El Salvador: Gross fixed capital formation (% of GDP)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2025, El Salvador's gross fixed capital formation (% of GDP) rose 4.34 percentage points on 2024 (from 22.84% to 27.18%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +0.14 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.31 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 3.2 standard deviations above that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 4.8 percentage points in 1975 and the biggest yearly fall was 5.7 percentage points in 1979. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2016 to 2025 the straight-line trend is upward, about 1.18 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 92% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2025, El Salvador had the 26th highest value of the 126 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to El Salvador in the 2025 ranking

• Botswana — 22nd of 126: 28.23%
• Somalia, Fed. Rep. — 23rd of 126: 28.11%
• Mongolia — 24th of 126: 28.02%
• Mauritania — 26th of 126: 26.98%
• Brunei Darussalam — 27th of 126: 26.91%
• Morocco — 28th of 126: 26.81%

What this measures

Gross fixed capital formation includes acquisitions less disposals of fixed assets during the accounting period, including certain specified expenditures on services that add to the value of non-produced assets. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 61 values

Gross fixed capital formation (% of GDP) in nearby economies

• Argentina — 16% (2025)
• Bahamas, The — 25.75% (2024)
• Belize — 21.13% (2024)
• Bolivia — 16.61% (2024)
• Brazil — 16.84% (2025)
• Chile — 24.09% (2025)
• Colombia — 16.01% (2025)
• Costa Rica — 16.25% (2025)
• Cuba — 12.76% (2024)
• Curaçao — 34.05% (2018)
• Dominican Republic

More economic policy & debt data for El Salvador

• Total reserves, including gold (current US$) — US$4.82 billion (2025)
• Total reserves, excluding gold (current US$) — US$4.56 billion (2025)
• Grants, excluding technical cooperation (BoP, current US$) — US$252.5 million (2023)
• Technical cooperation grants (BoP, current US$) — US$35.19 million (2023)
• Net bilateral aid flows from DAC donors, Japan (current US$) — US$41.44 million (2023)
• Net bilateral aid flows from DAC donors, Total (current US$) — US$362.85 million (2023)
• Net bilateral aid flows from DAC donors, United States (current US$) — US$154.63 million (2023)
• Net official development assistance and official aid received (current US$) — US$498.81 million (2023)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is El Salvador's gross fixed capital formation (% of GDP)?

27.18% in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1965?

It is up 12.5 percentage points from 14.68% in 1965. The highest value was 27.18% in 2025 and the lowest 11.18% in 1968.

How does El Salvador rank?

26th highest of 126 economies with data for 2025.

Is the latest change in gross fixed capital formation (% of GDP) unusual for El Salvador?

In 2025, El Salvador's gross fixed capital formation (% of GDP) rose 4.34 percentage points on 2024 (from 22.84% to 27.18%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +0.14 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.31 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 3.2 standard deviations above that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator NE.GDI.FTOT.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Country official statistics, National Statistical Organizations and/or Central Banks; National Accounts data files, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD); Staff estimates, World Bank (WB) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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