| Economy | El Salvador |
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Economy - overview:
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Despite being the smallest country geographically in Central America, El Salvador has the third largest economy in the region. The economy took a hit from the global recession and real GDP contracted by 3.5% in 2009. The economy began a slow recovery in 2010 on the back of improved export and remittances figures. Remittances accounted for 17% of GDP in 2011, and about a third of all households receive these transfers. In 2006 El Salvador was the first country to ratify the Dominican Republic-Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR), which has bolstered the export of processed foods, sugar, and ethanol, and supported investment in the apparel sector amid increased Asian competition and the expiration of the Multi-Fiber Agreement in 2005. El Salvador has promoted an open trade and investment environment, and has embarked on a wave of privatizations extending to telecom, electricity distribution, banking, and pension funds. In late 2006, the government and the Millennium Challenge Corporation signed a five-year, $461 million compact to stimulate economic growth and reduce poverty in the country's northern region, the primary conflict zone during the civil war, through investments in education, public services, enterprise development, and transportation infrastructure. In 2011 the MCC granted El Salvador permission submit a second proposal for MCC funding. With the adoption of the US dollar as its currency in 2001, El Salvador lost control over monetary policy. Any counter-cyclical policy response to the downturn must be through fiscal policy, which is constrained by legislative requirements for a two-thirds majority to approve any international financing, and by already high levels of debt. |
GDP (purchasing power parity):
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$44.78 billion (2011 est.)
$43.86 billion (2010 est.)
$43.25 billion (2009 est.)
note: data are in 2011 US dollars |
GDP - per capita (PPP):
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$7,600 (2011 est.)
$7,500 (2010 est.)
$7,400 (2009 est.)
note: data are in 2011 US dollars |
GDP (official exchange rate):
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$22.6 billion (2011 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate:
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2% (2011 est.)
1.4% (2010 est.)
-3.1% (2009 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector:
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agriculture: 11.1%
industry: 30.1%
services: 58.7% (2011 est.) |
Investment (gross fixed):
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13.4% of GDP (2011 est.) |
Population below poverty line:
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37.8% (2009 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
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lowest 10%: 1.6%
highest 10%: 36.3% (2007) |
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
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46.9 (2007)
52.5 (2001) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
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5.3% (2011 est.)
1.2% (2010 est.) |
Central bank discount rate:
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void |
Commercial bank prime lending rate:
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7% (31 December 2011 est.)
7.62% (31 December 2010 est.) |
Stock of money:
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$213.7 million (31 December 2008)
$209.7 million (31 December 2007) |
Stock of money - per capita:
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36 USD per capita |
Stock of quasi money:
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$788.7 million (31 December 2008)
$797.1 million (31 December 2007) |
Stock of quasi money - per capita:
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130 USD per capita |
Stock of domestic credit:
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$10.34 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
$10.04 billion (31 December 2010 est.) |
Stock of domestic credit - per capita:
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1,703 USD per capita |
Stock of narrow money:
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$2.899 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
$2.527 billion (31 December 2010 est.) |
Stock of broad money:
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$10.17 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
$9.388 billion (31 December 2010 est.) |
Labor force:
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2.577 million (2011 est.) |
Labor force participation rate:
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42.44 % of population |
Labor force - by occupation:
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agriculture: 19%
industry: 23%
services: 58% (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate:
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7% (2011 est.)
7.2% (2010 est.)
note: data are official rates; but the economy has much underemployment |
Unemployment, youth ages 15-24:
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total: 11.4%
male: 13%
female: 8.3% (2007) |
Budget:
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revenues: $4.376 billion
expenditures: $5.217 billion (2011 est.) |
Budget revenues per capita:
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721 USD per capita |
Taxes and other revenues:
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19.4% of GDP (2011 est.) |
Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-):
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-3.7% of GDP (2011 est.) |
Public debt:
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52.8% of GDP (2011 est.)
54.4% of GDP (2010 est.) |
Industries:
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food processing, beverages, petroleum, chemicals, fertilizer, textiles, furniture, light metals |
Industrial production growth rate:
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1.9% (2011 est.) |
Electricity - production:
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5.445 billion kWh (2009 est.) |
Electricity - production per capita:
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897 kWh per capita |
Electricity - consumption:
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4.524 billion kWh (2009 est.) |
Electricity - consumption - per capita:
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746 kWh per capita |
Electricity - exports:
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78.7 million kWh (2009 est.) |
Electricity - imports:
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208.4 million kWh (2009 est.) |
Oil - production:
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442.6 bbl/day (2010 est.) |
Oil - production per capita:
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73 bbl/day per capita |
Oil - consumption:
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47,000 bbl/day (2010 est.) |
Oil - consumption - per capita:
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2.83 bbl/year per capita |
Oil - exports:
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3,825 bbl/day (2009 est.) |
Oil - imports:
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45,570 bbl/day (2009 est.) |
Oil - proved reserves:
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0 bbl (1 January 2011 est.) |
Natural gas - production:
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0 cu m (2009 est.) |
Natural gas - production per capita:
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void |
Natural gas - consumption:
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0 cu m (2009 est.) |
Natural gas - consumption - per capita:
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void |
Natural gas - exports:
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0 cu m (2009 est.) |
Natural gas - imports:
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0 cu m (2009 est.) |
Natural gas - proved reserves:
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0 cu m (1 January 2011 est.) |
Agriculture - products:
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coffee, sugar, corn, rice, beans, oilseed, cotton, sorghum; beef, dairy products |
Current account balance:
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-$1.288 billion (2011 est.)
-$488.3 million (2010 est.) |
Current account balance - per capita:
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-212 USD per capita |
Exports:
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$5.779 billion (2011 est.)
$4.577 billion (2010 est.) |
Exports per capita:
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952 USD per capita |
Exports - commodities:
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offshore assembly exports, coffee, sugar, textiles and apparel, gold, ethanol, chemicals, electricity, iron and steel manufactures |
Exports - partners:
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US 43.5%, Guatemala 14.2%, Honduras 13.6%, Nicaragua 5.6% (2010) |
Imports:
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$10.2 billion (2011 est.)
$8.189 billion (2010 est.) |
Imports per capita:
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1,680 USD per capita |
Imports - commodities:
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raw materials, consumer goods, capital goods, fuels, foodstuffs, petroleum, electricity |
Imports - partners:
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US 32.1%, Guatemala 11.5%, Mexico 8.2%, Honduras 5.2%, China 4.8% (2010) |
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
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$3.335 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
$2.883 billion (31 December 2010 est.) |
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold - per capita:
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550 USD per capita |
Debt - external:
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$13.3 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
$12.06 billion (31 December 2010 est.) |
Debt - external - per capita:
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2,191 USD per capita |
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
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$8.06 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
$7.76 billion (31 December 2010 est.) |
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home - per capita:
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1,328 USD per capita |
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
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$333 million (31 December 2010 est.)
$333 million (31 December 2009 est.) |
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad - per capita:
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55 USD per capita |
Market value of publicly traded shares:
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$4.227 billion (31 December 2010)
$4.432 billion (31 December 2009)
$4.656 billion (31 December 2008) |
Market value of publicly traded shares - per capita:
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697 USD per capita |
Currency (code):
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US dollar (USD) |
Exchange rates:
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Colones per US dollar -
8.75 (2011 est.)
1 (2010 est.)
8.75 (2009)
note: end of period exchange rates for the official currency; the US dollar is used as a medium of exchange and circulates freely in the economy |
Fiscal year:
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calendar year |
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