transitional government note: following a successful referendum on independence for the Autonomous Region of Eritrea on 23-25 April 1993, a National Assembly, composed entirely of the People's Front for Democracy and Justice or PFDJ, was established as a transitional legislature; a Constitutional Commission was also established to draft a constitution; ISAIAS Afworki was elected president by the transitional legislature; the constitution, ratified in May 1997, did not enter into effect, pending parliamentary and presidential elections; parliamentary elections were scheduled in December 2001, but were postponed indefinitely; currently the sole legal party is the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ)
Independence date
15 September 1821 (from Spain)
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.)
Muslim, Coptic Christian, Roman Catholic, Protestant
Languages
Spanish, Nahua (among some Amerindians)
Afar, Arabic, Tigre and Kunama, Tigrinya, other Cushitic languages
the US dollar became El Salvador's currency in 2001
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
0.600%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
Location
Central America, bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Guatemala and Honduras
Eastern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Djibouti and Sudan
Area
21,041 km sq
117,600 km sq
Coastline
307 km
2,234 km
Climate
tropical; rainy season (May to October); dry season (November to April); tropical on coast; temperate in uplands
hot, dry desert strip along Red Sea coast; cooler and wetter in the central highlands (up to 61 cm of rainfall annually, heaviest June to September); semiarid in western hills and lowlands
