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El Salvador: map, flag, capital and key facts

El Salvador is a country in North America, in Central America and the Caribbean, with about 6.37 million people (2025) and an area of 21,040 square kilometres. Its capital is San Salvador, and it shares land borders with 2 countries.

By Team Geography Last reviewed

Flag of El Salvador
Flag of El Salvador
Map showing where the country sits among its neighbours
El Salvador in solid, land neighbours outlined, capital marked.

Key facts about El Salvador

CapitalSan Salvador
ContinentNorth America
RegionCentral America and the Caribbean
Population6,365,503 2025, World Bank. 111th of 195.
Area21,040 km² (8,124 sq mi) World Bank, surface area. 149th largest of 195.
Population density303 people per km²
Land neighbours2: Guatemala, Honduras
Official nameRepublic of El Salvador
UN statusMember state
Capital coordinates13.71° N, 89.20° W San Salvador, Natural Earth.

Land neighbours

El Salvador borders 2 countries on land. Each links to its own page.

GuatemalaGuatemala CityHondurasTegucigalpa

From the Geography app

The app teaches each country through short hand written lenses: PLACE for physical geography, STORY for history and identity, NOW for the news, and THREAD for the ties between countries. Here is one of El Salvador's 5, in full.

PLACELens 1 of 5

The smallest and most densely packed country in Central America

El Salvador covers just 21,041 square kilometers, smaller than New Jersey, yet holds over 6.3 million people, making it the most densely populated country on the mainland Americas. It is the only Central American nation without a Caribbean coast; its entire shoreline faces the Pacific. A chain of more than 20 volcanoes runs parallel to the coast, and the volcanic soil supports intensive coffee cultivation in the highlands.

More on most densely populated

At roughly 300 people per square kilometer, El Salvador's density surpasses every mainland country in the Western Hemisphere. That pressure on land has driven both internal conflict over resources and external migration to the United States.

4 more lenses on El Salvador in the app

  • STORY A civil war that defined a generation
  • NOW Bukele's security crackdown transformed the country
  • NOW First to adopt Bitcoin, first to repeal it
  • THREAD A diaspora that sustains the nation from abroad

Titles only. The app brings each lens back on a spaced repetition schedule set by how well you knew it: New, Hazy or Clear.

Compare El Salvador with another country

Opens the country comparison tool with population, area, income and more side by side, every figure dated.

Common questions

What is the capital of El Salvador?
The capital of El Salvador is San Salvador. San Salvador lies at about 13.7 degrees north and 89.2 degrees west. El Salvador is in North America, in the region often called Central America and the Caribbean. It is home to about 6.37 million people.
What is the population of El Salvador?
About 6.37 million people live in El Salvador, according to the World Bank figures for 2025. That makes it the 111th most populous of the 195 countries. With an area of 21,040 square kilometres, that is about 303 people per square kilometre.
What countries border El Salvador?
El Salvador shares land borders with 2 countries: Guatemala and Honduras. The map on this page outlines each of them around El Salvador. The count includes only borders on land, not neighbours across a sea or a lake. Borders here follow Natural Earth at the 1:50 million scale, with Crimea shown as part of Ukraine and Western Sahara as a separate territory.
How big is El Salvador?
El Salvador covers 21,040 square kilometres, or about 8,124 square miles. That makes it the 149th largest of the 195 countries. The figure is total surface area, which includes inland water such as lakes and rivers. Its population of about 6.37 million gives a density of 303 people per square kilometre.

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