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El Salvador · data for latest available · data as of 26 October 2026 · printed 27 Oct 2026
NationsTree / Countries / El Salvador
2025
Flag of El Salvador

El Salvador

Latin America & Caribbean Capital San Salvador Upper middle income Nation age 185 years (since 1841) i SLV · SV
NationsTree Index 2025 i41.1127th of 196 Tree height 2025 i5.4 msee ranking Military strength i44percentile
Population i6.4 m112th of 217 Area i21,040 km²150th of 216 GDP i$36.71 bn109th of 210 GDP (PPP) i$89.76 bn intl.106th of 199 GDP per person (PPP) i$14,101 intl.126th of 199 Life expectancy i72.3 years135th of 217
Index pillars
Foundations · roots i36
Strength · trunk i32
Quality of life · crown i48
Problems (higher = fewer) · dry branches i41
Direction (5-year change) · new shoots i55
CSV

In short

El Salvador is 127th of 196 countries in the NationsTree Index, with a score of 41.1 out of 100; its tree is 5.4 m tall.

It has 6.4 million people and an economy of $89.76 bn at purchasing power parity, 106th of 199 in the world.

Its strongest positions: Social protection coverage (incl. pensions) (5th of 55), Inflation (18th of 180) and Unemployment (51st of 187).

Its weakest positions: Central government debt (50th of 55), R&D spending (97th of 110) and Secondary enrolment (145th of 173).

Over five years it climbed from 128th to 127th in the index.

All data

Data as of 26 October 2026

Latest available value for each indicator, with its year. World rank is among countries with recent data (last 5 years of the series).

Land & people

49
Surface area ikm² 21,040 150th/216
Land area ikm² 20,720 150th/216
Population ipeople 6.4 m 112th/217
Population growth i% 0.43% 146th/217
Population density ipeople/km² 305.9 41st/216
Urban population i% 75.5% 72nd/217
Population aged 0–14 i% 24.4% 98th/217
Population aged 65+ i% 8.3% 115th/217

Economy

46
GDP iUSD $36.71 bn 109th/210
GDP (PPP) iintl. USD $89.76 bn 106th/199
Real GDP (PPP, constant 2021 prices) iintl. USD 2021 $76.70 bn 106th/199
GDP per person iUSD $5,767 134th/210
GDP per person (PPP) iintl. USD $14,101 126th/199
GNI per person (Atlas) iUSD $5,410 126th/201
GDP growth i% 3.9% 81st/210
Inflation i% 0.3% 18th/180
Unemployment i% 3.3% 51st/187
Central government debt i% of GDP 107.3% 50th/55
General government gross debt i% of GDP 87.6% 156th/189
Government budget balance i% of GDP -2.9% 102nd/192

Main industries

54
Agriculture, forestry, fishing i% of GDP 4.4% 111th/197
Industry incl. construction i% of GDP 24.5% 92nd/200
Manufacturing i% of GDP 12.7% 70th/192
Services i% of GDP 58.9% 95th/200

Trade

51
Exports of goods & services iUSD $11.76 bn 106th/182
Imports of goods & services iUSD $20.60 bn 92nd/182
Exports i% of GDP 32.0% 103rd/183
Imports i% of GDP 56.1% 61st/183
Trade openness i% of GDP 88.2% 82nd/183
Fuel exports i% of merchandise exports 4.8% 77th/170
Manufactures exports i% of merchandise exports 69.4% 44th/171
Food exports i% of merchandise exports 23.7% 61st/171
Ores & metals exports i% of merchandise exports 1.4% 122nd/171
High-tech exports i% of manufactured exports 5.6% 92nd/168
Current account balance i% of GDP -3.5% 121st/191
Foreign direct investment, inflows i% of GDP 2.1% 98th/196

Natural resources

57
Natural resource rents i% of GDP 0.5% 130th/209
Oil rents i% of GDP 0.00% 118th/197
Natural gas rents i% of GDP 0.00% 100th/197
Coal rents i% of GDP 0.00% 68th/195
Mineral rents i% of GDP 0.00% 91st/209
Forest rents i% of GDP 0.54% 68th/209
Arable land i% of land area 34.8% 21st/206
Renewable freshwater per person im³ 2,489 92nd/183

Tourism

49
International tourist arrivals iarrivals 707,000 109th/194
Tourism receipts iUSD $755.0 m 82nd/175
Tourism receipts i% of exports 12.3% 49th/168
Outbound trips idepartures 515,000 76th/107

Society & health

44
Life expectancy iyears 72.3 135th/217
Under-5 mortality iper 1,000 births 10.0 77th/196
Physicians iper 1,000 people 1.62 91st/174
Hospital beds iper 1,000 people 1.2 109th/145
DPT immunization i% of children 12–23 months 95% 59th/193
Completed lower secondary, 25+ i% of adults 49.2% 115th/153
Secondary enrolment i% gross 62.1% 145th/173
Social protection coverage (incl. pensions) i% of population 88.8% 5th/55
Old-age dependency ratio i% of working-age population 12.3% 114th/217
Health spending i% of GDP 9.3% 40th/193
Adult literacy i% 89.8% 52nd/98
Tertiary enrolment i% gross 32.8% 104th/150
Human Development Index iindex 0–1 0.678 132nd/193
Income inequality (Gini) iindex 39.8 85th/108
Extreme poverty i% of population 4.6% 74th/108

Infrastructure & digital

45
Access to electricity i% of population 98.7% 138th/215
Safely managed sanitation i% of population 36.0% 101st/144
Internet users i% of population 66.5% 130th/186
Mobile subscriptions iper 100 people 177 14th/210
Fixed broadband iper 100 people 12.5 109th/208
Trade & transport infrastructure quality (LPI) iscore 1–5 2.20 131st/164
Rail lines iroute-km 5472003
Air passengers carried ipassengers 3.3 m 71st/161

Environment & energy

44
CO₂ emissions per person it CO₂e 1.51 78th/203
Renewable energy i% of final energy use 21.9% 99th/212
Air pollution (PM2.5) iµg/m³ 29.6 150th/200
Forest area i% of land area 33.0% 105th/214
Energy use per person ikg oil eq. 787 104th/149

Institutions & safety

36
Government effectiveness iscore 0–100 47.5 127th/205
Control of corruption iscore 0–100 37.0 137th/207
Rule of law iscore 0–100 47.0 149th/207
Political stability iscore 0–100 67.6 108th/207
Regulatory quality iscore 0–100 53.1 107th/205
Voice & accountability iscore 0–100 44.0 140th/205
Homicide rate iper 100,000 7.9 111th/145

Military

43
Military expenditure iUSD $490.0 m 105th/156
Military expenditure i% of GDP 1.3% 96th/156
Military expenditure i% of government spending 4.4% 97th/154
Armed forces personnel ipeople 42,000 77th/170
Armed forces personnel i% of labour force 1.62% 37th/168
Arms imports (SIPRI TIV) iTIV 3.0 m 141st/163
Arms exports (SIPRI TIV) iTIV 1.0 m1991

Science & innovation

18
R&D spending i% of GDP 0.10% 97th/110
Patent applications by residents iapplications 6 113th/137
Scientific articles iarticles 65 148th/197

Compare El Salvador with

GuyanaHondurasNicaraguaUruguay

Sources

Figures on this page come from: World Bank — World Development Indicators, International Monetary Fund — World Economic Outlook (DataMapper), Global Change Data Lab (Our World in Data) — Our World in Data, World Bank — Worldwide Governance Indicators . Nation age: Wikidata P571 (inception) (source). Every value is stored with its year and source series; see Sources & licences and Methodology.

Cite as: NationsTree (2026). El Salvador — country profile. https://nationstree.org/countries/el-salvador. Data as of 26 October 2026.

All figures come from official statistics published by public institutions (World Bank WDI and WGI, compiling UN agencies, IMF, WHO and national statistical offices). Each value carries its year; ranks are positions among countries with data.
Cite as: NationsTree (2026). El Salvador — country profile. https://nationstree.org/countries/el-salvador. Data as of 26 October 2026.
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