Geographically speaking,  El Salvador is a tiny country relative to the majority of its neighbors in the western hemisphere. In terms of regional stability El Salvador is currently one of the most important countries to consider.  While you are thinking about that,  the strength of it's stability is being regularly tested by a barrage of internal and external factors. 

 

While an expected 200,000  Salvadorenos are estimated to be deported from the US in 2018 (the majority of which have been in the US for 20 years,) "Salvadorean authorities estimate that 60,000-70,000 people belong to gangs and that half a million more—relatives, business partners, corrupt politicians and police—are financially dependent on them."  (Worth noting that these gangs were actually birthed in the US and imported into El Salvador.)  Entire communities are caught in the crossfire between a violent government "iron fist" crack down and the gangs those policies seek to "exterminate."  Jobless youth are often left with the option to either join gangs, be killed, or flee the country.  This is the proverbial definition of a vicious cycle where there is quite literally no where to run. 

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combination punches from geopolitical 

 

Water insecurity exacerbates migration. 

 

 

 

El Salvador is ADULT MIGRANTS

• The adult migrant population is overwhelmingly male at 91 percent, with female migrants measuring just under 9 percent
Age
• Adult migrants are generally between the ages of 18 and 35, with almost 30 percent between 21 and 25 and a sharp decrease in the number of migrants above age 40
State of origin

• While migrants came from all 14 Salvadoran states, the largest percentage was from La Libertad and San Salvador, followed by San Miguel and Usulután
Education level

• The average education is at secondary school levels, with only about four percent of migrants with higher education

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Men cited unemployment (41%) as the most influential factor in migration, followed by low wages (15%), lack of opportunity (12%), and family reunification (8%)

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Over 60 percent of males were employed in some capacity when they chose to migrate • The majority of those employed before migrating worked in agriculture or construction