A valley in El Salvador

El Salvador Economy

El Salvador's economy in numbers:

Nominal GDP of USD 34.0 billion in 2023.

Nominal GDP of USD 32.5 billion in 2022.

GDP per capita of USD 5,128 compared to the global average of USD 10,589.

GDP per capita of USD 5,349 compared to the global average of USD 10,589.

Average real GDP growth of 2.4% over the last decade.

Average real GDP growth of 2.2% over the last decade.

Share of the region's population
Share of the region's GDP

Economic structure:

In 2021, services accounted for 71% of overall GDP, manufacturing 15%, other industrial activity 9%, and agriculture 5%. Looking at GDP by expenditure, private consumption accounted for 83% of GDP in 2021, government consumption 20%, fixed investment 22%, and net exports -25%.

GDP by economic sector
GDP by type of expenditure

International trade:

In 2021, manufactured products made up 75% of total merchandise exports, mineral fuels 4%, food 19%, ores and metals 1% and agricultural raw materials 1%, with other categories accounting for 0% of the total. In the same period, manufactured products made up 66% of total merchandise imports, mineral fuels 13%, food 18%, ores and metals 1% and agricultural raw materials 2%, with other goods accounting for 0% of the total. Total exports were worth USD 6 billion in 2022, while total imports were USD 15 billion.

Key exports
Key imports
Key export partners
Key import partners

Economic growth:

The economy recorded average annual growth of 2.2% in the decade to 2022. To read more about GDP growth in El Salvador, go to our dedicated page.

Fiscal policy:

El Salvador's fiscal deficit averaged 4.0% of GDP in the decade to 2022. Find out more on our dedicated page.

Unemployment:

The unemployment rate averaged 6.4% in the decade to 2022. For more information on El Salvador's unemployment click here.

Inflation:

Inflation averaged 1.5% in the decade to 2022. Go to our El Salvador inflation page for extra insight.

Exchange Rate:

From end-2012 to end-2022 the US dollar weakened by 1.1% vs the U.S. dollar. For more info on the US dollar, click here.
Annual economic growth declined to 2.1% in Q2 from 2.6% in Q1 due to decelerations in both private and public spending. That said, fixed investment fell at a softer pace and exports growth nearly doubled. Turning to Q3, our panel expects the economy to have gained some traction, and early data backs this projection. Economic activity growth strengthened from Q2’s level in July, chiefly due to a rebound in the industrial sector. Additionally, remittance inflows remained healthy in July–August, boding well for household spending. Less positively, merchandise exports growth softened in July relative to Q2. In other news, in September, the government presented its budget for 2025. Notably, the draft does not envisage issuing new debt, which was well received by the IMF and prompted sovereign bonds to soar.
Projections out to 2034.

40 indicators covered including both annual and quarterly frequencies.

Consensus Forecasts based on a panel of 19 expert analysts.

Want to get insight on the economic outlook for El Salvador in the coming years? FocusEconomics collects projections out to 2034 on 40 economic indicators for El Salvador from a panel of 19 analysts at the leading national, regional and global forecast institutions. These projections are then validated by our in-house team of economists and data analysts, and averaged to provide one Consensus Forecast you can rely on for each indicator. This means you avoid the risk of relying on out of date, biased or outlier forecasts. Our Consensus Forecasts can be visualized in whichever way best suits your needs, including via interactive online dashboards , direct data delivery and executive-style reports which combine analysts' projections with timely written analysis from our in-house team of economists on the latest developments in the El Salvador economy. To download a sample report on the El Salvador's economy, click here. To get in touch with our team for more information, fill in the form at the bottom of this page.

El Salvador Datos económicos

2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Población (millones) 6.4 6.5 6.5 6.5 6.6
PIB (en millones de dólares) 26.0 26.9 24.6 28.7 -
PIB per cápita (USD) 4,052 4,165 3,787 4,408 -
Crecimiento económico (PIB nominal, var. anual) 4.2 3.3 -8.6 17.0 -
Crecimiento económico (PIB, var. anual) 2.4 2.4 -8.2 10.3 -
Consumo privado (% var. anual) 1.3 1.7 -10.8 15.4 -
Consumo público (var. anual) 1.7 0.5 10.1 7.2 -
Inversión fija (% var. anual) 7.2 6.3 -6.9 24.5 -
Exportaciones (G&S, % var. anual) 1.6 8.5 -21.0 26.1 -
Importaciones (G&S, % var. anual) 2.6 4.2 -10.6 26.6 -
Desempleo (% de la población activa, aop) 6.3 6.3 12.0 - -
Saldo fiscal (% del PIB) -2.5 -2.9 -10.4 -5.9 -
Deuda pública (% del PIB) 72.9 73.7 92.1 84.8 -
Dinero (var. anual de M2 %) 6.0 11.5 11.6 2.5 4.9
Inflación (IPC, % var. anual, eop) 0.4 0.0 -0.1 6.1 7.3
Inflación (IPC, % var. anual, aop) 1.1 0.1 -0.4 3.5 7.2
Tipo de depósito a 180 días (%, eop) 4.23 4.30 3.85 4.38 4.54
Balanza por cuenta corriente (en millones de dólares) -0.9 -0.1 0.2 -1.5 -
Balanza por cuenta corriente (% del PIB) -3.3 -0.4 0.8 -5.1 -
Balanza comercial de mercancías (en millones de USD) -5.6 -5.7 -5.1 -8.2 -
Exportaciones de mercancías (en millones de dólares) 4.7 4.7 4.1 5.4 -
Importaciones de mercancías (en millones de dólares) 10.4 10.5 9.3 13.6 -
Exportaciones de mercancías (% var. anual) 1.5 0.3 -12.8 30.0 -
Importaciones de mercancías (% var. anual) 9.1 0.8 -11.2 46.3 -
Inversión extranjera directa (en millones de dólares) 0.83 0.64 0.28 0.31 -
Reservas internacionales (en millones de dólares) 3.6 4.4 3.1 3.4 2.7
Reservas internacionales (meses de importaciones) 4.1 5.1 4.0 3.0 -
Deuda externa (en millones de dólares) 16.7 17.4 18.3 20.2 -
Deuda externa (% del PIB) 64.3 64.7 74.6 70.2 -

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