The small country of El Salvador is often bypassed by travellers to Central America as they make their way to more popular destinations. The country does boast many of the types of attractions found in this region however with Mayan ruins, colonial towns and some beautiful natural landscapes with cloud forests and volcanoes. El Salvador is also home to Central America's answer to Pompeii - the farming settlement of Joya de Cerén frozen in time when it was buried under the eruption of Laguna Caldera Volcano in 600 AD. Explore in depth highlights of El Salvador.
| Tours | Unesco WHS | Guidebooks |
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| groups tours with set departures |
World Heritage Sites | country, regions and cities |
| Time zone: | GMT -6 (Central America time) | Daylight savings: None |
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| Main languages: | Spanish | Other languages: Nahua |
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| Currency: |
US dollar (USD) €1 = $1.11, £1 = $1.32 (rates as of Sep 2016) |
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| Internet Domain: | .sv | International Dialling Code: 503 |
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For help planning your trip to El Salvador including visas, vaccinations, currency exchange, flights, accomodation and insurance, see our El Salvador trip planning page.
Further information on El Salvador
Discover more about El Salvador - the country's geogrpahy and natural features, an assessment of its status on freedom and rights and data on the country's population and economy.
Geography & Natural Features
Total area: 21,040 sq km (320 sq km under water)
Coastline: 307 km (Pacific Ocean)
Neighbours (border lengths): Guatemala (203km), Honduras (342km)
Climate: Tropical climate on coasts but more temperate in highlands. The rainy season from May to October brings threat of hurricanes, and there is frequent earthquake and volcano activity, which can be destructive.
Highest mountain: Cerro El Pital (2,730m)
Freedom & Rights
Summary status and rankings for El Salvador from classifications of different organisations measuring political and economic freedom, democracy and civil rights. See more details of these rankings.
| Index | Status | Rank | |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Freedom in the World | Free | - |
 | Democracy Index | Flawed democracy | 64/167 |
 | Economic Freedom | Moderately Free | 62/179 |
 | Press Freedom | Satisfactory situation | 44/179 |
 | ILGA LGBT rights | Some rights | - |
 | Corruption Perceptions | Medium corruption | 80/174 |
| Overall Ranking: | 61/195 | ||
Other Data & Links
Full name: Republic of El Salvador Status: Independent Country
Population: 6,125,512 (rank: 107/196) Density: 291.1 people/sq km (rank: 29/196)
Ethnic groups: mestizo 90%, white 9%, Amerindian 1%
Religions: Roman Catholic 57.1%, Protestant 21.2%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1.9%, Mormon 0.7%, other religions 2.3%, none 16.8% (2003 est.)
GDP (PPP): $47.47 billion GDP per capita: $7,500 (rank: 110/195)
Information derived from the CIA World Factbook. Other country profiles: BBC News.