El Salvador
El Salvador's name still evokes images of the brutal civil war fought throughout the 1980s in the tangle of mountains and farmlands that quilt the smallest country in Central America. The war, however, is over and the most turbulent aspect of El Salvador today is thankfully just its volcanic landscape.

Full country name: Republic of El Salvador
Area: 20,752 sq km (8093 sq mi)
Population: 6,122,515 (growth rate 2.3%)
Capital city: San Salvador (pop 1 million)
People: 94% mestizo (Spanish-Indian), 5% Indian, 1% European descent
Language: Spanish, some Nahua
Religion: 75% Roman Catholic, 20% Protestant
Government: Republic
President: Francisco Guillermo Flores Pérez

GDP: US$17.5 billion
GDP per head: US$3000
Inflation: 2.6%
Major industries: Textiles, coffee, sugar, beverages, petroleum, chemicals, fertilizer, textiles, furniture, light metals, cotton
Major trading partners: USA, Guatemala, Mexico, Costa Rica, Germany