11 Fun Facts About El Salvador

What is the capital and largest city of El Salvador?

San Salvador is not only the capital of El Salvador but also its largest city and primary political, cultural, educational, and financial center.

In what year did El Salvador declare its independence from Spain?

El Salvador, along with other Central American provinces, declared its independence from Spain on September 15, 1821. This event was part of a larger movement across the Captaincy General of Guatemala.

Which colorful bird is recognized as the national bird of El Salvador?

The Turquoise-browed Motmot, known locally as Torogoz, was officially designated as El Salvador's national bird in 1999, chosen for its vibrant plumage and symbolic behavior.

Which ocean borders El Salvador to the south?

El Salvador is the only Central American country that does not have a Caribbean Sea coastline; its entire southern border is along the Pacific Ocean.

What Catholic Archbishop of San Salvador was assassinated in March 1980, becoming a symbol of human rights advocacy?

Romero, Archbishop of San Salvador from 1977, was shot in the heart by a gunman on 24 March 1980 as he finished speaking at a hospital chapel Mass. Pope Francis canonised him on 14 October 2018.

In 2001 El Salvador abandoned the colon, its currency since 1892, in favour of which foreign currency?

The switch made the country one of a small group in Latin America to have formally dollarised its economy.

Which country lies along El Salvador's north-western border?

Honduras lies to the north-east, and the Pacific Ocean forms the entire southern coast.

El Salvador's twelve-year civil war formally ended in January 1992 with peace accords signed in which foreign capital?

The Chapultepec Peace Accords closed a conflict the United Nations reckons killed more than 75,000 people.

What is the national dish of El Salvador, a thick griddle cake of corn or rice flour stuffed with cheese, beans or chicharron?

The country sets aside a day each year to celebrate it, and its ancestor was a thick corn tortilla eaten in the pre-Columbian era.

Which Salvadoran archaeological site, buried by an ashfall around AD 600 and added to the UNESCO list in 1993, is nicknamed the Pompeii of the Americas?

The eruption of the Loma Caldera sealed the village so quickly that everyday objects were left exactly where their owners had set them down.

Ilamatepec, the highest volcano in El Salvador at 2,381 metres, is more commonly known by which other name?

The stratovolcano takes that name from the department in the country's west where it stands.