El Salvador vs United States: Central government debt, total

El Salvador
107.3%
in 2024
United States
115.8%
in 2024
El Salvador rank
7th
United States rank
4th

Central government debt, total over time

  • El Salvador
  • United States
20406080100120198920062024

How they compare

United States currently reports 115.8% against 107.3% in El Salvador, a difference of 8.5%.

That makes United States's figure about 1.1 times El Salvador's.

The two have swapped places 2 times across 27 shared years of data; in 1998 it was United States ahead.

El Salvador ranks 7th and United States ranks 4th of 83 countries.

United States has averaged higher in every one of the 4 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade El Salvador United States Difference Ahead
1990s 26.4% 39.4% 13.0% United States
2000s 50.1% 56.1% 6.0% United States
2010s 54.5% 95.0% 40.5% United States
2020s 84.2% 117.2% 33.0% United States

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher central government debt, total, El Salvador or United States?
United States, at 115.8% against 107.3% in El Salvador as of 2024.
What is the difference in central government debt, total between El Salvador and United States?
8.5%, with United States ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for El Salvador and United States?
27 years are reported by both, from 1998 to 2024.
How do El Salvador and United States rank globally for central government debt, total?
El Salvador ranks 7th and United States ranks 4th of 83 countries.
Where does this data come from?
Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF), published as Central government debt, total (% of GDP). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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El Salvador vs United States: Central government debt, total. Statizoid, drawing on Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Retrieved 18 September 2026, from https://economy.statizoid.com/compare/central-government-debt-total-percent-of-gdp/el-salvador/united-states/

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About this data

Indicator
Central government debt, total (% of GDP)
Unit
% of GDP
Source
Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
90 places, 1,726 data points, 1970–2024
Last refreshed

Debt is the entire stock of direct government fixed-term contractual obligations to others outstanding on a particular date. It includes domestic and foreign liabilities such as currency and money deposits, securities other than shares, and loans. It is the gross amount of government liabilities reduced by the amount of equity and financial derivatives held by the government. Because debt is a stock rather than a flow, it is measured as of a given date, usually the last day of the fiscal year. Central government is the part of general government that includes all administrative departments of the national executive, legislative, and judicial functions, other central agencies and those non-market producers controlled by the central government, whose competence extends normally over the whole economic territory. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period.