El Salvador: Short-term debt (% of exports of goods, services and primary income)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, El Salvador's short-term debt (% of exports of goods, services and primary income) fell 3.8 percentage points on 2023 (from 26.17% to 22.37%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +0.56 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 9.78 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.4 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 18.47 percentage points in 1995 and the biggest yearly fall was 29.81 percentage points in 2002. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2015 to 2024 the straight-line trend is downward, about 0.91 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 50% 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 2024, El Salvador had the 26th highest value of the 99 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 2024 ranking

• Colombia — 23rd of 99: 24.24%
• Pakistan — 24th of 99: 23.26%
• Bosnia and Herzegovina — 25th of 99: 22.93%
• Zambia — 27th of 99: 21.74%
• Indonesia — 28th of 99: 20.86%
• Tanzania — 29th of 99: 20.78%

What this measures

Short-term external debt is defined as debt that has an original maturity of one year or less. Available data permit no distinction between public and private nonguaranteed short-term debt. Exports of goods, services and primary income is the sum of goods (merchandise) exports, exports of (nonfactor) services and income (factor) receipts.

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

All 48 values

Short-term debt (% of exports of goods, services and primary income) in nearby economies

• Argentina — 47.04% (2024)
• Belize — 0.78% (2024)
• Bolivia — 5.64% (2024)
• Brazil — 19.7% (2024)
• Colombia — 24.24% (2024)
• Dominica — 75.05% (2024)
• Dominican Republic — 13.8% (2024)
• Ecuador — 1.61% (2024)
• Grenada

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 short-term debt (% of exports of goods, services and primary income)?

22.37% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1977?

It is up 3.2 percentage points from 19.18% in 1977. The highest value was 73.25% in 2001 and the lowest 8.85% in 1985.

How does El Salvador rank?

26th highest of 99 economies with data for 2024.

Is the latest change in short-term debt (% of exports of goods, services and primary income) unusual for El Salvador?

In 2024, El Salvador's short-term debt (% of exports of goods, services and primary income) fell 3.8 percentage points on 2023 (from 26.17% to 22.37%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +0.56 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 9.78 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.4 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 DT.DOD.DSTC.XP.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: International Debt Statistics, 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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