Country Background
The beach at Salinitas
Country Background
The beach at Salinitas
| El Salvador at a Glance |
| Population : 6.2 million |
| Surface area (1997): 21.0 thousand sq. km |
| Population per sq. km (1997): 286.1 |
| Population growth : 2.1 % |
| Life expectancy (1998): 69 years |
| Population below national poverty line : .. |
| GNP per capita : 1,900 US$ |
| GDP : 12.2 billion US$ |
El Salvador is the smallest country in Central America and, one of the most densely populated countries in the Western Hemisphere. It has a limited natural resource base and no remaining agricultural frontier. About 60 percent of the population lives in rural areas and over 80 percent of agricultural producers work farms of less than 3 ha. Its social indicators are among the worst in Latin America and 1998 per capita GNP was US$1,850.1
In April 1990, after 12 years of civil war, the Government and the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) agreed on a framework for the resolution of the conflict and in January 1992 the Peace Accords of Chapultepec were signed. The challenge of attending to the unsatisfied demands of the participants in the social conflict, and the fulfillment of basic needs for large segments of the population required a commitment to appropriate macroeconomic and structural policies to ensure economic growth and stability. The administrations of Presidents Cristiani and Calderon Sol have pursued economic policies which have facilitated high rates of economic growth and a reduction of inflation, while embarking on a process of accelerated structural reforms and poverty reduction. El Salvador's economy had been doing quite well before Hurricane Mitch struck, and GDP growth was projected at between 4-5 percent for 1998 and 1999. In 1998, GDP growth is estimated at 3.5 percent and the projection for 1999 has been lowered to 3-4 percent. On March 7, 1999 Francisco Flores -ARENA's candidate- was elected president in the first round of the elections for a period of five years.
Source: World Bank Country Brief
