National Day of El Salvador

TODAY is the National Day of the Republic of El Salvador which commemorates its independence, together with other Central American countries Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua, from Spain in 1821.

El Salvador is the smallest and also the most densely populated country in Central America. It lies between Guatemala and Honduras, with the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Gulf of Fonseca to the east. San Salvador is the capital and largest city of the republic.

The population of El Salvador is approximately 6 million with Mestizo and White/Caucasian comprising 90 percent and 9 percent of ethnic groups, respectively. Salvadoran or Salvadorian is the term for people from El Salvador while Cuzcatleco is the term for someone who has Salvadoran heritage. Most Salvadorans are Roman Catholics (53 percent) followed by Protestants (28 percent). The economy of El Salvador relies heavily on the export of metals, such as gold and silver, and remittances from Salvadorans living and working in the United States.

El Salvador has a medium Human Development ranking globally. However, in Latin American countries, it has one of the highest Human Development Indices. Since the early 1990s, the country has been undergoing rapid industrialization and is one of the few countries to experience reforestation.

We congratulate the government and people of the Republic of El Salvador led by President Salvador Sánchez Cerén, on the occasion of its National Day.