San Salvador

San Salvador (.mw-parser-output .IPA-label-small{font-size:85%}.mw-parser-output .references .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .infobox .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .navbox .IPA-label-small{font-size:100%}Spanish pronunciation: [san salβaˈðoɾ];) is the capital and the largest city[5] of El Salvador and its eponymous department.[6] It is the country's largest agglomeration, serving as the country's political, cultural, educational and financial center.[7] The Municipality of San Salvador has 525,990 inhabitants (2024).[8] The Metropolitan Area of San Salvador, which comprises the capital itself and 13 of its municipalities, has a population of 2,404,097. The urban area of San Salvador has a population of 1,600,000 inhabitants.[9]

The city is home to the Consejo de Ministros de El Salvador (Council of Ministries of El Salvador), the Legislative Assembly of El Salvador, the Supreme Court of El Salvador, and other governmental institutions, as well as the official residence of the President of El Salvador. San Salvador is located in the Salvadoran highlands, surrounded by volcanoes and prone to earthquakes. The city is also home to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Salvador, as well as many Protestant branches of Christianity, including Evangelicals, Baptists, and Pentecostals, and the restorationist Christian sect the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

San Salvador has been the host city for regional and international sporting, political, and social events. It hosted the Central American and Caribbean Games in 1935, 2002, and in 2023 and the Central American Games in 1977 and 1994, as well as the Miss Universe pageant in 1975 and in 2023. San Salvador was also the host city of the 18th Ibero-American Summit in 2008, the most important sociopolitical event in the Spanish and Portuguese sphere.[10] The Central American Integration System has its headquarters in San Salvador.[11]