| Country name | conventional long form: Republic of El Salvador conventional short form: El Salvador local long form: Republica de El Salvador local short form: El Salvador etymology: name is an abbreviation of the original Spanish conquistador designation for the area "Provincia de Nuestro Senor Jesus Cristo, el Salvador del Mundo" (Province of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the World), which became simply "El Salvador" (The Savior) |
| Government type | presidential republic |
| Capital | name: San Salvador geographic coordinates: 13 42 N, 89 12 W time difference: UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC, during Standard Time) etymology: Spanish for "Holy Savior" (referring to Jesus Christ) |
| Administrative divisions | 14 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Ahuachapan, Cabanas, Chalatenango, Cuscatlan, La Libertad, La Paz, La Union, Morazan, San Miguel, San Salvador, San Vicente, Santa Ana, Sonsonate, Usulutan |
| Independence | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) |
| Constitution | history: many previous; latest drafted 16 December 1983, enacted 23 December 1983 amendments: proposals require agreement by absolute majority of the Legislative Assembly membership; passage requires at least two-thirds majority vote of the Assembly; constitutional articles on basic principles, and citizen rights and freedoms cannot be amended; amended 2003, 2009, 2014 |
| Legal system | civil law system with minor common law influence; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court |
| International law organization participation | has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt |
| Citizenship | citizenship by birth: yes citizenship by descent only: yes dual citizenship recognized: yes residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal |
| Executive branch | chief of state: President Nayib Armando BUKELE Ortez (since 1 June 2019); Vice President Felix Augusto Antonio ULLOA Garay (since 1 June 2019); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government head of government: President Nayib Armando BUKELE Ortez (since 1 June 2019); Vice President Felix Augusto Antonio ULLOA Garay (since 1 June 2019) cabinet: Council of Ministers selected by the president elections/appointments: president and vice president directly elected on the same ballot by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a single 5-year term; election last held on 3 February 2019 (next to be held on February 2024) election results: 2019: Nayib Armando BUKELE Ortez elected president - Nayib Armando BUKELE Ortez (GANA) 53.1%, Carlos CALLEJA Hakker (ARENA) 31.72%, Hugo MARTINEZ (FMLN) 14.41%, other 0.77% 2014: Salvador SANCHEZ CEREN elected president in second round; percent of vote in first round - Salvador SANCHEZ CEREN (FMLN) 48.9%, Norman QUIJANO (ARENA) 39%, Antonio SACA (CN) 11.4%, other 0.7%; percent of vote in second round - Salvador SANCHEZ CEREN 50.1%, Norman QUIJANO 49.9% |
| Legislative branch | description: unicameral Legislative Assembly or Asamblea Legislativa (84 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies and a single nationwide constituency by proportional representation vote to serve 3-year terms) elections: last held on 28 February 2021 (next to be held in 2024) election results: percent of vote by party - NI 66.46%, ARENA 12.18%, FMLN 6.91%, GANA 5.29%, PCN 4.08%, NT 1.7%, PDC 1.7%, V 1.01%; seats by party - NI 56, ARENA 14, GANA 5, FMLN 4, PCN 2, PDC 1, NT 1, V 1; composition - men 61, women 23, percent of women 27.4% |
| Judicial branch | highest courts: Supreme Court or Corte Suprema de Justicia (consists of 16 judges and 16 substitutes judges organized into Constitutional, Civil, Penal, and Administrative Conflict Chambers) judge selection and term of office: judges elected by the Legislative Assembly on the recommendation of both the National Council of the Judicature, an independent body elected by the Legislative Assembly, and the Bar Association; judges elected for 9-year terms, with renewal of one-third of membership every 3 years; consecutive reelection is allowed subordinate courts: Appellate Courts; Courts of First Instance; Courts of Peace |
| Political parties and leaders | Christian Democratic Party or PDC [Rodolfo Antonio PARKER Soto] Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front or FMLN [Oscar ORTIZ] Great Alliance for National Unity or GANA [Nelson GUARDADO] National Coalition Party or PCN [Manuel RODRIGUEZ] Nationalist Republican Alliance or ARENA [Erick SALGUERO] New Ideas (Nuevas Ideas) or NI [Xavier Zablah BUKELE] Our Time (Nuestro Tiempo) or NT [Juan VALIENTE] Vamos or V [Josue ALVARADO Flores] |
| International organization participation | BCIE, CACM, CD, CELAC, FAO, G-11, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSTAH, NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, Pacific Alliance (observer), PCA, Petrocaribe, SICA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, Union Latina, UNISFA, UNMISS, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Carmen Milena MAYORGA VALERA (since 23 December 2020) chancery: 1400 16th Street NW, Suite 100, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 595-7500 FAX: [1] (202) 232-3763 email address and website: correo@elsalvador.org consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Brentwood (NY), Chicago, Dallas, Doral (FL), Doraville (GA), Houston, Las Vegas (NV), Los Angeles, McAllen (TX), New York, Nogales (AZ), San Francisco, Silver Spring (MD), Tucson (AZ), Washington, DC, Woodbridge (VA) consulate(s): Elizabeth (NJ), Newark (NJ), Seattle, Woodbridge (VA) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Jean MANES (since 1 June 2021) embassy: Final Boulevard Santa Elena, Antiguo Cuscatlan, La Libertad, San Salvador mailing address: 3450 San Salvador Place, Washington, DC 20521-3450 telephone: [503] 2501-2999 FAX: [503] 2501-2150 email address and website: ACSSanSal@state.gov https://sv.usembassy.gov/ |
| Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of cobalt blue (top), white, and cobalt blue with the national coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms features a round emblem encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL; the banner is based on the former blue-white-blue flag of the Federal Republic of Central America; the blue bands symbolize the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, while the white band represents the land between the two bodies of water, as well as peace and prosperity note: similar to the flag of Nicaragua, which has a different coat of arms centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Honduras, which has five blue stars arranged in an X pattern centered in the white band |
| National anthem | name: "Himno Nacional de El Salvador" (National Anthem of El Salvador) lyrics/music: Juan Jose CANAS/Juan ABERLE note: officially adopted 1953, in use since 1879; at 4:20 minutes, the anthem of El Salvador is one of the world's longest |
| National symbol(s) | turquoise-browed motmot (bird); national colors: blue, white |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021
