65 Fun and Interesting Facts About El Salvador

If you are looking for fun and interesting facts about El Salvador, this post is for you. We have done a fact check from authentic and official websites to get these 65 El Salvador facts.

Geography

1. El Salvador is the smallest country in Central America and shares its border by the Pacific Ocean, Guatemala, and Honduras.
   It has an area of 8,124 square miles (21,041 square kilometers).
2. The Salvadorans are known as “guanacos”.
3. San Salvador, the capital of El Salvador is the largest and the most populous city and is surrounded by volcanoes.
4. El Salvador has 23 active volcanoes, hence it is called “land of volcanoes”.
   The country is prone to volcanic activities and frequent earthquakes.
   
5. The Chaparrastique(San Miguel) volcano is the most active volcano in El Salvador. In the last 500 years, it has erupted 26 times.
   Other active volcanoes include San Salvador, Santa Ana, Conchaguita, Ilopango, Izalco.
6. On 13th January 2001, the country had seen the largest earthquake with a magnitude of 7.7 on the Richter scale which caused a tsunami as well.
7. Santa Ana volcano is the highest volcano in El Salvador at 2,381 meters above sea level.
8. Lake Coatepeque is a huge crater lake in the western part of the country.
9. In the Central America region, El Salvador is the only country without a Caribbean coastline.
10. Despite being the smallest country, El Salvador is the most densely populated country in Central America with a population of 6.4 million (as of July 2020).
11. El Salvador experiences a humid and rainy season from May to October and a dry and cool season from November to April.
12. The highest point in Salvadoran territory is Cerro El Pital’s peak at a height of 2,730 meters.
    Due to its height, one can find snow almost all the time in this cloud forest which makes the forest a tourist attraction throughout the year.
13. Less than 50% of the country’s land is suitable for agriculture.
14. The country has lost almost 80% of its forest in the last 5 decades. The forest has been cut down for coffee plantation, building homes. As per recent data, the country has less than 6000 hectares of forest which are approximately 5% of the land area.
    
    

    National Symbols of El Salvador

15. The official language of El Salvador is Spanish.
    Apart from this, few parts of the country still speak Nahuatl and Nawat.
16. Soccer is the national sport of El Salvador. Still, it has never won a single Olympic medal.
17. National Anthem of El Salvador is “Himno Nacional de El Salvador“.
18. The blue bands in the national flag of El Salvador represent the sea and the white band represents peace.
    The national flag was officially adopted in 1910.
19. El Salvador’s national dish is pupusa.
    It is a vegetarian dish made from corn or rice flour tortilla stuffed with savory.
20. Flor de izote(Yucca gigantea) is the national flower of El Salvador.
    This flower is edible.
21. The national bird of El Salvador is the Torogoz or Turquoise-browed motmot.
22. Maquilishuat (tabebuia rosea) is the national tree of El Salvador. The tree completely turns pink during full bloom. That is why the tree is also known as the rosy trumpet tree.
23. The national anthem of El Salvador is “El Himno Nacional de El Salvadori”.
24. The official currency in El Salvador is the United States Dollar. Before the USD, the colon was the currency for the country between 1892 and 2001.
25. The country has only one UNESCO World Heritage Site “Joya de Ceren”.
    It was an old village which got buried under ash due to the Laguna Caldera volcano eruption. That is why the place is also known as “Pompeii of the Americas”.
26. There are 10 archeological parks i.e. Cihuatan, Joya de Ceren, San Andres, Casa Blanca,  Tazumal, Cara Sucia (Mesoamerican site), Ciudad Vieja, El Salvador, Holy Spirit Grotto, Quelepa.
27. The country has 7 national parks i.e. El Imposible, Cerro Verde, El Boqueron, Conchagua, Montecristo, Walter Thilo Deininger, Los Volcanes
28. The national park Cerro Verde is the home to the rare black hawk-eagle along with 500 different species. The park has 505 hectares which cover 3 volcanoes.
    
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    History and Culture

    

29. The Spanish ruled El Salvador for over 300 years.
    El Salvador got its independence on 15th September 1821 from Spain, however got international recognition as an independent country in 1841.
30. The then conqueror Pedro de Alvarado named the province as “Provincia De Nuestro Señor Jesus Cristo, El Salvador Del Mundo”. Later the name changed to only “El Salvador”.
31. Around 51% of people in El Salvador are Roman Catholic.
    Out of remaining citizens, 33% are protestant, 14% without any religion, and 2% state ‘other’.
32. Due to economic inequality, El Salvador faced a 12-year long civil war which cost around 75,000 lives and finally ended in 1992.
33. The movie Salvador, nominated for Oscar, is based on the 12-year-long civil war.
34. Another interesting fact about El Salvador is that the people use only the first name with family and friends.
35. In Salvadoran culture, it is polite to leave a small amount of food on the plate after eating.
36. To greet, family and close friends hug and kiss on the cheek.
37. Salvadoran women greet each other by patting each other on the forearm or shoulder instead of shaking hands.
38. As per Salvadoran culture, guests are served first.
39. Tortillas, rice, and beans are the primary foods among the Salvadorans.
    Due to low income, most of the people cannot afford meat.
    
    

    Economy

40. The country has the 4th largest economy in Central America after Guatemala, Panama, Costa Rica.
41. Approximately 8.5% of Salvadorans have an income of US$3.2 per day.
    The country has 29% of people below the poverty line (US$5.5 per person per day).
42. Due to many mountains, sea, national parks, tourism has become the fastest-growing sector contributing to the economy of El Salvador.
43. The primary export of El Salvador is coffee, which is around 90% of the cash inflow to the country.
44. The education in the country is free up to ninth grade. However, due to poverty, many families cannot afford the cost of transportation.
    
    

    Interesting Facts about El Salvador

45. The meaning of “El Salvador” in Spanish is “The Savior”.
46. The Republic of El Salvador is the official name of the country.
47. El Salvador International Airport is the third busiest airport in Central America and has received recognition as the third best airport in Central America and the Caribbean in the Skytrax World Airport Awards 2015.
48. El Salvador International Airport started its operation with the name “Cuscatlan International Airport” and locally it is known as “Comalapa International Airport”.
49. The country’s capital San Salvador has the largest shopping mall in Central America named Metrocentro. This shopping center chain was first started in 1970.
50. The Estadio Cuscatlan Stadium is the largest stadium in Central America with a seating capacity of 45,000 people. An interesting fact about the stadium is – it is the first football stadium in Central America and the Caribbean to install a 40×40 meters large LED screen for the spectators.
51. In 2005, in Estadio Cuscatlan Stadium, Colgate made a new World Record of most people brushing their teeth at a time.
52. The largest pretzel in the world weighing 1,728 pounds was made in El Salvador. The pretzel with a length of 8.93 meters and width 4.06 meters are placed in Guinness World Records.
53. The country does not have any recognized national heroes. This is an unknown fact about El Salvador.
54. The national soccer team made it into the FIFA world cup in 1970 and 1982.
55. El Salvador and Honduras fought against each other in 1969 both on the battlefield and in FIFA world cup qualifiers. So, this war is called the Football War, also known as the 100 Hour War.
56. El Salvador is one of the countries that cultivate blue dye (indigo).
57. The country has one of the highest murder rates in the world as per the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). You can see armed forces in public places like bus stations and shops.
58. African descent people are prohibited in El Salvador. This is the only country in Central America to have such a law.
59. The local people of El Salvador do not understand English. However, youngsters, those living abroad or staying in tourist areas may speak and understand English.
60. Endangered sea turtle species like olive ridley, hawksbill, leatherbacks, and green are seen in El Salvador’s coastline.
    

    

61. El Salvador is a popular destination for surfing.
    El Salvador has hosted many international surfing competitions. You can even see people at the airport with surfing boards.
62. The only navigable river in El Salvador is “Rio Lempa”. This river is near San Salvador.
63. The only Latin American country is El Salvador that has deployed troops in Iraq.
64. The 15th birthday of a girl is considered an important event in her life. Families celebrate the birthday grandly. This event is also named as fiesta rosa or quinceañera.
65. One fun fact about El Salvador is the buses are named as “chicken bus”.
    These chicken buses are decorated buses with loud music.

That’s all the interesting facts about El Salvador. Cheers !!!