El Salvador

El Salvador ( (listen); Spanish: [el salβaˈðoɾ] (listen)), officially the Republic of El Salvador (Spanish: República de El Salvador, literally "Republic of The Saviour"), is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is San Salvador. As of 2018, the country had a population of approximately 6.42 million, mostly consisting of European and Native American descent.El Salvador was, for millennia, controlled by several Mesoamerican nations, especially Lenca, early Mayans, then later the Cuzcatlecs up until the Spanish conquest. Archaeological monuments also suggest an early Olmec presence around the first millennium BCE. In the early 16th century, the Spanish Empire conquered the territory, incorporating it into the Viceroyalty of New Spain ruled from Mexico City. However the Viceroyalty of Mexico had little to no influence in the daily affairs of the Central American isthmus, which would be colonized in 1524. In 1609 the area became the Captaincy General of Guatemala, of which El Salvador was part until its independence from Spain, which took place in 1821, as part of the First Mexican Empire, then later seceded, as part of the Federal Republic of Central America, in 1823. When the Republic dissolved in 1841, El Salvador became a sovereign nation, then formed 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 (1979–1992), which was fought between the military-led government and a coalition of left-wing guerrilla groups. The conflict ended with the Chapultepec Peace Accords. This negotiated settlement established a multiparty constitutional republic, which remains in place to this day.
El Salvador's economy has historically been 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% of export earnings. El Salvador has since reduced its dependence on coffee and embarked on diversifying its economy by opening up trade and financial links and expanding the manufacturing sector. The colón, the currency of El Salvador since 1892, was replaced by the United States dollar in 2001.
El Salvador ranks 14th among Latin American countries in terms of the Human Development Index and fourth in Central America (behind Panama, Costa Rica, and Guatemala) due in part to ongoing rapid industrialization. However, the country continues to struggle with high rates of poverty, inequality, and gang-related violent crime.