El Salvador Facts

El Salvador is a Central American country of about 6 million people, bordered by Guatemala and Honduras, and its capital is San Salvador. At about 21,040 square kilometers (8,124 square miles), it’s the smallest country in Central America and the only one without a Caribbean coast — its shoreline faces the Pacific Ocean.

More than 20 volcanoes rise across the country, and Santa Ana, at about 2,380 meters (7,800 feet), is the tallest of them. The country’s highest point overall is Cerro El Pital at 2,730 meters (8,957 feet), on the border of Honduras.

El Salvador uses the U.S. dollar as its currency, and its national bird is the torogoz, a turquoise-browed motmot with a long, racket-tipped tail.

Salvadoran Culture and Traditions

Faith is the heart of daily life in El Salvador, whose name means “The Savior” in Spanish. Most Salvadorans are Christian, and families gather to worship in both Catholic and evangelical churches. Evangelical churches have grown especially quickly over the past generation.

One of the most beloved Salvadoran traditions, the Fiestas Agostinas (August Festivals), honors the country’s patron, Jesus, as the Divine Savior of the World, the same title the country is named for. The festivities end with a national holiday on August 6, the Feast of Transfiguration.

During La Bajada (“the descent”), crowds follow a statue of Jesus in purple robes through San Salvador to the Metropolitan Cathedral, where it reappears dressed in white to represent the Transfiguration.

Football (soccer) is the most popular sport, and Estadio Cuscatlán in San Salvador, with about 45,000 seats, is the largest stadium in Central America. Surfers also come from around the world to Pacific beaches like El Tunco, and El Salvador has hosted Olympic surfing qualifiers.

On September 15, Independence Day, students march in school bands and parades across the country. Children have a day of their own on October 1 called Día del Niño, which is meant to celebrate children and their vital role in Salvadoran society.

What Language Is Spoken in El Salvador?

Spanish is the official language of El Salvador. Many Salvadorans say vos (you) instead of tú with friends, and children address adults as usted to show respect. Everyday slang, called caliche, mixes Spanish with words from Nawat, the language of the Pipil people who lived in El Salvador before the Spanish arrived.

Very few people still speak Nawat fluently, and programs such as a preschool in the town of Nahuizalco teach it to young people to keep it alive.

A few everyday Spanish words: Hola means “hello,” gracias means “thank you” and amigo means “friend.” In caliche, pisto means “money.”

Traditional Salvadoran Food

The pupusa is El Salvador’s national dish: a thick, handmade corn or rice-flour flatbread stuffed with cheese, refried beans, chicharrón (pork) or loroco, an edible flower bud. People eat pupusas by hand with curtido, a spicy cabbage slaw, and tomato salsa. The country even celebrates National Pupusa Day on the second Sunday of November.

Other favorites include yuca frita (fried cassava), panes con pollo (warm chicken sandwiches) and tamales wrapped in plantain leaves. A typical breakfast is eggs, beans, cream and plantains. Coffee grows in the volcanic highlands, and El Salvador is the birthplace of the Pacas and Pacamara coffee varieties.

A Brief History of El Salvador

El Salvador’s history runs from Mayan and Pipil communities through Spanish rule to independence in 1821. Around A.D. 600, a volcanic eruption buried the Mayan farming village of Joya de Cerén in ash, preserving homes, gardens and tools so well that it’s often called the “Pompeii of the Americas.”

No human remains have been found there, and researchers believe the villagers escaped. The site has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993. Centuries later, the Pipil people founded Cuzcatlán, a confederation of city-states, which Spanish forces brought under their control in 1525.

El Salvador declared independence from Spain with the rest of Central America on September 15, 1821 and became a separate republic in 1841.

Its flag has two blue stripes for the waters on either side of Central America and a white stripe for peace. The coat of arms carries the date of independence and the motto Dios, Unión, Libertad (God, Union, Liberty), with 14 clusters of laurel leaves for the country’s 14 departments.