Latin America & Caribbean · Upper middle income
El Salvador: the economy in numbers
Per person: $5,767, or $14,101 at purchasing power parity. Population: 6.37 million (2025).
GDP in 2025, current US dollars: #109 of 204 economies. IMF forecast for 2026: +4.5%.
GDP
Adjusted for US inflation, in 2025 dollars: $8.98 billion in 1965, $36.7 billion in 2025.
GDP per capita
In 2025 dollars: $2,805 per person in 1965, $5,767 in 2025.
Real GDP growth
Average over 2016–2025: 2.5% a year. Years of falling GDP since 1966: 6 of 60.
Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook (October 2026)
Inflation
Consumer prices rose by 81.2% from 2000 to 2025. Highest annual inflation: 31.9% in 1986.
Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook (October 2026)
Government debt, % of GDP
Highest since 1991: 95.4% of GDP in 2020. IMF forecast for 2031: 80.2%.
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)
Population
1960: 2.79 million · 2025: 6.37 million.
Unemployment rate
1991: 7.5% · 2025: 3.3%.
Life expectancy at birth
1960: 48.3 years · 2024: 72.3 years.
Exports of goods and services
1965: 26.4% · 2025: 32.0%.
Data by year
Show the year-by-year table
| Year | GDP | GDP per capita | Per capita, PPP | Real growth | Inflation | Gov. debt, % GDP | Population | Unemployment | Life expectancy | Exports, % GDP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2031 | 3.3%f | 1.8%f | 80.2%f | |||||||
| 2030 | 3.3%f | 1.8%f | 82.8%f | |||||||
| 2029 | 3.3%f | 1.8%f | 85.0%f | |||||||
| 2028 | 3.3%f | 1.8%f | 87.3%f | |||||||
| 2027 | 4.0%f | 2.1%f | 89.2%f | |||||||
| 2026 | 4.5%f | 2.7%f | 85.0%f | |||||||
| 2025 | $36.7B | $5,767 | $14,101 | 3.9% | 0.3% | 87.6% | 6.37M | 3.3% | 32.0% | |
| 2024 | $34.9B | $5,503 | $13,258 | 2.6% | 0.9% | 87.7% | 6.34M | 3.3% | 72.3 | 32.7% |
| 2023 | $33.6B | $5,320 | $12,667 | 3.4% | 4.0% | 83.9% | 6.31M | 3.0% | 72.1 | 28.8% |
| 2022 | $31.9B | $5,075 | $11,874 | 3.0% | 7.2% | 83.7% | 6.28M | 3.0% | 72.0 | 32.4% |
| 2021 | $29B | $4,643 | $10,810 | 11.9% | 3.5% | 88.0% | 6.26M | 4.3% | 69.9 | 28.8% |
| 2020 | $24.9B | $3,997 | $9,393 | −7.9% | −0.4% | 95.4% | 6.23M | 5.0% | 70.2 | 24.5% |
| 2019 | $26.9B | $4,320 | $9,757 | 2.4% | 0.1% | 77.9% | 6.22M | 4.2% | 71.7 | 30.0% |
| 2018 | $26B | $4,184 | $9,204 | 2.4% | 1.1% | 77.0% | 6.22M | 4.0% | 71.4 | 28.9% |
| 2017 | $25B | $4,020 | $8,965 | 2.2% | 1.0% | 77.1% | 6.21M | 4.4% | 71.0 | 29.0% |
| 2016 | $24.2B | $3,901 | $8,456 | 2.5% | 0.6% | 75.2% | 6.2M | 4.4% | 70.9 | 28.5% |
| 2015 | $23.4B | $3,790 | $7,934 | 2.4% | −0.7% | 73.5% | 6.18M | 4.0% | 71.0 | 29.5% |
| 2014 | $22.6B | $3,666 | $7,504 | 1.7% | 1.1% | 71.8% | 6.16M | 4.2% | 71.1 | 29.6% |
| 2013 | $22B | $3,582 | $7,093 | 2.2% | 0.8% | 69.7% | 6.14M | 3.7% | 71.2 | 29.7% |
| 2012 | $21.4B | $3,498 | $6,708 | 2.8% | 1.7% | 70.0% | 6.11M | 3.8% | 71.4 | 28.6% |
| 2011 | $20.3B | $3,331 | $6,594 | 3.8% | 5.1% | 65.6% | 6.09M | 4.3% | 71.2 | 29.0% |
| 2010 | $18.4B | $3,040 | $6,246 | 2.2% | 1.2% | 66.8% | 6.07M | 4.9% | 70.9 | 26.9% |
| 2009 | $17.6B | $2,910 | $6,061 | −2.1% | 1.1% | 65.8% | 6.05M | 7.3% | 70.4 | 24.0% |
| 2008 | $18B | $2,983 | $6,173 | 2.2% | 6.7% | 54.2% | 6.03M | 5.9% | 70.1 | 26.7% |
| 2007 | $17B | $2,831 | $5,948 | 1.8% | 4.6% | 52.2% | 6.01M | 6.4% | 69.8 | 25.6% |
| 2006 | $16B | $2,666 | $5,693 | 4.3% | 4.0% | 52.6% | 6.0M | 6.6% | 69.6 | 25.9% |
| 2005 | $14.7B | $2,447 | $5,290 | 2.7% | 4.7% | 46.3% | 6.01M | 7.2% | 69.3 | 25.3% |
| 2004 | $13.7B | $2,286 | $4,996 | 0.9% | 4.5% | 46.8% | 6.0M | 6.8% | 69.3 | 25.9% |
| 2003 | $13.2B | $2,208 | $4,827 | 1.6% | 2.1% | 46.0% | 6.0M | 6.9% | 68.8 | 25.9% |
| 2002 | $12.7B | $2,115 | $4,670 | 1.6% | 1.9% | 43.8% | 5.99M | 6.2% | 68.5 | 25.5% |
| 2001 | $12.3B | $2,058 | $4,541 | 0.9% | 3.8% | 37.8% | 5.97M | 7.0% | 68.0 | 25.0% |
| 2000 | $11.8B | $1,983 | $4,421 | 1.1% | 2.3% | 29.6% | 5.94M | 7.0% | 67.7 | 26.8% |
| 1999 | $11.3B | $1,908 | $4,296 | 2.2% | 0.5% | 28.0% | 5.91M | 7.3% | 67.3 | 24.4% |
| 1998 | $10.9B | $1,860 | $4,170 | 2.7% | 2.5% | 25.7% | 5.88M | 7.1% | 66.7 | 24.4% |
| 1997 | $10.2B | $1,749 | $4,042 | 3.1% | 4.5% | 27.8% | 5.84M | 8.0% | 66.2 | 26.0% |
| 1996 | $9.59B | $1,651 | $3,879 | 0.8% | 9.8% | 28.5% | 5.81M | 7.7% | 65.5 | 21.1% |
| 1995 | $8.92B | $1,548 | $3,807 | 4.7% | 10.0% | 28.0% | 5.76M | 7.7% | 64.9 | 21.6% |
| 1994 | $7.68B | $1,344 | $3,590 | 4.7% | 10.6% | 30.5% | 5.71M | 7.7% | 64.5 | 19.9% |
| 1993 | $6.68B | $1,180 | $3,389 | 5.8% | 18.5% | 31.9% | 5.66M | 9.9% | 64.0 | 19.4% |
| 1992 | $5.81B | $1,041 | $3,170 | 7.0% | 11.2% | 36.4% | 5.59M | 7.9% | 62.9 | 16.1% |
| 1991 | $5.25B | $956 | $2,944 | 1.5% | 14.4% | 43.3% | 5.5M | 7.5% | 62.5 | 17.2% |
| 1990 | $4.82B | $892 | $2,855 | 4.8% | 24.0% | 5.4M | 62.0 | 18.5% | ||
| 1989 | $4.37B | $825 | 1.0% | 17.6% | 5.3M | 61.3 | 13.2% | |||
| 1988 | $4.19B | $806 | 1.9% | 19.8% | 5.2M | 60.0 | 15.8% | |||
| 1987 | $3.96B | $777 | 2.5% | 24.9% | 5.09M | 59.4 | 19.0% | |||
| 1986 | $3.77B | $755 | 0.2% | 31.9% | 4.99M | 59.3 | 24.7% | |||
| 1985 | $3.8B | $776 | 0.6% | 22.3% | 4.89M | 58.0 | 22.3% | |||
| 1984 | $3.66B | $763 | 1.3% | 11.5% | 4.8M | 56.6 | 21.8% | |||
| 1983 | $3.51B | $745 | 1.5% | 13.3% | 4.71M | 54.4 | 24.5% | |||
| 1982 | $3.4B | $735 | −6.3% | 11.7% | 4.62M | 53.3 | 22.8% | |||
| 1981 | $3.44B | $752 | −5.7% | 14.8% | 4.57M | 50.9 | 26.7% | |||
| 1980 | $3.57B | $787 | −15.8% | 17.4% | 4.54M | 48.6 | 34.2% | |||
| 1979 | $3.46B | $773 | −4.2% | 14.1% | 4.48M | 53.8 | 37.0% | |||
| 1978 | $3.13B | $712 | 5.3% | 13.3% | 4.39M | 54.7 | 30.3% | |||
| 1977 | $2.94B | $684 | 6.8% | 11.8% | 4.3M | 54.0 | 38.2% | |||
| 1976 | $2.33B | $553 | 5.0% | 7.0% | 4.21M | 54.4 | 35.5% | |||
| 1975 | $1.88B | $457 | 2.9% | 19.1% | 4.12M | 53.4 | 33.0% | |||
| 1974 | $1.67B | $413 | 5.3% | 16.9% | 4.03M | 52.9 | 32.4% | |||
| 1973 | $1.44B | $366 | 4.9% | 6.4% | 3.94M | 52.8 | 30.0% | |||
| 1972 | $1.26B | $329 | 6.1% | 1.5% | 3.85M | 52.0 | 29.1% | |||
| 1971 | $1.19B | $316 | 3.9% | 0.4% | 3.76M | 51.7 | 24.6% | |||
| 1970 | $1.13B | $309 | 3.0% | 2.8% | 3.67M | 51.4 | 24.8% | |||
| 1969 | $1.05B | $293 | 3.5% | −0.2% | 3.58M | 51.3 | 23.2% | |||
| 1968 | $1.01B | $290 | 3.2% | 2.5% | 3.48M | 50.8 | 25.3% | |||
| 1967 | $976M | $288 | 5.4% | 1.5% | 3.39M | 50.8 | 25.6% | |||
| 1966 | $930M | $282 | 7.2% | −1.2% | 3.29M | 50.7 | 24.7% | |||
| 1965 | $878M | $274 | 0.5% | 3.2M | 50.2 | 26.4% | ||||
| 1964 | 1.8% | 3.11M | 49.8 | |||||||
| 1963 | 1.6% | 3.03M | 49.4 | |||||||
| 1962 | 0.1% | 2.95M | 49.0 | |||||||
| 1961 | −2.7% | 2.87M | 48.6 | |||||||
| 1960 | −0.0% | 2.79M | 48.3 |
e: IMF estimate; f: IMF forecast.
Nearby economies in Latin America & Caribbean
Nearest by distance between capitals, with GDP per capita.
Antigua and Barbuda · Argentina · Aruba · Bahamas · Barbados · Belize · Bolivia · Brazil · British Virgin Islands · Cayman Islands · Chile · Colombia · Costa Rica · Cuba · Curaçao · Dominica · Dominican Republic · Ecuador · El Salvador · Grenada · Guatemala · Guyana · Haiti · Honduras · Jamaica · Mexico · Nicaragua · Panama · Paraguay · Peru · Puerto Rico · Saint Kitts and Nevis · Saint Lucia · Saint Martin (French part) · Saint Vincent and the Grenadines · Sint Maarten · Suriname · Trinidad and Tobago · Turks and Caicos Islands · U.S. Virgin Islands · Uruguay · Venezuela
Rankings
GDP by country · GDP per capita · Real GDP growth · Inflation by country · Government debt to GDP · Stock market to GDP · Population by country · Unemployment by country
Data and methods
- GDP: gross domestic product in current US dollars, converted from the local currency at market exchange rates (World Bank); not adjusted for inflation.
- Purchasing power parity (PPP): GDP per person in international dollars, which buy the same basket of goods and services in every country. It compares living standards across countries in the same year; it is not adjusted for inflation over time.
- In 2025 dollars: the charts can remove US inflation (US consumer price index, annual average) so that dollar amounts from different years compare in today's money. Exchange rate swings still show.
- Growth and inflation: World Bank data (calendar years). Years the World Bank does not cover yet, and the estimates and forecasts, come from the IMF World Economic Outlook (October 2026): its forecasts start in 2026, and the years after a country's last actual year are IMF estimates.
- Government debt: gross debt of the general government (central, state and local government and social security funds) as a percentage of GDP, IMF. The World Bank's central government debt is narrower and covers fewer countries.
- Stock market capitalization: the end-of-year value of domestic companies listed on the country's exchanges (World Federation of Exchanges via the World Bank; before 2016, Standard & Poor's), as a percentage of GDP: the “Buffett indicator”. Investment funds are excluded, and so are companies listed only abroad; companies from elsewhere that list on an exchange count for its country (Hong Kong lists many mainland Chinese companies).
- Unemployment: ILO modeled estimates (share of the labor force); comparable across countries, but they may differ from national figures.
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)
Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook (October 2026)