El Salvador: Net official development assistance received (current US$)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2023, El Salvador's net official development assistance received (current US$) fell 29.7% on 2022 (from US$709.23 million to US$498.81 million).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1993 to 2022), the average change was +10.3% and a typical year strayed about 53.5% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.7 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 528.4% in 1961 and the biggest yearly fall was 42% in 2014. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2014 to 2023 the straight-line trend is upward, about US$54.54 million a year. A straight line explains 70% 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 2023, El Salvador had the 67th highest value of the 136 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 2023 ranking

• Guinea — 64th of 136: US$531.75 million
• Tajikistan — 65th of 136: US$530.8 million
• Lao PDR — 66th of 136: US$514.84 million
• Sierra Leone — 68th of 136: US$497.8 million
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 69th of 136: US$480.07 million
• Mexico — 70th of 136: US$451.66 million

What this measures

Net official development assistance (ODA) consists of disbursements of loans made on concessional terms (net of repayments of principal) and grants by official agencies of the members of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC), by multilateral institutions, and by non-DAC countries to promote economic development and welfare in countries and territories in the DAC list of ODA recipients. It includes loans with a grant element of at least 25 percent (calculated at a rate of discount of 10 percent). Data are in current U.S. dollars.

Limitations: Data on ODA is for aid-receiving countries. The data cover loans and grants from DAC member countries, multilateral organizations, and non-DAC donors. They do not reflect aid given by recipient countries to other developing countries. As a result, some countries that are net donors are shown as aid recipients. The indicator does not distinguish types of aid (program, project, or food aid; emergency assistance; or post-conflict peacekeeping assistance), which may have different effects on the economy.

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

All 64 values

Net official development assistance received (current US$) in nearby economies

• Antigua and Barbuda — US$6.14 million (2021)
• Argentina — US$259.02 million (2023)
• Belize — US$31.86 million (2023)
• Bolivia — US$764.39 million (2023)
• Brazil — US$699.97 million (2023)
• Chile — US$70.31 million (2017)
• Colombia — US$1.03 billion (2023)
• Costa Rica — US$144.59 million (2023)
• Cuba — US$167.15 million (2023)

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

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is El Salvador's net official development assistance received (current US$)?

US$498.81 million in 2023, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1960?

It is up 37,125% from US$1.34 million in 1960 (9.85% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was US$709.23 million in 2022 and the lowest US$1.34 million in 1960.

How does El Salvador rank?

67th highest of 136 economies with data for 2023.

Is the latest change in net official development assistance received (current US$) unusual for El Salvador?

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator DT.ODA.ODAT.CD, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Development Assistance Committee, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), uri: https://stats.oecd.org/; Geographical Distribution of Financial Flows to Developing Countries, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), uri: https://stats.oecd.org/; Developmen… 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.

Want to ask your own questions of data like this? Try AnalyzeIt: upload a file or ask about public data in plain words, and every figure comes with its working.