Environment - current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution; contamination of soils from disposal of toxic wastes

Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea

Geography - note: smallest Central American country and only one without a coastline on Caribbean Sea

@El Salvador:People

Population: 5,661,827 (July 1997 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 38% (male 1,084,198; female 1,038,248) 15-64 years: 57% (male 1,538,609; female 1,709,756) 65 years and over : 5% (male 133,038; female 157,978) (July 1997 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.6% (1997 est.)

Birth rate: 27.22 births/1,000 population (1997 est.)

Death rate: 6.44 deaths/1,000 population (1997 est.)

Net migration rate: -4.81 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1997 est.)