Demographics of El Salvador

The demographics of El Salvador tell us about the people who live there. El Salvador is a country in Central America with a population of about 6 million people. Understanding the demographics helps us learn about the culture and way of life for the people in El Salvador.

Salvadoran Child

Most people in El Salvador have mixed heritage from both Native Salvadoran and European, mainly Spanish, ancestors. A smaller group has pure European ancestry. There are also a few people of pure indigenous heritage and very small numbers of people who are black or from other backgrounds.

This information about the population helps us understand the diversity of the people in El Salvador. It shows how different groups have come together to form the country.

Population size and structure

El Salvador had about 6.3 million people in 2021. In 1950, there were about 2.2 million people. In 2010, most people were between 15 and 65 years old. Some were younger than 15, and a few were 65 or older.

Structure of the population

Census population
Year	Pop.	±%
1930	1,434,361	—
1950	1,855,917	+29.4%
1961	2,510,984	+35.3%
1971	3,554,648	+41.6%
1992	5,118,599	+44.0%
2007	5,744,113	+12.2%
2024	6,029,976	+5.0%

Year	Total population	Proportion per age group
Year	Total population	Ages 0–14	Ages 15–64	Ages 65+
1950	2,200,000	42.7%	53.3%	4.0%
1955	2,433,000	43.6%	52.6%	3.8%
1960	2,773,000	45.1%	51.1%	3.7%
1965	3,244,000	46.3%	50.1%	3.7%
1970	3,736,000	46.4%	49.9%	3.6%
1975	4,232,000	45.8%	50.5%	3.7%
1980	4,661,000	45.2%	50.9%	3.9%
1985	5,004,000	44.1%	51.8%	4.2%
1990	5,344,000	41.7%	53.7%	4.6%
1995	5,748,000	39.6%	55.5%	4.9%
2000	5,888,000	36.6%	57.9%	5.5%
2005	6,052,000	34.8%	58.9%	6.3%
2010	6,184,000	31.6%	61.3%	7.1%
2015	6,325,000	28.4%	63.9%	7.8%
2020	6,486,000	26.6%	64.8%	8.7%

Age group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	2 719 371	3 024 742	5 744 113	100%
0–4	283 272	272 621	555 893	9.68%
5–9	349 150	335 577	684 727	11.92%
10–14	359 523	346 824	706 347	12.30%
15–19	298 384	302 181	600 565	10.46%
20–24	228 001	258 541	486 542	8.47%
25–29	206 963	250 927	457 890	7.97%
30–34	178 400	223 849	402 249	7.00%
35–39	156 514	196 633	353 147	6.15%
40–44	132 218	171 413	303 631	5.29%
45–49	109 957	142 165	252 122	4.39%
50–54	95 275	120 459	215 734	3.76%
55–59	81 718	101 357	183 075	3.19%
60–64	68 207	83 657	151 864	2.64%
65–69	55 781	69 376	125 157	2.18%
70–74	43 449	54 008	97 457	1.70%
75–79	33 658	42 326	75 984	1.32%
80–84	20 401	26 469	46 870	0.82%
85+	18 500	26 359	44 859	0.78%
Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0–14	991 945	955 022	1 946 967	33.89%
15–64	1 555 637	1 851 182	3 406 819	59.31%
65+	171 789	218 538	390 327	6.80%

Age group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	2 925 284	3 290 858	6 216 143	100%
0–4	309 786	296 430	606 216	9.75%
5–9	308 052	294 483	602 535	9.69%
10–14	362 232	348 111	710 343	11.43%
15–19	352 598	350 791	703 389	11.32%
20–24	276 109	305 559	581 668	9.36%
25–29	209 615	261 340	470 955	7.58%
30–34	180 198	235 412	415 609	6.69%
35–39	168 638	219 197	387 835	6.24%
40–44	149 955	194 952	344 907	5.55%
45–49	127 846	167 719	295 565	4.75%
50–54	108 714	140 978	249 692	4.02%
55–59	93 682	119 911	213 593	3.44%
60–64	78 899	100 625	179 525	2.89%
65–69	65 846	82 450	148 295	2.39%
70–74	52 993	66 934	119 928	1.93%
75–79	38 678	49 603	88 281	1.42%
80+	41 443	56 363	97 806	1.57%

Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0–14	980 070	939 024	1 919 094	30.87%
15–64	1 746 254	2 096 484	3 842 738	61.82%
65+	198 960	255 350	454 310	7.31%

Age group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	2 951 282	3 354 214	6 305 496	100%
0–4	264 147	252 388	516 535	8.19%
5–9	278 047	264 945	542 992	8.61%
10–14	280 173	266 743	546 916	8.67%
15–19	295 355	286 072	581 427	9.22%
20–24	308 532	314 355	622 887	9.88%
25–29	288 053	314 743	602 796	9.56%
30–34	219 270	269 966	489 236	7.76%
35–39	167 017	229 420	396 437	6.29%
40–44	146 976	207 506	354 482	5.62%
45–49	140 159	193 625	333 784	5.29%
50–54	127 022	173 103	300 125	4.76%
55–59	107 872	147 674	255 546	4.05%
60–64	89 592	122 042	211 634	3.36%
65–69	74 736	100 814	175 550	2.78%
70–74	60 083	80 828	140 911	2.23%
75–79	45 838	61 898	107 736	1.71%
80–84	31 845	43 639	75 484	1.20%
85+	31 030	40 319	71 349	1.13%
Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0–14	822 367	784 076	1 606 443	25.48%
15–64	1 885 383	2 242 640	4 128 023	65.47%
65+	243 532	327 498	571 030	9.06%

Vital statistics

UN estimates

The United Nations Population Department made some guesses about the population.

Registered data

More details about the population come from official records.

Period	Live births per year	Deaths per year	Natural change per year	CBR*	CDR*	NC*	TFR*	IMR*	Life expectancy
Period	Live births per year	Deaths per year	Natural change per year	CBR*	CDR*	NC*	TFR*	IMR*	total	males	females
1950-1955	108 000	48 000	61 000	46.7	20.6	26.1	6.30	147	45.1	43.4	46.8
1955-1960	125 000	46 000	78 000	47.8	17.8	30.0	6.60	132	49.3	47.2	51.5
1960-1965	144 000	47 000	97 000	47.7	15.5	32.3	6.76	119	53.0	50.5	55.7
1965-1970	156 000	47 000	109 000	44.8	13.5	31.3	6.43	109	55.6	52.6	58.9
1970-1975	168 000	49 000	119 000	42.1	12.3	29.8	5.95	100	57.0	53.2	61.2
1975-1980	177 000	52 000	124 000	39.7	11.8	27.9	5.46	91	57.0	51.9	62.7
1980-1985	174 000	55 000	119 000	36.1	11.4	24.7	4.80	77	56.9	50.6	64.2
1985-1990	171 000	44 000	126 000	33.0	8.6	24.4	4.20	56	63.1	57.4	69.1
1990-1995	169 000	37 000	132 000	30.5	6.8	23.8	3.73	38	68.0	63.3	72.9
1995-2000	161 000	38 000	123 000	27.5	6.6	20.9	3.30	27	69.2	64.4	73.9
2000-2005	133 000	75 000	94 000	22.7	6.7	16.0	2.72	23	70.2	65.4	74.9
2005-2010	127 000	90 000	87 000	20.4	6.8	13.6	2.40	21	71.3	66.5	75.9
2010-2015				19.1	6.9	12.2	2.17
2015-2020				18.4	7.0	11.4	2.05
2020-2025				17.2	7.2	10.0	1.96
2025-2030				15.6	7.4	8.2	1.87
* CBR = crude birth rate (per 1000); CDR = crude death rate (per 1000); NC = natural change (per 1000); IMR = infant mortality rate per 1000 births; TFR = total fertility rate (number of children per woman)

Ethnic groups

El Salvador has 6,408,111 people. Most of them, 86.3%, are Mestizo. This means they have mixed indigenous and European ancestry. About 15% are European, 1% are Indigenous, 0.8% are Afro-Salvadorans, and 0.64% are from other groups.

Indigenous Salvadorans

About 1% of people in El Salvador have full or partial indigenous origin. The main groups are Pipil, living in the west and central part of the country, and Lenca, found east of the Lempa River. There are also small groups of Cacaopera people in the Morazán Department. In the past, larger groups included the Lenca people and Pipil people, along with small groups of Maya peoples.

Mestizo Salvadorans

About 86.3% of people in El Salvador are Mestizo. They come from mixing between European settlers and the local indigenous people. Most Salvadorans today are Mestizo.

European Salvadorans

Spanish Salvadorans

Spaniards began settling in El Salvador in the mid-1520s. About 12.7% of Salvadorans are of white European origin. This includes people of Spanish, French, German, Swiss, English, Irish, and Italian descent. Many Central European people came during World War II as refugees.

French Salvadorans

Many French people moved to El Salvador between the 19th and mid-20th century. From 1850 to 1950, over 7,000 French people came, helping the country's economy and education.

German Salvadorans

German people moved to El Salvador between 1880 and 1940. They settled in areas known for coffee growing and cities like Santa Tecla and San Salvador. They helped develop industry, commerce, and farming.

Italian Salvadorans

Italian people moving to El Salvador was very important in the country's history. From the mid-19th century to the mid-20th century, many Italians arrived from northern and southern Italy. They settled in cities like San Salvador, Santa Ana, and San Miguel. They helped in education, music, farming, industry, commerce, and building.

Afro-Salvadorans

Afro-Salvadorans are also called Pardo. They are descendants of African people who were brought to El Salvador to work in mines. They have mixed into the general Mestizo population. El Salvador is different from other Central American countries because it does not have English-speaking Caribbean or Garifuna groups, but had African slaves from Africa during colonial times.

Jewish Salvadorans

There is a small group of Jews in El Salvador. They came from France, Germany, Morocco, Tunisia, and Turkey. Some arrived as refugees during World War II. The Jewish community is small but has made contributions in many areas.

Gypsies in El Salvador

Gypsy groups were in El Salvador in the 20th century. Santa Tecla was one place where they lived. During a strict government led by Maximiliano Hernández Martínez, laws were made against certain groups, including Gypsies. This made them hide who they were. Some Gypsies escaped trouble by getting Salvadoran identity papers from consuls.

Arab Salvadorans

El Salvador has a large Arab Christian community. Most are from Palestine, but some are from Lebanon. Around 70,000 Salvadorans are of Palestinian descent, and about 25,000 are of Lebanese descent. Arab people began moving to El Salvador at the end of the 19th century because of religious issues and economic reasons. They settled in cities like San Salvador, San Miguel, Santa Ana, and Usulután, and helped in the country's economy and politics.

Emigration

From 1979 to 1981, problems in El Salvador made many people leave. Over a million people moved to the United States. Smaller groups went to Guatemala, Canada, Australia, Belize, Panama, Costa Rica, Italy, Taiwan, and Sweden. By 2010, more than one million Salvadorans lived in the United States.