El Salvador Facts for Kids

El Salvador is a country located in the central region of North America.
The official name of El Salvador is the Republic of El Salvador.
This is the most crowded nation and the smallest in the Central America.
The early inhabitants of El Salvador were the Cuzcatles, the Lenca and the Maya among others.

On the southern side El Salvador it is bordered by the Pacific Ocean while on the northern side it is bordered by Honduras.
On the western side El Salvador neighbors Guatemala.
The currency used in El Salvador is known as the United States Dollar.
The capital city of El Salvador is San Salvador
The total number of people living in this city is estimated to be approximately 1,767,102 people.
The city was founded in 1525 and is about 658 m (2,159 ft.) above the sea level.
The total number of people living in El Salvador is estimated to be about 6.345 million as per 2016.
The number of males in this country is about 3,026,110 while the number of females is about 3,351,248. About 64 percent of the total number of people in this country live in urban areas centers.
The tallest mountain in El Salvador is Cerro El Pital which height of 2,730 meters.
Others mountains found in El Salvador are; Santa Ana Volcano (2,138 meters) and San Miguel (2,130 meters) among others
El Salvador has always been regarded as the Land of Volcanoes since there are more than 20 volcanoes located in it whereby two of them are still active.
The longest river in El Salvador is Lempa River which covers a total distance of 422 km.
Other major rivers found in El Salvador include: Paz River (134 km), Goascoran River (130 km) and Torola River (100.3 km) among others. The largest lake in El Salvador is known as Lake IIopango which is a crater lake.
The shoreline of El Salvador has a total length of 307 kilometers alongside the northern side of Pacific Ocean.
This is the only country in the central region of America that does not have a shore along the Caribbean Sea.
El Salvador is among the world’s best surfing places in the coastline of the Pacific Ocean.
El Salvador has four major National Parks which are El Imposible National Park, the biggest national park I n this country. This National Park was started in 1989 and has a total area of 38.20 square kilometers.
The other national parks found in this country are Montecristo National Park, Cerro Verde National Park and El Boquerón National Park.
El Salvador has one UNESCO World Heritage Site found in it which is known as Joya de Ceren.
El Salvador is unique in that there are only two seasons experienced unlike other countries where there are four seasons experienced. The wet season starts from the month May of every year to the month of October. The dry season starts from the month of November of every all the way to April of the following year.
The most common religions followed in El Salvador are the Roman Catholic doctrine which is followed by about 50 percent of the total number of the people living in this country. It is followed by Protestants with 36 percent while 2 percent of the residents follow other religions. However, about 12 percent of the residents do not submit to any religion.
The official language of El Salvador is the Spanish whereby they speak a Spanish language known as the Salvadoran Spanish.
The other main languages spoken in El Salvador are English which has been taught by the British for more than 50 years, the Kekchi which is mainly used by the people who came from Guatemala, the Pipil and the Lenca languages. There no Africans who live in this country.
El Salvador was colonized by the Spaniards until they gained their independence in 1821.
When El Salvador attained independence, it was still part of the Central American States but the union collapsed in 1838. Today the president is the head of government in this country.
About 79 percent of the residents of El Salvador are literate. The life span of El Salvador is estimated to be about 69 years. However the country is characterized by high rates of crime and poverty.
The major natural resources found in El Salvador are hydropower, geothermal power, petroleum and land which can be ploughed used for cultivation of crops. The most common dishes in El Salvador are Pupusa and Loroco.