After independence in the 19th century El Salvador emerged as a country with a ruling elite of European stock who controlled the economy and a large disenfranchised indigenous population. It’s international insertion in the 19th century was based on coffee exports.

There was a Military Government from 1932 to 1979 and then a transition which coincided with the Salvadorean civil war which raged throughout the 1980's. All of the wars in Central America were interconnected. The Sandinista Revolution in Nicaragua was seen as a model for the downtrodden throughout the Isthmus but was resisted by the US following a Cold War logic. Pressure on the Sandinistas by the US forced them to seek support from Cuba and the Soviet Union.

The Sandinistas then supported left wing guerrilla groups in neighbouring countries which were acquiescing in US policies. The US, in turn, supported right wing guerrillas to counter the left wing groups until the Cold War ended. The civil war effectively ended in 1992 with the signing of the Chapultepec accords but the legacy of armed guerilla groups continues to this day with the isthmus having some of the world’s highest homicide rates.

El Salvador has typically grown in the 2-4% range per annum apart from a prolonged downturn in the 1980's coinciding with the civil war. Since 2001 the economy has been dollarized. Economic policy is a mix of light industry, agriculture, Zonas Francas (free trade zones) and integration in the Central American Common Market. The trade deficit is covered by remittances from Salvadoreans working abroad.It has been politically stable with regular transitions every five years since the Chapultepec accords.

Contents

Introduction

The Modern Period

The Current Era

The Modern State

Economics from the Ground Up

Political Systems

Trade Theory

The EU as a Model of Integration

Industrialisation

Synopsis

Data                                   

            World GDP                                          2018

            World GDP PPP                                  2018

            GDP per capita ppp                          2018

            Exports  &  Imports                           2018

            Container Traffic                 2010 & 2018

            Oil Production                                    2018

            Migrant Remittances                       2018

            Tourism Statistics                             2017

            Tourism Americas                             2017              

Latin America         

Background

The US and Latin America

Economy

The EU and Latin America

Mercosur

World Exports                                   2000-2018  

El Salvador                     

            Introduction

            Political History

            Economy

            State Finances

            Central America Tables

            Charts & Chart Commentary

Sources

70 pages