El Salvador: Economy#
The smallest country in Central America geographically, El Salvador has the fourth largest economy in the region. With the global recession, real GDP contracted in 2009 and economic growth has since remained low, averaging less than 2% from 2010 to 2014, but recovered somewhat in 2015. Remittances accounted for 17% of GDP in 2014 and were received by about a third of all households.In 2006, El Salvador was the first country to ratify the Dominican Republic-Central American Free Trade Agreement, which has bolstered the export of processed foods, sugar, and ethanol, and supported investment in the apparel sector amid increased Asian competition. In September 2015, El Salvador kicked off a five-year $277 million second compact with the Millennium Challenge Corporation - a US Government agency aimed at stimulating economic growth and reducing poverty - to improve El Salvador's competitiveness and productivity in international markets..
The Salvadoran Government maintained fiscal discipline during post-war reconstruction and rebuilding following earthquakes in 2001 and hurricanes in 1998 and 2005, but El Salvador's public debt, estimated at 65% of GDP in 2015, has been growing over the last several years. Total external debt was nearly 60% of GDP in 2015.
Economic Facts#
| GDP (purchasing power parity) | $54.79 billion (2016 est.) $53.5 billion (2015 est.) $52.22 billion (2014 est.) note: data are in 2016 dollars |
|---|---|
| GDP (official exchange rate) | $26.61 billion (2015 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 2.4% (2016 est.) 2.5% (2015 est.) 1.4% (2014 est.) |
| GDP - per capita (PPP) | $8,900 (2016 est.) $8,700 (2015 est.) $8,600 (2014 est.) note: data are in 2016 dollars |
| Gross national saving | 12.2% of GDP (2016 est.) 10.4% of GDP (2015 est.) 8.4% of GDP (2014 est.) |
| GDP - composition, by end use | household consumption: 91.5% government consumption: 12.3% investment in fixed capital: 14.4% investment in inventories: -0.1% exports of goods and services: 26.2% imports of goods and services: -44.3% (2016 est.) |
| GDP - composition, by sector of origin | agriculture: 10.6% industry: 25.3% services: 64.1% (2016 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | coffee, sugar, corn, rice, beans, oilseed, cotton, sorghum; beef, dairy products |
| Industries | food processing, beverages, petroleum, chemicals, fertilizer, textiles, furniture, light metals |
| Industrial production growth rate | 2.4% (2016 est.) |
| Labor force | 2.788 million (2016 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 21% industry: 20% services: 58% (2011 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 5.5% (2016 est.) 5.5% (2015 est.) note: data are official rates; but underemployment is high |
| Population below poverty line | 36.5% (2010 est.) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1% highest 10%: 37% (2009 est.) |
| Distribution of family income - Gini index | 46.9 (2007) 52.5 (2001) |
| Budget | revenues: $5.443 billion expenditures: $6.318 billion (2016 est.) |
| Taxes and other revenues | 20.5% of GDP (2016 est.) |
| Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-) | -3.3% of GDP (2016 est.) |
| Public debt | 64.9% of GDP (2016 est.) 65.4% of GDP (2015 est.) note: El Salvador's total public debt includes non-financial public sector debt, financial public sector debt, and central bank debt |
| Fiscal year | calendar year |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.1% (2016 est.) -0.7% (2015 est.) |
| Commercial bank prime lending rate | 6.3% (31 December 2016 est.) 6.13% (31 December 2015 est.) |
| Stock of narrow money | $3.377 billion (31 December 2016 est.) $3.253 billion (31 December 2015 est.) |
| Stock of broad money | $11.99 billion (31 December 2016 est.) $11.61 billion (31 December 2015 est.) |
| Stock of domestic credit | $14.35 billion (31 December 2016 est.) $13.28 billion (31 December 2015 est.) |
| Market value of publicly traded shares | $10.74 billion (31 December 2012 est.) $5.474 billion (31 December 2011 est.) $4.227 billion (31 December 2010 est.) |
| Current account balance | -$549 million (2016 est.) -$920 million (2015 est.) |
| Exports | $4.556 billion (2016 est.) $4.381 billion (2015 est.) |
| Exports - commodities | offshore assembly exports, coffee, sugar, textiles and apparel, gold, ethanol, chemicals, electricity, iron and steel manufactures |
| Exports - partners | US 47.1%, Honduras 13.9%, Guatemala 13.6%, Nicaragua 6.6%, Costa Rica 4.5% (2015) |
| Imports | $9.444 billion (2016 est.) $9.321 billion (2015 est.) |
| Imports - commodities | raw materials, consumer goods, capital goods, fuels, foodstuffs, petroleum, electricity |
| Imports - partners | US 39.4%, Guatemala 9.6%, China 8.1%, Mexico 7.4%, Honduras 5.7% (2015) |
| Reserves of foreign exchange and gold | $3.201 billion (31 December 2016 est.) $2.787 billion (31 December 2015 est.) |
| Debt - external | $14.9 billion (31 December 2016 est.) $14.67 billion (31 December 2015 est.) |
| Stock of direct foreign investment - at home | $10.56 billion (31 December 2016 est.) $10.11 billion (31 December 2015 est.) |
| Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad | $811.8 million (31 December 2016 est.) $951.8 million (31 December 2015 est.) |
| Exchange rates | note: the US dollar is used as a medium of exchange and circulates freely in the economy |