Country
El Salvador Haiti
Leader
Population
6,090,646 9,801,664
Life Expectancy
73.690 years 62.510 years
Capital City
San Salvador Port-au-Prince
Largest city
San Salvador (population: 525,990) Port-au-Prince (population: 1,234,740)
Human Development Index
0.747 0.521 GDP per capita $7,600 US $1,300 US
Literacy Rate
80.2% 52.9%
Corruption Perception Index
3.9 1.4
Percentage of Women in Parliament
16.7% 5.2% Wealthiest Citizens Unemployment Rate 7.000% 40.600%
Death Penalty
Abolished except for special circumstances Abolished
Political System
republic republic
Independence date
15 September 1821 (from Spain) 1 January 1804 (from France) 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.) Roman Catholic 80%, Protestant 16% (Baptist 10%, Pentecostal 4%, Adventist 1%, other 1%), none 1%, other 3% note: roughly half of the population practices voodoo Languages Spanish, Nahua (among some Amerindians) French (official), Creole (official) Exports offshore assembly exports, coffee, sugar, shrimp, textiles and apparel, gold, ethanol, chemicals, electricity apparel, manufactures, oils, cocoa, mangoes, coffee External Debt $12,950,000,000 $ $665,100,000 US Exchange Rate the US dollar became El Salvador's currency in 2001 gourdes (HTG) per US dollar - 39.216 (2008 est.), 37.138 (2007), 40.232 (2006), 40.449 (2005), 38.352 (2004) Military Budget as percentage of GDP 0.600% 0.400% Beijing Olympics Medal Count Location Central America, bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Guatemala and Honduras Caribbean, western one-third of the island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, west of the Dominican Republic Area 21,041 km sq 27,750 km sq Coastline 307 km 1,771 km Climate tropical; rainy season (May to October); dry season (November to April); tropical on coast; temperate in uplands tropical; semiarid where mountains in east cut off trade winds
