prices were damaging private sector profitability, including the interests of American investors in the energy sector.{{citation needed|date=July 2023}} The U.S. Embassy noted the corruption of El Salvador's judicial system and quietly urged American businesses to include "arbitration clauses, preferably with a foreign venue", when doing business in the country.{{citation needed|date=July 2023}}

In terms of how people perceived the levels of public corruption in 2014, El Salvador ranks 80 out of 175 countries as per the [[Corruption Perceptions Index]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.transparency.org/cpi2014/results,|title=How corrupt is your country?|first=Transparency International|last=e.V.|website=transparency.org|access-date=13 April 2015|archive-date=16 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160616202240/http://www.transparency.org/cpi2014/results,}}</ref> El Salvador's rating compares relatively well with Panama (94 of 175) and Costa Rica (47 of 175).

===Tourism===
{{Further|Tourism in El Salvador}}
[[File:Palms El Salvador.JPG|thumb|Tropical beach at La Libertad]]

It was estimated that 1,394,000 international tourists visited El Salvador in 2014. Tourism contributed US$2970.1&nbsp;million to El Salvador's GDP in 2019. This represented 11% of total GDP.<ref name="wttc.org">{{cite web |url=https://wttc.org/Research/Economic-Impact |title=Economic Impact Reports |website=wttc.org |access-date=13 December 2020 |archive-date=10 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201210140834/https://wttc.org/Research/Economic-Impact |url-status=live }}</ref> Tourism directly supported 80,500 jobs in 2013. This represented 3.1% of total employment in El Salvador. In 2019, tourism indirectly supported 317,200 jobs, representing 11.6% of total employment in El Salvador.<ref name="wttc.org" />

Most North American and European tourists seek out El Salvador's beaches and nightlife. El Salvador's tourism landscape is slightly different from those of other Central American countries. Because of its geographic size and urbanization there are not many nature-themed tourist destinations such as ecotours or archaeological sites open to the public. Nonetheless, El Salvador remains best known for its beaches and volcanoes. The most frequently visited beaches include El Tunco, Punta Roca, El Sunzal, El Zonte beach, La Costa del Sol, El Majahual, and La Libertad beach. The most hiked volcanoes are Santa Ana and Izalco.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Luna |first1=Mar |title=10 Volcanoes to Hike in El Salvador |url=https://www.spanish.academy/blog/10-volcanoes-to-hike-in-el-salvador/ |website=Homeschool Spanish Academy |date=13 November 2021 |access-date=6 March 2023 |archive-date=6 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230306215120/https://www.spanish.academy/blog/10-volcanoes-to-hike-in-el-salvador/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=12 Places to visit in El Salvador. Get to know them today. |url=https://elsalvadorinfo.net/places-to-visit-in-el-salvador/ |website=El Salvador Info |date=23 January 2021 |access-date=6 March 2023 |archive-date=6 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230306215122/https://elsalvadorinfo.net/places-to-visit-in-el-salvador/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.elsalvador.com/mwedh/nota/nota_varias_fotos.asp?idCat=2907&idArt=1482342 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080223005240/http://www.elsalvador.com/mwedh/nota/nota_varias_fotos.asp?idCat=2907&idArt=1482342 |archive-date=23 February 2008 |title=Los 10 destinos turísticos más apetecidos |first=Milady |last=Cruz |date=24 June 2007|publisher=elsalvador.com |access-date=2 May 2010}}</ref>

==Infrastructure==
The level of access [[Water supply and sanitation in El Salvador|to water supply and sanitation]] has been increased significantly. A 2015 conducted study by the University of North Carolina called El Salvador the country that has achieved the greatest progress in the world in terms of increased access to water supply and sanitation and the reduction of inequity in access between urban and rural areas.<ref>{{cite web|title=The WASH Performance Index Report|url=http://waterinstitute.unc.edu/wash-performance-index-report/|editor1=The Water Institute|editor2=University of North Carolina|access-date=23 October 2015|archive-date=15 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151215084754/http://waterinstitute.unc.edu/wash-performance-index-report/|url-status=live}}</ref> However, water resources are seriously polluted and a large part of the wastewater discharged into the environment without any treatment. Institutionally a single public institution is both de facto in charge of setting sector policy and of being the main service provider. Attempts at reforming and modernizing the sector through new laws have not borne fruit over the past 20 years.
[[File:Hospital El Salvador.jpg|thumb|Hospital El Salvador]]

In response to the [[COVID-19]] pandemic, the government converted the country's main convention centre into [[Hospital El Salvador]] to be the largest hospital in [[Latin America]]. The facility was inaugurated by the president on 22 June 2020, at which time he announced the hospital conversion would be permanent because of the large investment made.<ref name="lanotta">{{Cite news |last=Reyes |first=Scarlett |date=22 June 2020 |title=Pandemia: El Salvador inauguró el hospital más grande América Latina |trans-title=Pandemic: El Salvador opens the largest hospital in Latin America |work=La Notta |url=https://lanotta.com/el-salvador-inauguro-el-hospital-mas-grande-america-latina/ |access-date=28 June 2020 |archive-date=29 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200629001214/https://lanotta.com/el-salvador-inauguro-el-hospital-mas-grande-america-latina/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="efe">{{Cite news |date=22 June 2020 |title=El Salvador inaugura primera fase de un hospital exclusivo para la COVID-19 |language=es |trans-title=El Salvador inaugurates first phase of a hospital exclusively for COVID-19 |work=EFE |url=https://www.efe.com/efe/america/sociedad/el-salvador-inaugura-primera-fase-de-un-hospital-exclusivo-para-la-covid-19/20000013-4277484 |access-date=28 June 2020 |archive-date=30 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200630221215/https://www.efe.com/efe/america/sociedad/el-salvador-inaugura-primera-fase-de-un-hospital-exclusivo-para-la-covid-19/20000013-4277484 |url-status=live }}</ref> US$25&nbsp;million was spent on the first phase of the conversion of the former convention centre,{{r|comercio}} with the entire facility costing $75&nbsp;million and featuring a blood bank, morgue, radiology area, among other amenities.{{r|efe}}<ref name="comercio">{{Cite news |date=24 June 2020 |title=Nayib Bukele inaugura en El Salvador primera fase del 'mejor hospital de Latinoamérica' exclusivo para covid-19 |language=es |trans-title=Nayib Bukele opens in El Salvador the first phase of the "best hospital in Latin America" exclusively for COVID-19 |work=El Comercio |agency=AFP |url=https://www.elcomercio.com/actualidad/bukele-hospital-uci-covid-salvador.html |access-date=28 June 2020 |archive-date=26 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200626233241/https://www.elcomercio.com/actualidad/bukele-hospital-uci-covid-salvador.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The hospital will have a total capacity of 1,083 ICU beds and 2,000 beds total once phase 3 is completed.{{r|lanotta}}<ref>{{Cite news |date=22 June 2020 |title=El Salvador inaugura un hospital solo para pacientes de la COVID-19 con una capacidad de 2.000 camas |language=es |trans-title=El Salvador opens a hospital exclusively for COVID-19 patients with a capacity of 2,000 beds |work=Europa Press |url=https://www.europapress.es/internacional/noticia-salvador-inaugura-hospital-solo-pacientes-covid-19-capacidad-2000-camas-20200622041616.html |access-date=29 June 2020 |archive-date=30 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200630012606/https://www.europapress.es/internacional/noticia-salvador-inaugura-hospital-solo-pacientes-covid-19-capacidad-2000-camas-20200622041616.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

The airport serving international flights in El Salvador is [[Monseñor Óscar Arnulfo Romero International Airport]]. This airport is located about {{convert|40|km|mi|abbr=on}} southeast of San Salvador.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aeropuertoelsalvador.gob.sv/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060213150000/http://www.aeropuertoelsalvador.gob.sv/|archive-date=13 February 2006|title=CEPA – Aeropuerto Internacional de El Salvador|publisher=Aeropuertoelsalvador.gob.sv|access-date=2 May 2010}}</ref>

==Demographics==
{{Main|Demographics of El Salvador}}
El Salvador's population was {{UN_Population|El Salvador}} in {{UN_Population|Year}},{{UN_Population|ref}} compared to 2,200,000 in 1950. In 2010 the percentage of the population below the age of 15 was 32.1%, 61% were between 15 and 65 years of age, while 6.9% were 65 years or older.<ref name="WPP 2012">{{Cite web|url=https://population.un.org/wpp/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110506065230/http://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/index.htm|title=World Population Prospects - Population Division - United Nations|archive-date=6 May 2011|website=population.un.org}}</ref> The capital city of San Salvador has a population of about 2.1&nbsp;million people. An estimated 42% of El Salvador's population live in rural areas. [[Urbanization]] has expanded at a phenomenal rate in El Salvador since the 1960s, with millions moving to the cities and creating associated problems for urban planning and services.

There are up to 100,000 Nicaraguans living in El Salvador.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thedialogue.org/PublicationFiles/The%20Nicaragua%20case_M%20Orozco2%20REV.pdf|title=The Nicaragua case_M Orozco2 REV.doc|access-date=2 May 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511104117/http://www.thedialogue.org/PublicationFiles/The%20Nicaragua%20case_M%20Orozco2%20REV.pdf|archive-date=11 May 2011}}</ref>
{{Largest cities
| country = El Salvador
| list_by_pop = List of cities in El Salvador
| stat_ref = 2007 El Salvador Bureau of Statistics estimate<ref name="3218.0">{{Cite web|url=http://www.censos.gob.sv/util/datos/Resultados%20VI%20Censo%20de%20Poblaci%F3n%20V%20de%20Vivienda%202007.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090612071304/http://www.censos.gob.sv/util/datos/Resultados%20VI%20Censo%20de%20Poblaci%F3n%20V%20de%20Vivienda%202007.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=12 June 2009|title=2007 El Salvador Bureau of Statistics estimate|publisher=General (Salvadoran) Institute of Statistics and Census|date=April 2008|access-date=2 September 2011}}</ref>
| div_name = Department

| city_1 = San Salvador | div_1 = San Salvador Department{{!}}San Salvador | pop_1 = 540,989 |img_1 = Plaza-barrios-san-salvador.png
| city_2 = Santa Ana, El Salvador{{!}}Santa Ana | div_2 = Santa Ana Department{{!}}Santa Ana | pop_2 = 245,421 |img_2 =
 ES Santa Ana 06 2011 2482.jpg
| city_3 = Soyapango | div_3 = San Salvador Department{{!}}San Salvador | pop_3 = 241,403 |img_3 = Soyapango.jpg
| city_4 = San Miguel, El Salvador{{!}}San Miguel | div_4 = San Miguel Department (El Salvador){{!}}San Miguel | pop_4 = 218,410 |img_4 = San Miguel El Salvador.png
| city_5 = Santa Tecla, El Salvador{{!}}Santa Tecla | div_5 = La Libertad Department (El Salvador){{!}}La Libertad | pop_5 = 164,171
| city_6 = Mejicanos | div_6 = San Salvador Department{{!}}San Salvador | pop_6 = 140,751
| city_7 = Apopa | div_7 = San Salvador Department{{!}}San Salvador | pop_7 = 131,286  
| city_8 = Delgado, San Salvador{{!}}Delgado | div_8 = San Salvador Department{{!}}San Salvador | pop_8 = 120,200 
| city_9 = Ahuachapán | div_9 = Ahuachapán Department{{!}}Ahuachapán | pop_9 = 110,511
| city_10 = Ilopango | div_10 = San Salvador Department{{!}}San Salvador | pop_10 = 103,862
| city_11 = Colón, La Libertad{{!}}Colón | div_11 = La Libertad Department (El Salvador){{!}}La Libertad | pop_11 = 96,989 
| city_12 = Tonacatepeque | div_12 = San Salvador Department{{!}}San Salvador | pop_12 = 90,896
| city_13 = Opico | div_13 = La Libertad Department (El Salvador){{!}}La Libertad | pop_13 = 74,280
| city_14 = Chalchuapa | div_14 = Santa Ana Department{{!}}Santa Ana | pop_14 = 74,038
| city_15 = Usulután | div_15 = Usulután Department{{!}}Usulután | pop_15 = 73,064 
| city_16 = San Martín, San Salvador{{!}}San Martín | div_16 = San Salvador Department{{!}}San Salvador | pop_16 = 72,758
| city_17 = Sonsonate, El Salvador{{!}}Sonsonate | div_17 = Sonsonate Department{{!}}Sonsonate | pop_17 = 71,541
| city_18 = Izalco | div_18 = Sonsonate Department{{!}}Sonsonate | pop_18 = 70,959
| city_19 = Cuscatancingo | div_19 = San Salvador Department{{!}}San Salvador | pop_19 = 66,400
| city_20 = Metapán | div_20 = Santa Ana Department{{!}}Santa Ana | pop_20 = 65,826
}}In the 2024 Global Hunger Index, El Salvador ranks 43rd out of the 127 countries with sufficient data to calculate 2024 GHI scores. With a score of 8.0, El Salvador has a level of hunger that is low.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Global Hunger Index Scores by 2024 GHI Rank |url=https://www.globalhungerindex.org/ranking.html |access-date=2024-12-15 |website=Global Hunger Index (GHI) - peer-reviewed annual publication designed to comprehensively measure and track hunger at the global, regional, and country levels |language=en}}</ref>

===Ethnic groups===

Around 86% of Salvadorans identify as mestizo, or mixed Amerindian and European descent, 12.7% identify as being of full European ancestry, 0.1% identify as Afro-descended while about 0.6% do not identify with any of the aforementioned categories.<ref name="El Salvador Census 2007"/>
{{bar box
|title=Ethnic Groups in El Salvador
|titlebar=#ddd
|left1=Ethnic Groups
|right1=Proportion
|float=right
|bars=
{{bar per cent|Mestizo|darkgreen|86.3}}
{{bar per cent|White|purple|12.7}}
{{bar per cent|Indigenous|red|0.23}}
{{bar per cent|Black|black|0.13}}
{{bar per cent|Other|orange|0.64}}
}}

Of the population, 0.23% report as fully indigenous. The ethnic groups are [[Cacaopera people|Kakawira]] which represents 0.07% of the total country's population, [[Pipil people|Nahua]] (0.06%), [[Lenca people|Lenca]] (0.04%) and other minor groups (0.06%). Very few Amerindians have retained their customs and traditions, having over time assimilated into the dominant mestizo culture.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.countriesquest.com/central_america/el_salvador/history/military_rule_1931-1979.htm|title=Jose Napoleon Duarte, Hernandez Martinez, Ungo, Matanza, Central American Common Market, CACM, urban middle class, Christian Democratic Party, powerful families, death squads, Organization of American States, PRUD, International Court Of Justice, urban center, rapid population growth|website=countriesquest.com|access-date=13 May 2015|archive-date=18 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518070347/http://www.countriesquest.com/central_america/el_salvador/history/military_rule_1931-1979.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> There is a small [[Afro-Salvadorans|Afro-Salvadoran]] group that is 0.13% of the total population, with Blacks, among other races, having been prevented from immigrating via government policies in the early 20th century.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.laprensagrafica.com/dominical/318769.asp|first=Elena|last=Salamanca|title=NO a 'los otros'|date=23 October 2005|publisher= La Prensa Gráfica|access-date=29 December 2007|language=es|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080102044414/http://www.laprensagrafica.com/dominical/318769.asp|archive-date=2 January 2008}}</ref><ref name="B">{{cite book|author=Montgomery, Tommie Sue|title=Revolution in El Salvador: from civil strife to civil peace|publisher=Westview Press|location=Boulder, Colo|year= 1995|isbn=0-8133-0071-1}}</ref> The descendants of enslaved Africans, however, had already integrated into the Salvadoran population and culture well before, during the colonial and post-colonial period.<ref>{{cite web|title=La invisible herencia africana de El Salvador|url=https://elfaro.net/es/201404/academico/15281/La-invisible-herencia-africana-de-El-Salvador.htm|access-date=2 September 2020|website=elfaro.net|archive-date=13 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220913113640/https://elfaro.net/es/201404/academico/15281/La-invisible-herencia-africana-de-El-Salvador.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

Among the immigrant groups in El Salvador, [[Palestinian]] stand out.<ref>{{cite book|last=Marín-Guzmán|first=Roberto|title=A Century of Palestinian Immigration into Central America: A study of their economic and cultural contributions|year=2000|publisher=[[Universidad de Costa Rica]]|location=San Jose, CR}}</ref> Though few in number, their descendants have attained great economic and political power in the country, as evidenced by the election of President [[Antonio Saca]], whose opponent in the 2004 election, [[Schafik Handal]], was also of Palestinian descent, and the flourishing commercial, industrial, and construction firms owned by this ethnic group. The current President, [[Nayib Bukele]], is also of Palestinian descent.

{{As of|2004}}, there were approximately 3.2&nbsp;million Salvadorans living outside El Salvador, with the United States traditionally being the destination of choice for Salvadoran economic migrants. By 2012, there were about 2.0&nbsp;million Salvadoran immigrants and [[Salvadoran Americans|Americans of Salvadoran descent]] in the U.S.,<ref name="2012AmericanCommunitySurvey">[http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_12_1YR_B03001&prodType=table US Census Bureau 2012 American Community Survey B03001 1-Year Estimates Hispanic or Latino Origin by Specific Origin] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129052732/http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_12_1YR_B03001&prodType=table |date=29 November 2014 }}. Retrieved 20 September 2013</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Aizenman |first1=N. C. |title=Salvadorans Seek a Voice to Match Their Numbers |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/23/AR2009092304494.html |access-date=17 March 2020 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=24 September 2009 |archive-date=10 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180710071339/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/23/AR2009092304494.html |url-status=live }}</ref> making them the sixth largest immigrant group in the country.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Terrazas |first1=Aaron |title=Salvadoran Immigrants in the United States |journal=Migration Information Source |date=5 January 2010 |url=https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/salvadoran-immigrants-united-states/ |access-date=17 March 2020 |publisher=Migration Policy Institute |archive-date=28 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200428133022/https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/salvadoran-immigrants-united-states |url-status=live }}</ref> The second destination of Salvadorans living outside is Guatemala, with more than 111,000 persons, mainly in [[Guatemala City]]. Salvadorans also live in other nearby countries, such as Belize, Honduras and Nicaragua.<ref>{{cite news|title=Comunidad Salvadorena: Republica de Nicaragua|url=http://www.rree.gob.sv/sitio/img.nsf/vista/informes/$file/nicaragua.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090303221232/http://www.rree.gob.sv/sitio/img.nsf/vista/informes/%24file/nicaragua.pdf|archive-date=3 March 2009|work=Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de El Salvador|access-date=6 January 2008}}</ref> Other countries with notable Salvadoran communities include Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom (including the Cayman Islands), Sweden, Brazil, Italy, and Colombia.

===Languages===
Spanish is the official language and is spoken by virtually all inhabitants, although a very small number (around 500) of indigenous [[Pipil people|Pipil]]s speak [[Pipil language|Nawat]]. The other indigenous languages, namely [[Poqomam language|Poqomam]], [[Cacaopera language|Cacaopera]], and [[Salvadoran Lenca language|Lenca]], are extinct. [[Q'eqchi' language|Q'eqchi']] is spoken by indigenous immigrants of [[Guatemala]]n and [[Belize]]an origin living in El Salvador.

The local Spanish [[vernacular]] is called ''[[Salvadoran Spanish|Caliche]]'', which is considered informal. As in other regions of Central and South America, Salvadorans use {{lang|es|[[voseo]]}}. This refers to the use of "{{lang|es|vos}}" as the second person singular pronoun, instead of "{{lang|es|tú}}".

===Religion===
{{Main|Religion in El Salvador}}
{{bar box
| title    = Religious background in El Salvador
| titlebar  = #DDD
| left1    = Religion
| right1   = Proportion
| float    = right
| bars     =
{{bar per cent|[[Catholic]]|red|43.3}}
{{bar per cent|[[Protestant]]|green|33.9}}
{{bar per cent|None|blue|18.6}}
{{bar per cent|Other|orange|3}}
{{bar per cent|Agnostic/Atheist|yellow|1.2}}
}}
The majority of the population in El Salvador is [[Christians|Christian]]. [[Catholic Church|Catholics]] (43.3%) and [[Protestantism|Protestants]] (33.9%) are the two major religious groups in the country, with the Catholic Church the largest denomination.<ref name="IRFR2012">{{cite web |title=International Religious Freedom Report for 2021 |url=https://www.state.gov/reports/2021-report-on-international-religious-freedom/el-salvador/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240216144533/https://www.state.gov/reports/2021-report-on-international-religious-freedom/el-salvador/ |archive-date=16 February 2024 |access-date=8 May 2024 |publisher=U.S. State Department}}</ref> Those not affiliated with any religious group amount to 18.6% of the population.<ref name=IRFR2012/> The remaining is that of 3% [[Jehovah's Witnesses]], [[Hare Krishnas]], [[Islam in El Salvador|Muslims]], [[Jews]], [[Buddhists]], [[Latter-day Saints]], and those adhering to indigenous religious beliefs, and 1.2% being made up of those who identify as agnostic or atheist.<ref name=IRFR2012/> The number of evangelicals in the country is growing rapidly.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Offutt |first1=Stephen |title=New Centers of Global Evangelicalism in Latin America and Africa |date=23 February 2017 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-107-43521-6}}</ref> [[Óscar Romero]], the first Salvadoran saint, was canonized by [[Pope Francis]] on 14 October 2018.

==Education==
{{Further|Education in El Salvador}}
[[File:Asociación Salvadoreña de Astronomía Observatorio "Dr. Prudencio Llach".jpg|thumb|Dr. Prudencio Llach Observatory]]
The public education system in El Salvador is severely lacking in resources. Class sizes in public schools can be as large as 50 children per classroom. Salvadorans who can afford the cost often choose to send their children to private schools, which are regarded as being better-quality than public schools. Most private schools follow American, European or other advanced systems. Lower-income families are forced to rely on public education.<ref>{{cite web |title=Affordable non-state schools in El Salvador |date=2018 |url=https://www.r4d.org/wp-content/uploads/El-Salvador-Case-Study_Final-Version3_May24_2018-.pdf |website=Results for Development |publisher=[[United States Agency for International Development|USAID]] |access-date=30 April 2020 |archive-date=31 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200731001200/https://www.r4d.org/wp-content/uploads/El-Salvador-Case-Study_Final-Version3_May24_2018-.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

Education in El Salvador is free through high school. After nine years of basic education (elementary–middle school), students have the option of a two-year high school or a three-year high school. A two-year high school prepares the student for transfer to a university. A three-year high school allows the student to graduate and enter the workforce in a vocational career, or to transfer to a university to further their education in their chosen field.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://web.stanford.edu/~hakuta/www/archives/syllabi/E_CLAD/sfusd_cult_03/nancy/new/educ.html|title=What's Education Like in El Salvador|date=2003|author=Nancy|work=Education 377: Culture and Content Instruction|type=undergraduate assignment|publisher=Stanford University|access-date=29 January 2018|archive-date=11 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141111203515/https://web.stanford.edu/~hakuta/www/archives/syllabi/E_CLAD/sfusd_cult_03/nancy/new/educ.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[List of universities in El Salvador|Universities in El Salvador]] include a central public institution, the [[Universidad de El Salvador]], and many other specialized private universities. El Salvador was ranked 98th in the [[Global Innovation Index]] in 2024, up from 108th in 2019.<ref>{{Cite book|author=[[World Intellectual Property Organization]] |year= 2024 |title=Global Innovation Index 2024: Unlocking the Promise of Social Entrepreneurship |url=https://www.wipo.int/web-publications/global-innovation-index-2024/en/ |access-date=2024-10-06 |website= www.wipo.int |page=18 |publisher=World Intellectual Property Organization |language=en |doi=10.34667/tind.50062 |isbn=978-92-805-3681-2}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title= Global Innovation Index 2019|url= https://www.wipo.int/global_innovation_index/en/2019/index.html|access-date=2 September 2021 |website= www.wipo.int |archive-date=2 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902101818/https://www.wipo.int/global_innovation_index/en/2019/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Crime==
{{main|Crime in El Salvador}}
Since the early twenty-first century, El Salvador has experienced high crime rates, including gang-related crimes and [[juvenile delinquency]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Peetz|first=Peter|date=June 2008|title=Youth, Crime, and the Responses of the State: Discourses on Violence in Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Nicaragua |journal=GIGA Working Papers|volume=80|url=http://vg02.met.vgwort.de/cf8b767595d54e20906c4dc67d12df?l=http://www.giga-hamburg.de/dl/download.php?d=/content/publikationen/pdf/wp80_peetz.pdf}}</ref> El Salvador had the highest murder rate in the world in 2012 but experienced a sharp decline in 2019 with a new conservative government in power.<ref>{{cite web|title=El Salvador cerraría 2019 con una tasa de 36 homicidios por cada 100,000 habitantes|url=http://www.pnc.gob.sv/portal/page/portal/informativo/novedades/noticias/El%20Salvador%20cerrar%EDa%202019%20con%20una%20tasa%20de%2036%20homicidios%20por#.XoIPoIhKhPa|website=Gobierno de El Salvador|access-date=30 March 2020|archive-date=28 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028114109/http://www.pnc.gob.sv/portal/page/portal/informativo/novedades/noticias/El%20Salvador%20cerrar%EDa%202019%20con%20una%20tasa%20de%2036%20homicidios%20por#.XoIPoIhKhPa}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Global Study on Homicide |url=http://www.unodc.org/gsh/en/data.html |website=United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime |access-date=17 March 2020 |archive-date=21 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140521050411/http://www.unodc.org/gsh/en/data.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2005 it was considered an epicentre of a gang crisis, along with Guatemala and Honduras.<ref name="FAS">{{cite news|first=Clare|last=Ribando|title=Gangs in Central America|date=10 May 2005|work=Congressional Research Service|publisher=The Library of Congress|url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RS22141.pdf|access-date=30 June 2007|archive-date=3 July 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070703065218/http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RS22141.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Several journalistic investigations indicate that the government administrations of [[Mauricio Funes|Carlos Mauricio Funes Cartagena]]<ref>{{Cite news |work=Deutsche Welle |title=El Salvador: Fiscalía acusa a expresidente Mauricio Funes de pactar con pandillas |date=26 July 2020 |url=https://www.dw.com/es/el-salvador-fiscal%C3%ADa-acusa-a-expresidente-mauricio-funes-de-pactar-con-pandillas/a-54325432 |access-date=21 January 2022 |language=es-ES |archive-date=21 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220121205512/https://www.dw.com/es/el-salvador-fiscal%C3%ADa-acusa-a-expresidente-mauricio-funes-de-pactar-con-pandillas/a-54325432 |url-status=live }}</ref> and [[Salvador Sánchez Cerén]],<ref>{{Cite web|date=19 February 2020|title=Gobierno de Sánchez Cerén pagó US$400 al mes a pandilleros durante dos años|url=https://diariolahuella.com/gobierno-de-sanchez-ceren-pago-us400-al-mes-a-pandilleros-durante-dos-anos/|access-date=21 January 2022|website=Diario La Huella|language=es|archive-date=21 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220121205512/https://diariolahuella.com/gobierno-de-sanchez-ceren-pago-us400-al-mes-a-pandilleros-durante-dos-anos/|url-status=live}}</ref> far from working to eradicate violence and the actions of gang groups, made truces with the gangs Barrio 18 and Mara Salvatrucha<ref>{{cite web|date=28 July 2020|title=El Salvador Arrests General Behind 2012 Gang Truce|url=https://insightcrime.org/news/analysis/munguia-gang-truce-el-salvador/|access-date=21 January 2022|website=InSight Crime|archive-date=21 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220121205513/https://insightcrime.org/news/analysis/munguia-gang-truce-el-salvador/|url-status=live}}</ref> to keep a certain control over criminal activities and murders in the Salvadoran territory. In response to this, the government has set up countless programmes to try to guide the youth away from gang membership; so far its efforts have not produced any quick results. One of the government programmes was a gang reform called "[[La Mano Dura|Super Mano Dura]]" (Super Firm Hand). Super Mano Dura had little success and was highly criticized by the United Nations. It experienced temporary success in 2004 but there was a rise in crime after 2005.

=== Homicide rates ===
In 2004, there were 41 intentional homicides per 100,000 citizens, with 60% of the homicides committed being gang-related.<ref name="FAS" /> In 2012, the homicide rate had increased to 66 per 100,000 inhabitants, more than triple the rate in Mexico.<ref name="NYRB">Alma Guillermoprieto (10 November 2011).  [http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2011/nov/10/new-gangland-el-salvador/?pagination=false "In the New Gangland of El Salvador"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121022130039/http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2011/nov/10/new-gangland-el-salvador/?pagination=false |date=22 October 2012 }}, ''New York Review of Books'', p.46</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Ryann|last=Bresnahan|title=El Salvador Dispatches Additional Contingent to Iraq:Domestic Issues Overrule Anxiety over War|date=21 August 2006|url=http://www.coha.org/2006/08/21/el-salvador-dispatches-additional-contingent-to-iraq/|work=Council on Hemispheric Affairs (COHA)|access-date=30 June 2007|archive-date=27 September 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927024812/http://www.coha.org/2006/08/21/el-salvador-dispatches-additional-contingent-to-iraq/}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://in.news.yahoo.com/photos/workers-dig-near-yellow-police-line-during-exhumation-photo-025142509.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120709172123/http://in.news.yahoo.com/photos/workers-dig-near-yellow-police-line-during-exhumation-photo-025142509.html |archive-date=9 July 2012 |title=Workers dig near a yellow police line during an exhumation at a clandestine cemetery in Villa Madrir |work=Yahoo News |date=May 2012 }}</ref> In 2011 there were an estimated 25,000 gang members at large in El Salvador, with another 9,000 in prison.<ref name="NYRB" /> The most well-known gangs, called "[[mara (gang)|maras]]" in colloquial Spanish, are [[MS-13|Mara Salvatrucha]] and their rivals [[18th Street gang|Barrio 18]]. Maras are hunted by [[death squad]]s including [[Sombra Negra]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ocavi.com/docs_files/file_386.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090325000258/http://www.ocavi.com/docs_files/file_386.pdf|archive-date=25 March 2009|title=Número de Víctimas y Tasas de Homicidios Dolosos en El Salvador (1999–2006)|access-date=26 December 2007 |publisher=Observatorio Centroamericano sobre Violencia|language=es}}</ref>

In 2015, there were 6,650 homicides recorded in El Salvador.<ref>{{Cite web|date=30 December 2015|title=El Salvador cerrará 2015 como el año más violento de su historia, con más de 6.600 homicidios|url=https://www.europapress.es/internacional/noticia-salvador-cerrara-2015-ano-mas-violento-historia-mas-6600-homicidios-20151230032319.html|access-date=16 February 2022|publisher=Europa Press|archive-date=16 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220216173542/https://www.europapress.es/internacional/noticia-salvador-cerrara-2015-ano-mas-violento-historia-mas-6600-homicidios-20151230032319.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2016, at least 5,728 people were murdered.<ref>{{Cite news |last=null |date=3 January 2017 |title=La Policía de El Salvador dice que en 2016 se redujeron los asesinatos en el país |language=es-LA |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/es/2017/01/03/espanol/america-latina/la-policia-de-el-salvador-dice-que-en-2016-se-redujeron-los-asesinatos-en-el-pais.html |access-date=16 February 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=16 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220216173538/https://www.nytimes.com/es/2017/01/03/espanol/america-latina/la-policia-de-el-salvador-dice-que-en-2016-se-redujeron-los-asesinatos-en-el-pais.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2017, there were 3,962 recorded homicides.<ref>{{Cite news |date=3 January 2019 |title=La violencia descendió en 2018 en El Salvador por tercer año consecutivo |language=es-ES |work=Deutsche Welle |url=https://www.dw.com/es/la-violencia-descendi%C3%B3-en-2018-en-el-salvador-por-tercer-a%C3%B1o-consecutivo/a-46938701 |access-date=16 February 2022 |archive-date=16 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220216173537/https://www.dw.com/es/la-violencia-descendi%C3%B3-en-2018-en-el-salvador-por-tercer-a%C3%B1o-consecutivo/a-46938701 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2018, there were 3,348 recorded deaths.{{Citation needed|date=May 2023}} In 2019, authorities reported a total of 2,365 homicides.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Homicidios bajan 29% en El Salvador durante 2019 |language=es |work=La Prensa Gráfica |url=https://www.laprensagrafica.com/elsalvador/Homicidios-bajan-29-en-El-Salvador-durante-2019-20191230-0603.html |access-date=16 February 2022 |archive-date=16 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220216173538/https://www.laprensagrafica.com/elsalvador/Homicidios-bajan-29-en-El-Salvador-durante-2019-20191230-0603.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2020, there were only 1,322 reported homicides.<ref>{{cite web |last=Brigida |first=Anna-Catherine |title=El Salvador's Homicide Rate Hit a Historic Low in 2020 |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/03/03/el-salvador-homicide-historic-low-2020-gangs-migration/ |access-date=19 March 2022 |website=Foreign Policy |date=3 March 2021 |archive-date=8 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220408155130/https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/03/03/el-salvador-homicide-historic-low-2020-gangs-migration/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2021, the country recorded 1,140 homicides.<ref>{{Cite news |work=Deutsche Welle |title=Gobierno de El Salvador: 2021 fue "el año más seguro" |date=2 January 2022 |url=https://www.dw.com/es/gobierno-de-el-salvador-2021-fue-el-a%C3%B1o-m%C3%A1s-seguro/a-60310349 |access-date=19 March 2022 |language=es-ES |archive-date=31 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220331044722/https://www.dw.com/es/gobierno-de-el-salvador-2021-fue-el-a%C3%B1o-m%C3%A1s-seguro/a-60310349 |url-status=live }}</ref> According to official data, 2021 had the lowest number of recorded murders since the end of the civil war in 1992.

By 2022, El Salvador had a homicide rate of 7.8 per 100,000 individuals.<ref>{{Cite web |author=Eddie Galdamez |date=May 1, 2023 |title=El Salvador Homicide Rate (2010-2023). The Daily Murder Rate for 2023 is 0.4 |website=El Salvador INFO |url=https://elsalvadorinfo.net/homicide-rate-in-el-salvador/ |access-date=3 May 2023 |archive-date=22 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230522040620/https://elsalvadorinfo.net/homicide-rate-in-el-salvador/ |url-status=live }}</ref> On 10 May 2023, Bukele stated on Twitter that El Salvador had completed one full year or 365 days since 2019 without a single homicide occurring. This announcement was accompanied by a video detailing his government's claims about this dramatic change in the occurrences of homicide.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Cerramos el 10 de mayo de 2023, con 0 homicidios a nivel nacional.Con este, son 365 días sin homicidios, todo un año|url=https://twitter.com/nayibbukele/status/1656553055104499712|access-date=11 May 2023|archive-date=11 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230511110316/https://twitter.com/nayibbukele/status/1656553055104499712|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2024, El Salvador reported a homicide rate of 1.9 per 100,000 people, a figure lower than any other Latin American country.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Alemán |first1=Marcos |title=El Salvador closes 2024 with a record low number of homicides |url=https://apnews.com/article/el-salvador-homicides-gangs-bukele-69384a8705267eaddd18dcd28a53465b#:~:text=Not%20all%20nations%20had%20published,country%20had%20reported%20in%202023. |website=AP News |language=en |date=1 January 2025}}</ref> This rate represents a 98% decrease in nine years.<ref name="Straight Arrow News">{{cite web |last1=Rucker |first1=Karah |last2=Edwards |first2=Michael |title=How El Salvador's murder rate fell 98% in nine years |url=https://san.com/cc/how-el-salvadors-murder-rate-fell-98-in-nine-years/ |website=Straight Arrow News |date=3 January 2025}}</ref>

=== 2022 crackdown on gangs ===
{{Main|2022 Salvadoran gang crackdown}}
Beginning on 25 March 2022, three days of gang-related violence occurred that left 87 people dead.<ref name="france24.com">{{Cite web |date=10 April 2022 |title=Más de 9.000 pandilleros detenidos en El Salvador en 15 días, dice Bukele |url=https://www.france24.com/es/minuto-a-minuto/20220410-m%C3%A1s-de-9-000-pandilleros-detenidos-en-el-salvador-en-15-d%C3%ADas-dice-bukele |access-date=21 April 2022 |website=France 24 |archive-date=21 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220421024739/https://www.france24.com/es/minuto-a-minuto/20220410-m%C3%A1s-de-9-000-pandilleros-detenidos-en-el-salvador-en-15-d%C3%ADas-dice-bukele |url-status=live }}</ref> In response, President Bukele asked the Salvadoran parliament to ratify a state of emergency.<ref>{{cite web |title=El Salvador declares state of emergency after gang killings |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/28/el-salvador-invokes-state-of-emergency-after-62-killings-in-a-day |access-date=21 April 2022 |website=www.aljazeera.com |archive-date=5 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220405234029/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/28/el-salvador-invokes-state-of-emergency-after-62-killings-in-a-day |url-status=live }}</ref> On 26 March, Bukele also ordered the police and army to initiate mass-arrests against those responsible for the violence.

A day later, [[Legislative Assembly of El Salvador|Congress]] approved a "[[State of emergency|State of Emergency]]" that gives legal coverage to arrest any citizen suspected to be a gang member even with no proof. In addition, Congress also approved reforms to increase the maximum sentence for gang membership from 9 to 45 years in prison and punish the dissemination of gang messages, including independent journalism talking about the gang crisis, with up to 15 years in prison.

The law was directed against those who "mark" their territories with acronyms of the gangs, a practice that gang members use to intimidate, and threaten with death those who denounce them to the authorities. The Directorate of Penal Centres began to erase the graffiti that the gangs use to mark the territory in which they operate.

The [[MS-13|Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13)]] and [[18th Street gang|Barrio 18 gangs]], among others, were estimated in 2022 to have around some 70,000 members, and as of August 2023, around 72,000 suspected gang members have been sent to prison as a part of the government crackdown on the gangs.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://diario.elmundo.sv/politica/asi-procesaran-a-los-71976-detenidos-en-el-regimen-de-excepcion|title=Así Procesarán a los 71,976 Detenidos en el Régimen de Excepción|trans-title=This Is How They Will Process the 71,976 Detained in the State of Exception|language=es|date=25 July 2023|access-date=8 August 2022|work=[[El Mundo (El Salvador)|El Mundo]]|first1=Jessica|last1=Guzmán|archive-date=25 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230725195654/https://diario.elmundo.sv/politica/asi-procesaran-a-los-71976-detenidos-en-el-regimen-de-excepcion|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Culture==
{{Main|Culture of El Salvador}}
[[File:SalvadorDelMundo.jpg|thumb|upright|The iconic statue of Christ on the globe sphere of planet earth is part of the [[Monumento al Divino Salvador del Mundo]] ('Monument to the Divine Saviour of the World') on Plaza El Salvador del Mundo ('The Saviour of the World Plaza'), a landmark located in the country's capital, San Salvador.]]
Pulling from indigenous, colonial Spanish and African influences, a composite population was formed as a result of intermarrying between the natives, European settlers, and enslaved Africans. The Catholic Church plays an important role in the Salvadoran culture. Archbishop [[Óscar Romero]] is a national hero for his role in resisting human rights violations that were occurring in the lead-up to the Salvadoran Civil War.<ref name=Eaton>Eaton, Helen-May (1991). ''[http://scholars.wlu.ca/etd/116/ The impact of the Archbishop Óscar Romero's alliance with the struggle for liberation of the Salvadoran people: A discussion of church-state relations (El Salvador)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425045908/http://scholars.wlu.ca/etd/116/ |date=25 April 2012 }}'' (M.A. thesis) Wilfrid Laurier University</ref> Significant foreign personalities in El Salvador were the Jesuit priests and professors [[Ignacio Ellacuría]], [[Ignacio Martín-Baró]], and [[Segundo Montes]], who were murdered in 1989 by the Salvadoran Army during the height of the civil war.

Painting, ceramics and textiles are the principal manual artistic mediums. Writers [[Francisco Gavidia]], [[Salarrué]] (Salvador Salazar Arrué), [[Claudia Lars]], [[Alfredo Espino]], [[Pedro Geoffroy Rivas]], [[Manlio Argueta]], [[José Roberto Cea]], and poet [[Roque Dalton]] are important writers from El Salvador. Notable 20th-century personages include the late filmmaker Baltasar Polio, female film director [[Patricia Chica]], artist [[Fernando Llort]], and [[caricaturist]] [[Toño Salazar]].

Among the more renowned representatives of the graphic arts are the painters [[Studio Lenca]], [[Augusto Crespin]], [[Noe Canjura]], [[Carlos Cañas]], [[Giovanni Gil]], Julia Díaz, Mauricio Mejia, Maria Elena Palomo de Mejia, [[Camilo Minero]], Ricardo Carbonell, Roberto Huezo, Miguel Angel Cerna, (the painter and writer better known as MACLo), Esael Araujo, and many others.

===Cuisine===
{{Main|Salvadoran cuisine}}
One of El Salvador's notable dishes is the ''[[pupusa]]''. ''Pupusas'' are handmade [[maize]] tortillas (made of ''[[masa|masa de maíz]]'' or ''masa de arroz'', a maize or rice flour dough used in [[Latin American cuisine]]) stuffed with one or more of the following: cheese (usually a soft Salvadoran cheese such as ''[[quesillo]]'', similar to mozzarella), ''[[chicharrón]]'', or [[refried beans]]. Sometimes the filling is ''queso con loroco'' (cheese combined with ''[[loroco]]'', a vine flower bud native to Central America).<ref name="Elsalvador.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.elsalvador.com/noticias/2003/10/31/nacional/nacio7.html|title=Pobladores prehispánicos inventaron las pupusas|publisher=Elsalvador.com|date=31 October 2003|access-date=2 May 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110503202216/http://www.elsalvador.com/noticias/2003/10/31/nacional/nacio7.html|archive-date=3 May 2011}}</ref> ''Pupusas revueltas'' are ''pupusas'' filled with beans, cheese and pork. There are also vegetarian options. Some adventurous restaurants even offer ''pupusas'' stuffed with shrimp or spinach. The name ''pupusa'' comes from the Pipil-Nahuatl word, ''pupushahua''. The origins of the ''pupusa'' are debated, although its presence in El Salvador is known to predate the arrival of the Spaniards.<ref name="Elsalvador.com" />

In El Salvador, the pupusa is considered a Mesoamerican ancestral legacy and the most popular dish nationally. It has been designated as the "National Dish of El Salvador" via the Legislative Decree no. 655 in the Salvadoran Constitution. The decree also indicates that every second Sunday in November, the country will celebrate the "National Day of the Pupusas".<ref>"Decrecto Legislativo No. 655 de la Republica de El Salvador" Asamblea Legislativa-Republica de El Salvador, 11 April 2005, www.asamblea.gob.sv.</ref>

Two other typical Salvadoran dishes are ''yuca frita'' and ''panes con pollo''. ''Yuca frita'' is deep fried [[cassava]] root served with [[curtido]] (a pickled cabbage, onion and carrot topping) and pork rinds with ''pescaditas'' (fried baby sardines). Yuca is sometimes served boiled instead of fried. ''Pan con pollo/pavo'' (bread with chicken/turkey) are warm turkey or chicken-filled submarine sandwiches. The bird is marinated and then roasted with spices and hand-pulled. This sandwich is traditionally served with tomato and watercress along with cucumber, onion, lettuce, mayonnaise, and mustard.[[File:Plain pupusas revueltas.jpg|thumb|''Pupusas'', the national and most famous dish of El Salvador]]

One of El Salvador's typical breakfasts is fried plantain, usually served with cream. It is common in Salvadoran restaurants and homes, including those of immigrants to the United States. [[Alguashte]], a condiment made from dried, ground [[pepitas]], is commonly incorporated into savoury and sweet Salvadoran dishes. "''Maria Luisa''" is a dessert commonly found in El Salvador. It is a layered cake that is soaked in orange marmalade and sprinkled with powdered sugar. One of the most popular desserts is the cake ''Pastel de tres leches'' (Cake of three milks), consisting of three types of milk: evaporated milk, condensed milk, and cream.

A popular drink that Salvadorans enjoy is ''[[horchata]]''. ''Horchata'' is most commonly made of the [[morro seed]] ground into a powder and added to milk or water, and sugar. ''Horchata'' is drunk year-round, and can be drunk at any time of day. It mostly is accompanied by a plate of ''pupusas'' or fried yuca. ''Horchata'' from El Salvador has a very distinct taste and is not to be confused with Mexican ''horchata'', which is rice-based. Coffee is also a common morning beverage. Other popular drinks in El Salvador include ''ensalada'', a drink made of chopped fruit swimming in fruit juice, and ''Kolachampan'', a sugar cane-flavoured carbonated beverage.

===Music===
{{Main|Music of El Salvador}}
[[File:Debut de la Compañia Infantil de Teatro La Colmenita de El Salvador. (24055587303).jpg|thumb| [[Álvaro Torres]] is one of the most famous Salvadoran singers mainly in the Latin pop genre, romantic ballads and boleros.]]Traditional Salvadoran music is a mixture of indigenous, Spanish, and African influences. It includes religious songs (mostly used to celebrate Christmas and other holidays, especially feast days of the saints). Other musical repertoire consists of danza, pasillo, marcha and cancione which are composed of parading bands, street performances, or onstage dances, either in groups or paired. Satirical and rural lyrical themes are common. Traditional instruments used are the ''[[marimba]]'', ''tepehuaste'', flutes, drums, [[Güiro|scrapers]] and [[gourd]]s, as well as guitars among others. El Salvador's well known folk dance is known as ''[[Xuc]]'' which originated in [[Cojutepeque]], Cuscatlan. Caribbean, Colombian, and Mexican music has become customary listening radio and party in the country, especially boleros, cumbia, merengue, Latin pop, salsa, bachata, and reggaeton.

===Sport===
{{main|Sport in El Salvador}}
[[File:Monumental Estadio Cuscatlan.jpg|thumb|The [[Estadio Cuscatlán]] in San Salvador is the largest stadium in Central America.]]
[[association football|Football]] is the most popular sport in El Salvador. The [[El Salvador national football team]] qualified for the [[FIFA World Cup]] in [[1970 FIFA World Cup|1970]] and [[1982 FIFA World Cup|1982]]. Their qualification for the 1970 tournament was marred by the [[Football War]], a war against [[Honduras]], whose team El Salvador's had defeated. The national football team play at the [[Estadio Cuscatlán]] in San Salvador. It opened in 1976 and seats 53,400, making it the largest stadium in Central America and the Caribbean.<ref>{{cite web|title=Estadio Cuscatlán|url=http://www.radioguanaca.net/liga-mayor/playground/1-futbol/7-estadio-cuscatlan|publisher=Radio Guanaca|access-date=25 February 2014|archive-date=25 February 2014|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140225234418/http://www.radioguanaca.net/liga-mayor/playground/1-futbol/7-estadio-cuscatlan}}</ref>{{Clear}}

==See also==
{{portal bar|El Salvador|Central America|Latin America}}
* [[Index of El Salvador–related articles]]
* [[Outline of El Salvador]]
* [[List of Salvadorans]]
* [[Health in El Salvador]]
{{clear|right}}

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist|refs=

<ref name=":0">{{citation-attribution|1={{cite encyclopedia|title=El Salvador: a country study|publisher=[[Federal Research Division]], [[Library of Congress]]|location=Washington, D.C.|url=https://www.loc.gov/item/89048948/|last=Helms|first=Mary W.|date=1990|editor-last=Haggerty|editor-first=Richard A.|pages=49–53|isbn=|oclc=44362656|entry=Geography|access-date=15 August 2023|archive-date=14 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231014053412/https://www.loc.gov/item/89048948/|url-status=live}}}}</ref>

<ref name="The Story of Tibet">{{cite book|title=The Story of Tibet:Conversations with His Holiness the Dalai Lama|last=Laird|first=Thomas|publisher=Grove Press|year=2006|isbn=978-0-8021-1827-1|location=New York|pages=[https://archive.org/details/storyoftibetconv00lair/page/303 303–305]|url=https://archive.org/details/storyoftibetconv00lair/page/303}}</ref>

}}

==Further reading==
* [https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2033.htm "Background Notes"], ''Background Notes: El Salvador'', January 2008. Retrieved 6 March 2008.
* Bonner, Raymond. ''Weakness and Deceit: U.S. Policy and El Salvador''. New York: Times Books, 1984.
* [https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/el-salvador/ ''CIA World Factbook''], "El Salvador", 28 February 2008. Retrieved 6 March 2008.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100510070619/http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1109.html "Country Specific Information"], ''U.S. State Department'', 3 October 2007. Retrieved 6 March 2008.
* Danner, Mark. ''The Massacre at El Mozote: A Parable of the Cold War''. New York: Vintage Books, 1994.
* Foley, Erin. 'Cultures of the world, El Salvador. 1995
* Montgomery, Tommie Sue. ''Revolution in El Salvador: From Civil Strife to Civil Peace''. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, 1995.
* {{cite thesis|degree=M.A.|first=Audrey Celeste| last=Rosa| title=The courage to change: Salvadoran stories of personal and social transformation (El Salvador) |url=http://scholars.wlu.ca/etd/661/ | publisher=Wilfrid Laurier University|year=1998}}
* Stadler, Sidney. ''It Started with an Oyster: The Memoirs of Sidney M. Stadler, CBE''. Penna Press 1975. Autobiography of a British businessman and diplomat in El Salvador, with much on Salvadoran society and politics from the 1920s to 1950s.
* Vilas, Carlos. ''Between Earthquakes and Volcanoes: Market, State, and the Revolution America''. New York: Monthly Review Press. 1995.

==External links==
{{Sister project links|El Salvador|voy=El Salvador}}
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20090727223316/http://embassy.el-salvador.org.uk/ Embassy of El Salvador in London]}} – content rich site about every aspect of Salvadoran life, government, business, and politics.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20081210074035/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/world-leaders-1/world-leaders-e/el-salvador.html Chief of State and Cabinet Members]
* [https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/el-salvador/ El Salvador]. ''[[The World Factbook]]''. [[Central Intelligence Agency]].
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080607084758/http://ucblibraries.colorado.edu/govpubs/for/elsalvador.htm El Salvador] at ''UCB Libraries GovPubs''
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/country_profiles/1220684.stm El Salvador profile] from the [[BBC News]]
* {{Wikiatlas|El Salvador}}
* [http://www.sahf.org Salvadoran American Humanitarian Foundation (SAHF)]
* [http://www.fusal.org Fundacion Salvadoreña Para la Salud y el Desarollo Humano (FUSAL)]
* [http://www.ifs.du.edu/ifs/frm_CountryProfile.aspx?Country=SV Key Development Forecasts for El Salvador] from [[International Futures]]
* [http://wits.worldbank.org/CountryProfile/Country/SLV/Year/2012/Summary World Bank Summary Trade Statistics El Salvador]
* [http://www.teachingcentralamerica.org/ Teaching Central America]

{{El Salvador topics}}
{{Central America topic}}
{{North America topic}}
{{Authority control}}{{coord|13|41|N|89|11|W|type:country_region:SV|display=title}}

[[Category:El Salvador| ]]
[[Category:1821 establishments in North America]]
[[Category:Countries in North America]]
[[Category:Countries in Central America]]
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[[Category:Northern Triangle of Central America]]
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