According to an information by the Multiple Purpose Household Survey (EHPM) by 2024, out of a total population of 6.3 million people, 1,882,226 will be between zero and 19 years of age, which is equivalent to 29.6% of all Salvadorans.

Seventy-nine percent of child abandonment cases in 2024 were attributed to the father, with approximately 381,258 children affected.

Of that number, 201,850 were boys and 179,408 were girls. According to the sample, these cases were caused by abandonment by both parents, migration, and death.

On the other hand, abandonment by the mother reached 38,811 cases, of which 22,455 were boys and 16,356 were girls. Meanwhile, 58,913 children were abandoned by both parents, affecting 30,681 boys and 28,232 girls.

According to Salvadoran law, abandoning an infant or adolescent in the country, endangering their life or personal integrity or placing them in a situation of neglect, will be punishable by one to three years in prison.

jdt/mem/lb