El Salvador: Import unit value index (2015 = 100)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2025, El Salvador's import unit value index (2015 = 100) rose 0.4 on 2024 (from 127.3 to 127.7).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +2.37 and a typical year strayed about 7.71 from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 20.2 in 2022 and the biggest yearly fall was 13.3 in 2009. 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 4.38 a year. A straight line explains 76% 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 101st highest value of the 204 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

• Sudan — 98th of 204: 128.1
• Indonesia — 99th of 204: 127.9
• Solomon Islands — 100th of 204: 127.8
• Uzbekistan — 102nd of 204: 127.5
• Côte d'Ivoire — 103rd of 204: 127.3
• Ghana — 104th of 204: 127.3

What this measures

Import unit value indices come from UNCTAD's trade database. Unit value indices are based on data reported by countries that demonstrate consistency under UNCTAD quality controls, supplemented by UNCTAD’s estimates using the previous year’s trade values at the Standard International Trade Classification three-digit level as weights. To improve data coverage, especially for the latest periods, UNCTAD constructs a set of average prices indexes at the three-digit product classification of the Standard International Trade Classification revision 3 using UNCTAD’s Commodity Price Statistics, international and national sources, and UNCTAD secretariat estimates. This indicator is an index series where 2015=100.

All 46 values

Import unit value index (2015 = 100) in nearby economies

• Antigua and Barbuda — 119.4 (2025)
• Argentina — 92.3 (2025)
• Aruba — 132.5 (2025)
• Bahamas, The — 140 (2025)
• Barbados — 126.5 (2025)
• Belize — 131.2 (2025)
• Bolivia — 162 (2025)
• Brazil — 106.5 (2025)
• British Virgin Islands — 143.3 (2025)
• Cayman Islands — 137 (2025)
• Chile

More private sector & trade data for El Salvador

• Merchandise imports (current US$) — US$17.85 billion (2025)
• Merchandise exports (current US$) — US$6.43 billion (2025)
• Merchandise imports from high-income economies (% of total merchandise imports) — 44.76% (2023)
• Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in Latin America & the Caribbean (% of total merchandise imports) — 34.98% (2023)
• Merchandise imports by the reporting economy, residual (% of total merchandise imports) — 0.01% (2023)
• Merchandise imports by the reporting economy (current US$) — US$15.63 billion (2023)
• Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies within region (% of total merchandise imports) — 34.98% (2023)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is El Salvador's import unit value index (2015 = 100)?

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

How has it changed since 1980?

It is up 133.03% from 54.8 in 1980 (1.9% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 136.4 in 2022 and the lowest 46.2 in 1991.

How does El Salvador rank?

101st highest of 204 economies with data for 2025.

Is the latest change in import unit value index (2015 = 100) unusual for El Salvador?

In 2025, El Salvador's import unit value index (2015 = 100) rose 0.4 on 2024 (from 127.3 to 127.7). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +2.37 and a typical year strayed about 7.71 from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator TM.UVI.MRCH.XD.WD, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Handbook of Statistics and data files., UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), uri: http://unctadstat.unctad.org 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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