El Salvador

C

Climate

El Salvador’s tropical climate varies between regions. The coastal plains along the Pacific are very hot, although the humidity is relatively low. Much of the country enjoys mountain elevation: A semitropical, springlike climate prevails from about 600 to 1,200 m (about 2,000 to 4,000 ft), and a temperate climate occurs above 1,200 m (4,000 ft). A rainy season from May through October brings the annual average rainfall for most of the country to about 2,030 mm (about 80 in). Dry and often dusty conditions prevail from November through April. The average annual temperature of San Salvador is 24°C (75°F).

D

Plant and Animal Life

El Salvador contains fewer species of plants than the other Central American states, but still has much of the luxuriant and colorful vegetation characteristic of the tropics, including more than 200 different species of orchids. The mountains of El Salvador have temperate grasslands and sparse forests of oak and pine. The natural vegetation of the rest of the country consists of deciduous trees and subtropical grasslands. Tropical fruit and medicinal plants are abundant.

Because of its high population density and fairly extensive farming, only 14 percent of El Salvador’s land remains as forest. This has limited the survival of animal life to a greater extent than in other Central American states. Habitat destruction and logging have caused many animal species to become rare or to disappear altogether, notably the crested eagle and the jaguar. Among the mammals still found wild in El Salvador are the monkey, coyote, puma, and ocelot, along with a great variety of small animals. Reptiles include the iguana and boa constrictor, and there are 251 different bird species, including 17 varieties of hummingbirds. The Salvadoran government has established natural reserves and parks to preserve natural habitats, the most important of which are at Montecristo National Park, El Imposible National Park, Cerro Verde, Deininger Park, and El Jocotal Lagoon.

E

Natural Resources

El Salvador lacks significant mineral resources, although it has small amounts of gold and silver, as well as limestone and gypsum. Most of its forests have been depleted, but some commercially valuable trees remain, including oak, cedar, mahogany, balsam, and rubber. Its fertile valleys and coastal plain, however, remain its principal natural resources, providing rich soil to grow substantial crops for export and subsistence.

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F

Environmental Issues

El Salvador has one of the highest annual rates of deforestation in the world. Less than 1 percent of the nation’s total land area is designated as protected. The high percentage of primary forest that has disappeared over the years has produced problems such as poor water quality and soil erosion, especially in areas of steep terrain and thin soils. Water pollution and soil contamination from pesticides and disposal of toxic wastes have also become serious problems. The country’s high population density, especially in the metropolitan area of San Salvador, contributes to urban environmental problems, including air and water pollution. In urban areas, most people have access to safe water, but less than half the people in rural areas do.

III

People

The Spanish subjugated the native population of El Salvador in the 16th century. Few Spanish women came to the country, however, so many Spanish men took Native American women as their mates. Today nearly 90 percent of the population is mestizo, of mixed European and Native American descent. People of purely Native American descent represent about 5 to 10 percent of the population, while people of European descent represent only about 1 percent.

El Salvador’s population, 5.2 million according to the 1992 census, was estimated at 6,939,688 in 2007. It grew rapidly during the 20th century, at times increasing more than 3 percent a year. According to a 2007 estimate, El Salvador is the most densely populated country on the mainland of the Americas, with 335 persons per sq km (867 per sq mi). This compares with only 12 inhabitants per sq km (31 per sq mi) in 1821 and 38 per sq km (98 per sq mi) in 1900.

Population growth in 2007 has slowed to 1.7 percent. This is due to a declining birth rate, attributed to the use of birth control, and to the large number of people leaving the country to escape both the civil war and widespread poverty. More than 1 million Salvadorans live abroad, and an estimated 6 of every 1,000 people left the country in 1995.

Still, the nation’s birth rate remains far greater than the death rate (26 births and only 6 deaths for every 1,000 people). El Salvador has a young population, with 38 percent under age 15 and only 5 percent over age 65. Current life expectancy at birth for Salvadorans averages 72 years (68 for males and 76 for females), but 24 of every 1,000 infants born die in their first year. In life expectancy and infant mortality, El Salvador ranks in the middle of Central American nations, but still far behind Costa Rica and Panama, which have the best conditions in the region.

Steady migration from the countryside has raised the urban population to 60 percent of the total in this traditionally rural country. By far the greatest concentration of people is around the capital city of San Salvador. Although the city itself has only 485,847 residents (2001 estimate), the metropolitan area has about 1.4 million, nearly one-quarter of the Salvadoran population. Other important Salvadoran cities include Santa Ana (population 253,037), center of a rich agricultural region; San Miguel (population 245,428), a trade center at the foot of the San Miguel volcano; and Mejicanos (population 193,400), a suburb of San Salvador.

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