El Salvador's total debt service (% of GNI) was 35.49% in 2024, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 29.47 percentage points from 6.02% in 2014.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 35.49% | 2024 |
| Five years earlier | 22.02% | 2019 |
| Ten years earlier | 6.02% | 2014 |
| Highest | 35.49% | 2024 |
| Lowest | 2.82% | 1997 |
| Average since 2015 | 18.37% | 2015–2024 |
| First recorded | 3.36% | 1970 |
What the numbers say
In 2024, El Salvador's total debt service (% of GNI) rose 6.22 percentage points on 2023 (from 29.27% to 35.49%).
Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +0.82 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 4.49 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.2 standard deviations above that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.
On record, the biggest yearly rise was 18 percentage points in 2023 and the biggest yearly fall was 9.92 percentage points in 2022. 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 upward, about 2.57 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 66% 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 2nd highest value of the 117 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.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| El Salvador | 35.49% | 2024 |
| Latin America & Caribbean | 5.33% | 2024 |
| Upper middle income | 3.31% | 2024 |
Closest to El Salvador in the 2024 ranking
- Mongolia — 2nd of 117: 25.65%
- Mozambique — 3rd of 117: 22.43%
- Papua New Guinea — 4th of 117: 20.36%
What this measures
Total debt service is the sum of principal repayments and interest actually paid in currency, goods, or services on long-term debt, interest paid on short-term debt, and repayments (repurchases and charges) to the IMF.
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.
All 55 values
| Year | Total debt service (% of GNI) |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 35.49 |
| 2023 | 29.27 |
| 2022 | 11.27 |
| 2021 | 21.19 |
| 2020 | 21.91 |
| 2019 | 22.02 |
| 2018 | 14.45 |
| 2017 | 16.17 |
| 2016 | 6.12 |
| 2015 | 5.85 |
| 2014 |
Total debt service (% of GNI) in nearby economies
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
Questions people ask
- What is El Salvador's total debt service (% of GNI)?
- 35.49% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1970?
- It is up 32.13 percentage points from 3.36% in 1970. The highest value was 35.49% in 2024 and the lowest 2.82% in 1997.
- How does El Salvador rank?
- 2nd highest of 117 economies with data for 2024.
- Is the latest change in total debt service (% of GNI) unusual for El Salvador?
- In 2024, El Salvador's total debt service (% of GNI) rose 6.22 percentage points on 2023 (from 29.27% to 35.49%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +0.82 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 4.49 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.2 standard deviations above that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator DT.TDS.DECT.GN.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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