---
tags: el-salvador
---

# Urban & Rural Areas / Density

## Urban & Rural Areas

> El Salvador has cities that are not unlike those of other developing countries. In fact, about 60.3% of Salvadorans now live in urban areas. El Salvador’s main urban hubs are San Salvador, San Miguel, and Santa Ana. While Salvadorans decide to go to cities to pursue better lives, city life is often not that glamorous. [^voices_el-salvador]

| Year [^w_meters]| Urban Pop % | Urban Pop |
| --------------- | ----------- | --------- |
| 2000 | 58.7 % | 3,456,741 |
| 2020 | 73.4 % | 4,758,508 |
| 2040 (forecast) | 83.2 % | 5,769,688 |

> Urban poverty in El Salvador currently stands at 56%; that is, more than half of those living in cities are barely able to afford to survive. Poverty alone does not explain why crime in cities is more common. It seems that inequality, which is more distinguishable in urban areas, is also a key indicator of crime.[^voices_el-salvador]

> El Salvador does not have the necessary mechanisms in place to offer everyone in the cities the resources and services they need to pursue a better life. Instead, urban poverty is growing and living conditions continue to deteriorate. [^voices_el-salvador]

| Year | Rural Pop % | Rural Pop |
| ---- |:-----------:|:---------:|
| 2000 | 41.3 | 2408.0 |
| 2020 | 26.6 | 1732.6 |
| 2040 | 16.8 | 946.012 |

> The urban population in El Salvador is growing by about 1.9% each year while the rural population is only rising at 0.6% each year. It becomes a problem when far too many Salvadorans are living in the cities because the government is not able to provide the necessary services to everyone. [^voices_el-salvador]

| City [^w_meters] | Population |
|:----------------:|:----------:|
| San Salvador | 525,990 |
| Soyapango | 329,708 |
| Santa Ana | 176,661 |
| San Miguel | 161,880 |
| Mejicanos | 160,317 |

Poverty, violence, and health are all variables that interact with one another to create the reality of city life in El Salvador today. [^voices_el-salvador]

## DENSITY

- Even if it's the smallest country in land area in Central America, El Salvador has a population that is 18 times larger than Belize; at least 20% of the population lives abroad; high population density country-wide, with particular concentration around the capital of San Salvador. [^cia]

| Year | Density (P/Km2) |
| ---- | --------------- |
| 2000 | 284 |
| 2020 | 313 |
| 2040 (forecast) | 335 |

[^w_meters]: https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/el-salvador-population/
[^voices_el-salvador]: https://voiceselsalvador.wordpress.com/2011/07/08/cities-el-salvadors-growing-problem/
[^country-data]: http://www.country-data.com/cgi-bin/query/r-4236.html
[^cia]: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/print_es.html