Portal:El Salvador/Intro

El Salvador is a country in Central America with a population of 7,066,403 according to July 2008 estimates . It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the north and east by Honduras, and to the south by the Pacific Ocean. It is the most densely populated nation on the American mainland (especially in its capital, San Salvador), and also the most industrialized country in Central America. Its official name is Republic of El Salvador (Spanish: República de El Salvador, IPA: [re'puβlika ðe el salβa'ðor]). The country was named after the Spanish word for "The Saviour", in honor of Jesus Christ, and its territory was known prehispanically as Cuscatlán.

El Salvador is located in the coordinates 13 50 N, 88 55 W, enjoying tropical weather, with a rainy season that runs from May to October and a dry season that goes from November to April. The weather is tropical on the coast and moderate temperate in uplands. The area of the country is about 21,040 km2, comparing to a USA area it is slightly smaller than Massachusetts. Of the total area, 20,720 km2 is land and 320 km2 is water. El Salvador has a total of 545 km of boundaries, of which 203 km are in the border with Guatemala, and 342 km are in the border with Honduras. The coastline is 307 km long.

El Salvador claims a territorial sea of 12 nm, a contiguous zone of 24 nm and an exclusive economic zone of 200 nm for the commercial exploitation of marine life.

The country is formed by mountains with narrow coastal belt and central plateau. It is known as the Land of Volcanoes, with frequent and sometimes destructive earthquakes and often volcanic activity.

El Salvador is the smallest country in Central America and the only one in that area without coast access to the Caribbean Sea.