El Salvador: A Close Encounter with the "Little Giant"

El Salvador is not the kind of country that most people think of as a romantic destination or a great place to spend their vacation. Most tourists to Central America end up in places that are more economically, socially and politically stable, like Costa Rica. 

But El Salvador, the little country that could, keeps its store of surprises. It lays nestled in the middle of Central America to the south of Guatemala and the northeast of Honduras with an entire border of nothing but Pacific Ocean, and is known as “the little giant” for the tenacious nature of the people and political leadership determined to be world players.

El Salvador gained independence from Spanish rule in 1821 and the Central American Federation in 1839. In an area slightly smaller than the U.S. state of Massachusetts, this tiny nation survived a bloody 12-year civil war from 1980 – 1992 that cost more than 75,000 lives and left deep wounds that are still slowly healing.

The tropical coast and temperate climate in the uplands is covered with mostly mountainous terrain, and subject to frequent earthquakes, volcanic activity and hurricanes. The climate and landscape is not the only thing that is tough in this country—the quality of life for most Salvadorans is reflected in the small number of senior citizens. Of the 6.5 million people who live in El Salvador, only about 5% are over the age of 65. And it is a country struggling with environmental issues like deforestation, soil erosion and water pollution.

There is widespread poverty and an extremely unequal distribution of wealth in this country whose GDP is only half that of Brazil, Argentina and Chile. And with the adaptation of the American dollar into its economy, El Salvador has lost control over its own monetary policy.

So there is El Salvador in a box—facts and figures that paint a faint outline of a country that, at heart, is a truly remarkable place. There is nothing in statistics about the uncommon warmth of the Salvadoran people and the gracious way they welcome guests into their homes.