Central
America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement, ratified by El
Salvador in 2004, is viewed as a key policy to help achieve these
objectives. The trade deficit has been offset by annual remittances
from Salvadorans living abroad - 16% of GDP in 2004 - and external
aid. With the adoption of the US dollar as its currency, El Salvador
has lost control over monetary policy and must concentrate on
maintaining a disciplined fiscal policy.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$32.35 billion (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
1.8% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $4,900 (2004 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 9.2% industry: 31.1% services: 59.7% (2004 est.)
Labor force:
2.75 million (2004 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 17.1%, industry 17.1%, services 65.8% (2003 est.)
Unemployment rate:
6.3% - but the economy has much underemployment (2004 est.)
Population below poverty line:
36.1% (2003 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 1.4% highest 10%: 39.3% (2001)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
52.5 (2001)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
5.4% (2004 est.)
Investment (gross fixed):
16.6% of GDP (2004 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $2.491 billion
expenditures: $2.782 billion, including capital expenditures of NA
(2004 est.)
Public debt:
41.7% of GDP (2004 est.)
Agriculture - products:
coffee, sugar, corn, rice, beans, oilseed, cotton, sorghum; shrimp;
beef, dairy products
Industries:
food processing, beverages, petroleum, chemicals, fertilizer,
textiles, furniture, light metals
Industrial production growth rate:
0.7% (2004 est.)
Electricity - production:
4.158 billion kWh (2004)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 44% hydro: 30.9% nuclear: 0% other: 25.1% (2001)
Electricity - consumption:
4.45 billion kWh (2004)
Electricity - exports:
91 million kWh (2004)
Electricity - imports:
473 million kWh (2004)
Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption:
39,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports:
NA
Oil - imports:
NA
Current account balance:
$-880.5 million (2004 est.)
Exports:
$3.249 billion (2004 est.)
Exports - commodities:
offshore assembly exports, coffee, sugar, shrimp, textiles,
chemicals, electricity
Exports - partners:
US 65.6%, Guatemala 11.8%, Honduras 6.3% (2004)
Imports:
$5.968 billion (2004 est.)
Imports - commodities:
raw materials, consumer goods, capital goods, fuels, foodstuffs,
petroleum, electricity
Imports - partners:
US 46.3%, Guatemala 8.1%, Mexico 6% (2004)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$1.888 billion (2004 est.)
Debt - external:
$4.792 billion (September 2004 est.)
Economic aid - recipient:
$125 million of which, $53 million from US (2003)
Currency (code):
US dollar (USD)
Currency code:
USD
Exchange rates:
the US dollar became El Salvador's currency in 2001
Fiscal year:
calendar year
Communications El Salvador
Telephones - main lines in use:
752,600 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
1,149,800 (2003)
Telephone system:
general assessment: NA
domestic: nationwide microwave radio relay system
international: country code - 503; satellite earth station - 1
Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); connected to Central American Microwave
System
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 61 (plus 24 repeaters), FM 30, shortwave 0 (1998)
Radios:
2.75 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations:
5 (1997)
Televisions:
600,000 (1990)
Internet country code:
.sv
Internet hosts:
4,084 (2003)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
4 (2000)
Internet users:
550,000 (2003)
Transportation El Salvador
Railways:
total: 283 km
narrow gauge: 283 km 0.914-m gauge
note: length of operational route reduced from 562 km to 283 km by
disuse and lack of maintenance (2004)
Highways:
total: 10,029 km
paved: 1,986 km (including 327 km of expressways)
unpaved: 8,043 km (1999 est.)
Waterways:
Rio Lempa partially navigable (2004)
Ports and harbors:
Acajutla, Puerto Cutuco
Airports:
73 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 4 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437