El Salvador

El Salvador officially the Republic of El Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. El Salvador's capital and largest city is San Salvador. El Salvador was for centuries inhabited by several Mesoamerican nations, especially the Cuzcatlecs, as well as the Lenca and Maya. In the early 16th century, the Spanish Empire conquered the territory, incorporating it into the Viceroyalty of New Spain.

El Salvador's economy was historically dominated by agriculture, beginning with the indigo plant (añil in Spanish), the most important crop during the colonial period, and followed thereafter by coffee, which by the early 20th century accounted for 90 percent of export earnings. The colón, the official currency of El Salvador since 1892, was replaced by the U.S. dollar in 2001.