El Salvador

"El Salvador, oficialmente República de El Salvador, es un país soberano de América Central ubicado en el litoral del océano Pacífico con una extensión territorial de 21 041 km². En el año 2015 contaba con una población estimada en 6 521 000habitantes, siendo el país más densamente poblado del continente americano. Su clima es cálido tropical. El Salvador limita con Guatemala al oeste y con Honduras al norte y al este, al sureste el golfo de Fonseca lo separa de Nicaragua, y flanqueado al sur por el océano Pacífico. Su territorio está organizado en 14 departamentos, 39 distritos y 262 municipios.La ciudad de San Salvador es la capital del país; su área metropolitana incluye 14 municipalidades cercanas, y concentra la actividad política y económica de la república. Las ciudades de Santa Ana y San Miguel son otros centros importantes del país. El actual territorio de El Salvador comprende lo que antes fuera la Alcaldía Mayor de Sonsonate y lo que fue la Intendencia de San Salvador que conformó la mayor parte del territorio. Ambas provincias adquirieron su independencia de España en 1821 junto a la Capitanía General de Guatemala y en 1824 se unieron para formar el «Estado del Salvador»,como parte de la República Federal de Centro América. En la época precolombina, existía un importante núcleo indígena conocido como el Señorío de Cuzcatlán (que en lengua náhuat significa lugar de joyas' o lugar de collares'). Una guerra civil de 12 años, cuyo costo humano llegó aproximadamente a 75 000 vidas, finalizó el 16 de enero de 1992, cuando el gobierno y la guerrilla firmaron los acuerdos de paz que dieron lugar a reformas militares, sociales y políticas."

"El Salvador (/l sælvdr/; Spanish: [el salaðor]), officially the Republic of El Salvador (Spanish: República de El Salvador, literally "Republic of The Savior"), is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. El Salvador's capital and largest city is San Salvador. As of 2015, the country had a population of approximately 6.38 million, consisting largely of Mestizos of European and Indigenous American descent. El Salvador was for centuries inhabited by several Mesoamerican nations, especially the Cuzcatlecs, as well as the Lenca and Maya. In the early 16th century, the Spanish Empire conquered the territory, incorporating it into the Viceroyalty of New Spain ruled from Mexico City. In 1821, the country achieved independence from Spain as part of the First Mexican Empire, only to further secede as part of the Federal Republic of Central America in 1823. Upon the republic's dissolution in 1841, El Salvador became sovereign until forming a short-lived union with Honduras and Nicaragua called the Greater Republic of Central America, which lasted from 1895 to 1898. From the late 19th to the mid-20th century, El Salvador endured chronic political and economic instability characterized by coups, revolts, and a succession of authoritarian rulers. Persistent socioeconomic inequality and civil unrest culminated in the devastating Salvadoran Civil War (19791992), which was fought between the military-led government and a coalition of left-wing guerrilla groups. The conflict ended with a negotiated settlement that established a multiparty constitutional republic, which remains in place to this day. El Salvador's economy was historically dominated by agriculture, beginning with the indigo plant (añil in Spanish), the most important crop during the colonial period, and followed thereafter by coffee, which by the early 20th century accounted for 90 percent of export earnings. El Salvador has since reduced its dependence on coffee and embarked on diversifying the economy by opening up trade and financial links and expanding the manufacturing sector. The colón, the official currency of El Salvador since 1892, was replaced by the U.S. dollar in 2001. As of 2010, El Salvador ranks 12th among Latin American countries in terms of the Human Development Index and fourth in Central America (behind Panama, Costa Rica, and Belize) due in part to ongoing rapid industrialisation. However, the country continues to struggle with high rates of poverty, inequality, and crime."