Population: 6,704,932 (July 2005 est.)

Capital: San Salvador

Languages: Spanish, Nahua (among some Amerindians)

Religions: Roman Catholic 83%, other 17% there is extensive activity by Protestant groups throughout the country; by the end of 1992, there were an estimated 1 million Protestant evangelicals in El Salvador

Government: republic

Climate: tropical; rainy season (May to October); dry season (November to April); tropical on coast; temperate in uplands

Terrain: mostly mountains with narrow coastal belt and central plateau

Geography: smallest Central American country and only one without a coastline on Caribbean Sea

Ethnic groups: mestizo 90%, white 9%, Amerindian 1%

Economy: The smallest country in Central America, El Salvador has the third largest economy, but growth has been minimal in recent years. Hoping to stimulate the sluggish economy, the government is striving to open new export markets, encourage foreign investment, and modernize the tax and healthcare systems. Implementation in 2006 of the Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement, which El Salvador was the first to ratify, is viewed as a key policy to help achieve these objectives. The trade deficit has been offset by annual remittances from Salvadorans living abroad - 16% of GDP in 2004 - and external aid. With the adoption of the US dollar as its currency, El Salvador has lost control over monetary policy and must concentrate on maintaining a disciplined fiscal policy.

GDP per capita: purchasing power parity - $5,100 (2005 est.)

GDP real growth: 2% (2005 est.)

Unemployment rate: 6.5% - but the economy has much underemployment (2005 est.)

Internet country code: .sv

Dial code: +503