EL SALVADOR |
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El Salvador (Spanish
for "The Savior") is a republic in Central America with a population of
approximately 6.2 million people.
Departments of El Salvador
A list of the departments of El Salvador in alphabetical order.
Department (Capital):
Ahuachapán (Ahuachapán)
Cabañas (Sensuntepeque)
Chalatenango (Chalatenango) |
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Cuscatlán (Cojutepeque)
La Libertad (Nueva San Salvador)
La Paz (Zacatecoluca)
La Unión (La Unión)
Morazán (San Francisco Gotera)
San Miguel (San Miguel)
San Salvador (San Salvador)
San Vicente (San Vicente)
Santa Ana (Santa Ana)
Sonsonate (Sonsonate)
Usulután (Usulután)
Demographics of El Salvador
El Salvador's population numbers about 6.2 million; almost 90% is of mixed
Indian and Spanish extraction. About 1% is indigenous; very few Indians have
retained their customs and traditions.
The country's people are largely Roman Catholic -- though Protestant groups
are growing -- and Spanish is the language spoken by virtually all
inhabitants. The capital city of San Salvador has about 1.7 million people;
an estimated 42% of El Salvador's population live in rural areas.
Population: 6,122,515 (July 2000 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 38% (male 1,186,328; female 1,141,245)
15-64 years: 57% (male 1,652,083; female 1,833,998)
65 years and over: 5% (male 139,919; female 168,942) (2000 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.87% (2000 est.)
Birth rate: 29.02 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Death rate: 6.27 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Net migration rate: -4.02 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.9 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female
total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2000 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 29.22 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 69.74 years
male: 66.14 years
female: 73.52 years (2000 est.)
Total fertility rate: 3.38 children born/woman (2000 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Salvadoran(s)
adjective: Salvadoran
Ethnic groups: mestizo 90%, Amerindian 1%, white 9%
Religions: Roman Catholic 86%
note: there is extensive activity by Protestant groups throughout the
country; by the end of 1992, there were an estimated 1 million Protestant
evangelicals in El Salvador
Languages: Spanish, Nahua (among some Amerindians)
Literacy:
definition: age 10 and over can read and write
total population: 71.5%
male: 73.5%
female: 69.8% (1995 est.)
Culture of El Salvador
El Salvador is predominantly a Roman Catholic country. During the war the
government assumed that the Catholic Church supported communism because it
sympathized with the poor, and it targeted the Church for violence. Many
fled the religion either because they feared for their lives or because they
were unhappy with the Church's affiliation with the opposition.
Protestantism, especially Evangelism, offered a welcome alternative. Other
churches include the Baptist and Pentecostal. Spanish is the national
language. Many men, mainly between the ages of 20 and 40, learned some
English in the US during the war. Indigenous languages have died out in
daily use, but there is some academic interest in preserving the Nahuatl
language of the Pipils. Most of the music on Salvadoran radio is standard
pop fare from the US, Mexico or other parts of Latin America, but there's a
small underground movement of canción popular (folk music), which draws its
inspiration from current events in El Salvador. Poetry is popular, and well-known
writers include Manlio Argueta and Francisco Rodriguez. The village of La
Palma has become famous for a school of art started by Fernando Llort. His
childlike, almost cartoony, images of mountain villages, campesinos and
Christ are painted in bright colors on objects ranging from seeds to church
walls. The town of Ilobasco is known for its ceramics, while San Sebastián
is recognized for its textile arts. El Salvadorans chow down on a standard
daily fare of casamiento, a mixture of rice and beans. Another mainstay is
pupusas, a cornmeal mass stuffed with farmer's cheese, refried beans or
chicharrón (fried pork fat). Licuados (fruit drinks), coffee and gaseosas (soft
drinks) are ubiquitous. Tic-Tack and Torito are vodka-like spirits made from
sugar cane and are not for those who cherish their stomach lining. |
