El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a Central American country bordered by Honduras, Guatemala, and the Pacific Ocean. Its capital and largest city is San Salvador. The country's population was estimated at 6 million in 2024.
In 1903, General Tomas Regalado's term as president of El Salvador ended.
On July 11, 1906, General Tomas Regalado was killed at El Jicaro during a war against Guatemala.
In 1912, the national guard was created as a rural police force in El Salvador.
In 1913, President Manuel Enrique Araujo was killed, leading to many hypotheses about the political motive of his murder.
The Melendez-Quinonez dynasty began in 1913 in El Salvador.
In 1915, the Legislative Assembly passed a law which officially stated that the country's name should be rendered as the definite form El Salvador.
The capital San Salvador suffered heavy damage in the 1919 tremor.
The Melendez-Quinonez dynasty lasted until 1927.
In December 1930, Farabundo Martí was once again exiled because of his popularity among the nation's poor.
In 1930, Pio Romero Bosque announced free elections in El Salvador.
On March 1, 1931, Arturo Araujo came to power in what was considered the country's first freely contested election.
In December 1931, a coup d'état was organized by junior officers and led by Martínez in El Salvador.
In 1931, Farabundo Martí returned to El Salvador after Araujo was elected president.
In 1931, the country's military dictatorship began with Carlos Humberto Romero as the final president.
Beginning in January 1932, there was brutal suppression of a rural revolt known as La Matanza.
On January 22, 1932, thousands of poorly armed peasants revolted against the government in the western part of El Salvador.
Martinez ruled El Salvador from 1935 to 1939.
Martinez ruled El Salvador from 1939 to 1943.
Martinez ruled El Salvador from 1939 to 1943.
In 1944, Martinez began a fourth term but resigned in May after a general strike.
In November 1950, El Salvador supported the Tibetan Government's appeal to the UN regarding the annexation of Tibet by China.
In 1950 El Salvador's population was 2,200,000.
In 1958, the legislature reaffirmed the country's name as El Salvador with another law.
The Christian Democratic Party (PDC) and the National Conciliation Party (PCN) were active in Salvadoran politics from 1960.
From 1964, José Napoleón Duarte was the mayor of San Salvador.
Until 1970, José Napoleón Duarte was the mayor of San Salvador.
In 1972, José Napoleón Duarte was defeated in the presidential elections.
In 1973, Hurricane Emily affected El Salvador.
In 1976, the Estadio Cuscatlán in San Salvador opened. It has a seating capacity of 53,400, making it the largest stadium in Central America and the Caribbean.
By October 1979, the Carter administration decided that El Salvador needed regime change.
On October 15, 1979, a coup d'état brought the Revolutionary Government Junta (JRG) to power.
In 1979, Duarte returned to El Salvador to enter politics after working on projects in Venezuela as an engineer.
In 1979, the Salvadoran Civil War began, fought between the military-led government backed by the United States, and a coalition of left-wing guerrilla groups due to persistent socioeconomic inequality and civil unrest.
On March 24, 1980, Óscar Romero was assassinated by a death squad while saying Mass.
In October 1980, several major guerrilla groups of the Salvadoran left formed the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front, or FMLN.
From 1980, large numbers of Salvadorans emigrated to the United States.
Since 1980, the Commission on the Truth for El Salvador investigated serious acts of violence, their nature and effects, and recommended methods for national reconciliation.
The El Salvador national football team qualified for the FIFA World Cup in 1982.
The capital San Salvador suffered heavy damage in the 1982 tremor.
The 1983 constitution has the highest legal authority in the country.
In 1986, a 5.7 Mw earthquake in San Salvador resulted in 1,500 deaths, 10,000 injuries, and 100,000 people left homeless.
From 1989, Salvadorans favored the Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA), voting in ARENA presidents in every election until 2009.
In 1989, during the height of the civil war, Jesuit priests and professors Ignacio Ellacuría, Ignacio Martín-Baró, and Segundo Montes were murdered by the Salvadoran Army.
In January 1992, the government of El Salvador and the FMLN signed peace agreements in Chapultepec Castle, Mexico, ending the 12-year civil war. The signing was attended by U.N. dignitaries and representatives of the international community.
In September 1992, a 10% value-added tax (IVA in Spanish) was implemented in El Salvador.
In 1992, the Salvadoran Civil War ended with the Chapultepec Peace Accords, establishing a multiparty constitutional republic.
In 1993, the Commission on the Truth delivered its findings reporting human rights violations during the conflict. Five days later in 1993, the Salvadoran legislature passed an amnesty law for all acts of violence during the period.
In July 1995, El Salvador's value-added tax (IVA) was raised from 10% to 13%.
After 1996, El Salvador's GDP grew at an annual rate that averaged 3.2% real growth.
In 1997, the government established the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources.
In 1998, Hurricane Mitch affected El Salvador.
In 1999, a general environmental framework law was approved by the National Assembly.
From 2000 to 2006, as a result of the free trade agreements, total exports have grown 19% from $2.94 billion.
On 13 January 2001, an earthquake measuring 7.7 on the Richter magnitude scale caused a landslide that killed more than 800 people.
On 13 February 2001, another earthquake killed 255 people and damaged about 20% of the country's housing.
In 2001 a severe drought destroyed 80% of El Salvador's crops, causing famine in the countryside.
In 2001, the United States dollar replaced the colón as the currency of El Salvador.
As of 2004, approximately 3.2 million Salvadorans were living outside of El Salvador, with the United States being the primary destination for economic migrants.
In 2004, Antonio Saca was elected president of El Salvador. His opponent, Schafik Handal, was also of Palestinian descent, highlighting the economic and political power of Salvadorans of Palestinian descent in the country.
In 2004, The government started a gang reform called "Super Mano Dura" (Super Firm Hand). It experienced temporary success, but after 2005 there was a rise in crime.
In 2004, there were 41 intentional homicides per 100,000 citizens in El Salvador, with 60% of the homicides being gang-related.
Until 2004, Salvadorans favoured the Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA), voting in ARENA presidents in every election until 2009.
On 1 October 2005, the Santa Ana Volcano spewed a cloud of ash, hot mud and rocks that fell on nearby villages and caused two deaths.
On 4 October 2005, severe rains caused dangerous flooding and landslides, resulting in at least 50 deaths.
After 2005, there was a rise in crime in El Salvador following temporary success from the Super Mano Dura program.
In 2005, El Salvador faced Asian competition in the apparel sector with the expiration of the Multi Fibre Arrangement.
From 2000 to 2006, as a result of the free trade agreements, total exports have grown 19% to $3.51 billion.
In 2006, El Salvador was the first country to ratify the Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) with the United States.
In 2006, a gay marriage proposal was legally not recognized in El Salvador, and was rejected.
In 2006, remittances to El Salvador were $3.32 billion, approximately 16.2% of GDP.
In 2007, El Salvador's GDP's real growth rate hit 4.7%.
By 2008, Salvadorans were the sixth largest immigrant group in the United States, with nearly one million having emigrated since 1980.
In 2008, El Salvador sought international arbitration against Italy's Enel Green Power on behalf of Salvadoran state-owned electric companies for a geothermal project Enel had invested in.
In 2008, the service sector was the largest component of El Salvador's GDP at 64.1%.
In March 2009, Mauricio Funes of the FMLN won the presidential election.
On 1 June 2009, Mauricio Funes was inaugurated as president. One focus of the Funes government has been revealing the alleged corruption from the past government.
In December 2009, ARENA formally expelled Saca from the party. Saca established his own party, the Grand Alliance for National Unity (GANA).
In 2009, a gay marriage proposal was legally not recognized in El Salvador, and was rejected.
In 2009, the U.S. Embassy warned that the Salvadoran government's policies of mandating artificially low electricity prices were damaging private sector profitability, and noted the corruption of El Salvador's judicial system.
In an analysis of ARENA's electoral defeat in 2009, the U.S. Embassy in San Salvador pointed to official corruption under the Saca administration as a significant reason for public rejection of continued ARENA government.
Between 2010 and 2015, the contribution of metallic mining was a minuscule 0.3% of El Salvador's GDP.
In 2010 the percentage of El Salvador's population below the age of 15 was 32.1%.
In 2010, agriculture represented 11.2% of El Salvador's GDP.
In 2011, the Christian Democratic Party (PDC) and the National Conciliation Party (PCN) were disbanded by the Supreme Court.
In 2011, there were an estimated 25,000 gang members at large in El Salvador, with another 9,000 in prison.
In April 2012, the International Monetary Fund suspended a $750 million loan to the central government of El Salvador due to problems with economic subsidies.
By 2012, there were about 2.0 million Salvadoran immigrants and Americans of Salvadoran descent in the U.S., making them the sixth-largest immigrant group in the country.
In 2012, El Salvador had the highest murder rate in the world.
In 2012, the homicide rate in El Salvador had increased to 66 per 100,000 inhabitants, more than triple the rate in Mexico.
According to a 2013 survey by Pew Research, 53% of Salvadorans believe that homosexuality should not be accepted by society.
In 2013, the influx of FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) increased in El Salvador, but the country still receives less FDI than other countries of Central America.
In March 2014, former FMLN guerrilla leader Cerén narrowly won the election.
In May 2014, Cerén was sworn in as president.
In December 2014, a dispute between El Salvador and Italy's Enel Green Power ended in a settlement, from which no details have been released.
In 2014, El Salvador ranked 80 out of 175 countries as per the Corruption Perceptions Index.
In 2014, it was estimated that 1,394,000 international tourists visited El Salvador.
In 2014, the World Bank rated El Salvador 109, a little better than Belize (118) and Nicaragua (119) in the World Bank's annual "Ease of doing business" index.
Until 2014, The FMLN Party split between the dominant Marxist-Leninist faction in the legislature, and the social liberal wing led by Mauricio Funes.
A 2015 study by the University of North Carolina called El Salvador the country that has achieved the greatest progress in the world in terms of increased access to water supply and sanitation and the reduction of inequity in access between urban and rural areas.
Between 2010 and 2015, the contribution of metallic mining was a minuscule 0.3% of El Salvador's GDP.
In 2015, there were 6,650 homicides recorded in El Salvador.
In 2016, Funes sought asylum in Nicaragua.
In 2016, at least 5,728 people were murdered in El Salvador.
In October 2017, an El Salvador court ruled that former president Funes and one of his sons had illegally enriched themselves.
As of December 2017, El Salvador's net international reserves stood at $3.57 billion.
In 2017, there were 3,962 recorded homicides in El Salvador.
In September 2018, former president Saca was sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to diverting more than US$300 million in state funds.
On 14 October 2018, Óscar Romero, the first Salvadoran saint, was canonized by Pope Francis.
In 2018, El Salvador had a Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 4.06/10, ranking it 136th globally out of 172 countries.
In 2018, El Salvador transitioned to digital transmission of TV/radio networks, adapting the ISDB-T standard.
In 2018, there were 3,348 recorded deaths in El Salvador.
In February 2019 presidential election, Nayib Bukele won representing GANA.
On 1 June 2019, Nayib Bukele became the new president of El Salvador.
Since Bukele became president in June 2019, the homicide rate in El Salvador had dropped significantly.
As of 2019, economic improvements had led to El Salvador experiencing the lowest level of income inequality among nearby countries.
In 2019, El Salvador experienced a sharp decline in murder rate with a new conservative government in power.
In 2019, El Salvador was ranked 108th in the Global Innovation Index.
In 2019, Nayib Bukele from GANA won the Salvadoran presidential election, breaking two-party dominance.
In 2019, authorities reported a total of 2,365 homicides in El Salvador.
In 2019, remittances to El Salvador were nearly $6 billion, around 20% of GDP, one of the highest rates in the world.
In 2019, tourism contributed US$2970.1 million to El Salvador's GDP, representing 11% of total GDP.
On 10 May 2023 Bukele stated on Twitter that El Salvador had completed one full year or 365 days since 2019 without a single homicide occurring.
On 22 June 2020, President Bukele inaugurated Hospital El Salvador, converted from the country's main convention center, as the largest hospital in Latin America.
According to a report by the International Crisis Group (ICG) in 2020, the homicide rate in El Salvador had dropped significantly since Bukele became president.
In 2020, testing of 5G coverage began in El Salvador.
In 2020, there were only 1,322 reported homicides in El Salvador.
According to the National Energy Commission, 94.4% of total injections during January 2021 came from hydroelectric plants (28.5% - 124.43 GWh), geothermal (27.3% - 119.07 GWh), biomass (24.4% 106.43 GWh), photovoltaic solar (10.6% - 46.44 GWh) and wind (3.6% - 15.67 GWh).
In February 2021, Nuevas Ideas won the biggest congressional majority in the country's history.
In the February 2021 legislative elections, Nuevas Ideas won a significant majority in the parliament.
In June 2021, President Nayib Bukele announced he would introduce legislation to make Bitcoin legal tender in El Salvador.
On 8 June 2021, pro-government deputies in the Legislative Assembly voted legislation to make bitcoin legal tender in the country.
In September 2021, El Salvador's Supreme Court ruled to allow Bukele to run for a second term in 2024, despite constitutional prohibitions.
On 7 September 2021, Bitcoin officially became a legal tender in El Salvador.
Among 77 countries included in a 2021 study, El Salvador had one of the least complex economies for doing business.
In 2021, El Salvador recorded 1,140 homicides, the lowest number of recorded murders since the end of the civil war in 1992.
In 2021, El Salvador's gross domestic product (GDP) in purchasing power parity was estimated at US$57.95 billion, growing real GDP at 4.2%.
In 2021, El Salvador's population was 6,314,167.
In January 2022, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) urged El Salvador to reverse its decision to make cryptocurrency legal tender. Bukele announced plans to build Bitcoin City.
According to a survey conducted by the Salvadoran Chamber of Commerce, as of March 2022, only 14% of merchants in the country processed at least one Bitcoin transaction.
Beginning on 25 March 2022, three days of gang-related violence occurred that left 87 people dead. In response, President Bukele asked the Salvadoran parliament to ratify a state of emergency, and on 26 March, he ordered mass arrests.
As of May 2022, government bonds were trading at 40% of their original value, indicating a looming sovereign default.
By 2022, El Salvador had a homicide rate of 7.8 per 100,000 individuals.
In 2022, Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and Barrio 18 gangs were estimated to have around some 70,000 members.
In 2022, the Salvadoran government initiated a massive crackdown on criminal gangs, declaring a state of emergency on 27 March and extending it on 20 July.
On 10 May 2023, President Bukele stated on Twitter that El Salvador had completed one full year or 365 days since 2019 without a single homicide occurring.
As of August 2023, around 72,000 suspected gang members have been sent to prison as a part of the government crackdown on the gangs.
On 30 November 2023, the Legislative Assembly granted Bukele a leave of absence to focus on his 2024 re-election campaign. Claudia Rodríguez de Guevara became acting president.
In 2023 the homicide rate was at 154 compared to 495 homicides in 2022.
In 2023, El Salvador was ranked the 5th least electoral democratic country in Latin America and the Caribbean by V-Dem Democracy Report.
In January 2024, it was announced that the homicide rate dropped nearly 70% year over year, with 154 in 2023 compared to 495 homicides in 2022.
On 4 February 2024, Bukele won re-election with 83% of the vote. His party Nuevas Ideas won 58 of the parliament's 60 seats.
Since May 2024, an official government entity named the Bitcoin Office of El Salvador reports that the government holds 5,750 bitcoin (approximately $354 million circa May 2024) -- with nearly 474 bitcoin (approx $29 million circa May 2024) mined since September 2021 using geothermal energy from the Tecapa volcano.
On 1 June 2024, Bukele was sworn in for his second five-year term.
In December 2024, Nayib Bukele's government purchased 11 new BTC for over a million dollars, thus strengthening its strategic reserves.
In 2024, Bukele campaigns for his re-election. On 30 November 2023, the Legislative Assembly granted Bukele a leave of absence to focus on his 2024 re-election campaign.
In 2024, El Salvador reported a homicide rate of 1.9 per 100,000 people, a figure lower than any other Latin American country. This represents a 98% decrease in nine years.
In 2024, El Salvador was ranked 98th in the Global Innovation Index.
In 2024, El Salvador's Supreme Court ruled to allow Bukele to run for a second term, despite constitutional prohibitions.
In 2024, El Salvador's population was estimated to be 6 million according to a government census.
As of February 2025, El Salvador had the highest prisoner rate worldwide, with over 1,600 prisoners per 100,000 of the national population.
In February 2025, El Salvador’s Congress agreed to remove Bitcoin's legal tender status, following pressure from the International Monetary Fund.
In March 2025, the United States transferred more than 200 immigrants, alleged members of a Venezuelan gang, to be imprisoned in El Salvador.
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