Central America · SLV
El Salvador
The story · 9 chapters
How it was drawn
Maya and Pipil land, a Spanish province of Guatemala, a republic of its own since 1841, shaped by wars with its neighbours and its own civil war.
Play the story Take the first lessonThrough the ages
Rivals in history
The kingdoms, empires and states El Salvador fought or stood against, from the first to today.
- Spanish Empire1524 to 1528
Pedro de Alvarado invades from Guatemala in 1524 and fights the Pipil of Cuzcatlan at Acajutla and Tacuxcalco. The Pipil resist and he withdraws wounded. Only on a later campaign, around 1528, is San Salvador firmly established.
- First Mexican Empire1822 to 1823
When Central America is annexed to Agustin de Iturbide's Mexican Empire, El Salvador refuses. Mexican troops under Vicente Filisola take San Salvador in February 1823, but the empire falls weeks later.
- Federal government in Guatemala1826 to 1829
In the federal civil war, El Salvador's liberals fight the conservative federal government in Guatemala City. The war ends in 1829 when Francisco Morazan, a Honduran liberal, captures Guatemala City.
- Guatemala1840 to 1885
Rafael Carrera of Guatemala defeats Morazan in 1840 and dominates the region. He invades El Salvador in 1863 and takes San Salvador. In 1885 Justo Rufino Barrios dies at Chalchuapa trying to unite Central America by force.
- Republic of Nicaragua1914 to 1917
Nicaragua's 1914 Bryan-Chamorro Treaty offers the United States a naval base in the Gulf of Fonseca, which El Salvador shares. El Salvador sues, and in 1917 the Central American Court of Justice rules in its favour, though the ruling is ignored.
Disputes over land, migrants and an unmarked border explode in the 1969 Football War. A peace treaty follows in 1980 and an International Court ruling in 1992. El Salvador still claims tiny Conejo Island in the Gulf of Fonseca, held by Honduras.
Today
El Salvador now
El Salvador achieved independence from Spain in 1821 and from the Central American Federation in 1839. A 12-year civil war, which cost about 75,000 lives, was brought to a close in 1992 when the government and leftist rebels signed a treaty that provided for military and political reforms. El Salvador is beset by one of the world's highest homicide rates and pervasive criminal gangs.
- Capital
- San Salvador
- Government
- presidential republic
- Head of government
- Nayib Bukele
- Languages
- Spanish
- Area
- 21,040 km²
Through time
Then and now
- Population6.3 million2023 · 2.2 million in 1950
- Life expectancy72.1 years2023 · 44.2 years in 1950
- GDP per person$9,2182022 · $2,375 in 1950
- Living in cities76%2025 · 36% in 1950
- Literacy90%2024 · 38% in 1950
- Political regimeElectoral autocracy2025 · Closed autocracy in 1950
- Military alliancesRio Pact2024 · Rio Pact in 1950
- Military spending1.3% of GDP2025
- War deathsNone2025
Population: HYDE 3.3, Gapminder and UN WPP. GDP per capita: Maddison Project Database 2023. Urban share: UN WPP. Life expectancy: Riley, HMD, UN WPP. Literacy: OWID historical estimates, World Bank, UNESCO. Military spending: SIPRI. War deaths: UCDP. Political regime: V-Dem, Regimes of the World. All via Our World in Data (CC BY 4.0). Alliances and organization memberships: compiled by Atlas. Satellites in orbit: CelesTrak SATCAT. Modern borders, backcast.
Relations
Close partners and tensions
Close partners
- United States
- Mexico
- Canada
Summarised from World Bank and Wikipedia data, updated 24 October 2026.