Spending by international visitors while visiting a country as a share of GDP in El Salvador
El Salvador: Spending by international visitors while visiting a country as a share of GDP was 11.2% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Spending by international visitors while visiting a country as a share of GDP in El Salvador, 1995–2024
Source: UN Tourism (2025); National statistical organizations and central banks, OECD national accounts, and World Bank staff estimates (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, spending by international visitors while visiting a country as a share of gdp in El Salvador stood at 11.2%. That is the highest value across all 28 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 18.2% on the previous year and up 97.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, spending by international visitors while visiting a country as a share of gdp in El Salvador peaked at 11.2% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 1.6%, in 1996.
That places El Salvador 35th out of 191 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 28 years of available data.
Spending by international visitors while visiting a country as a share of GDP in El Salvador, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 1.7% | — |
| 1996 | 1.6% | -5.1% |
| 1999 | 3.6% | +123.6% |
| 2000 | 3.7% | +2.6% |
| 2001 | 3.7% | -0.8% |
| 2002 | 4.1% | +11.8% |
| 2003 | 5.0% | +21.9% |
| 2004 | 5.4% | +8.7% |
| 2005 | 4.5% | -18.1% |
| 2006 | 4.3% | -3.9% |
| 2007 | 4.7% | +8.7% |
| 2008 | 4.0% | -15.2% |
| 2009 | 3.1% | -21.1% |
| 2010 | 3.5% | +12.3% |
| 2011 | 3.6% | +2.6% |
| 2012 | 4.2% | +17.1% |
| 2013 | 4.8% | +13.9% |
| 2014 | 5.7% | +18.7% |
| 2015 | 5.1% | -9.8% |
| 2016 | 4.8% | -6.5% |
| 2017 | 4.9% | +2.4% |
| 2018 | 5.3% | +7.2% |
| 2019 | 6.2% | +17.6% |
| 2020 | 3.0% | -51.0% |
| 2021 | 4.2% | +39.2% |
| 2022 | 7.0% | +66.2% |
| 2023 | 9.5% | +35.7% |
| 2024 | 11.2% | +18.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 2.3% | 1.6% | 3.6% | 3 |
| 2000s | 4.2% | 3.1% | 5.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.8% | 3.5% | 6.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 7.0% | 3.0% | 11.2% | 5 |
Countries ranked near El Salvador
More economy & growth data for El Salvador
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 04 - Annual real GDP 1.92 Percent per annum (2029)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 02 - Annual real GDP 2.3 Percent per annum (2029)
- Foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$), gaps 318.29 million BoP, current US$ (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$), per unit 0.0087 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$), per capita 50 BoP, current US$ per person (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), gaps filled 763.72 million BoP, current US$ (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), annual -27.33 % change on previous year (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), per unit 0.0208 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), per capita 119.98 BoP, current US$ per person (2025)
- Total reserves (includes gold, current US$), annual growth rate 30 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is spending by international visitors while visiting a country as a share of gdp in El Salvador?
- Spending by international visitors while visiting a country as a share of gdp in El Salvador was 11.2% in 2024, according to UN Tourism (2025); National statistical organizations and central banks, OECD national accounts, and World Bank staff estimates (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest spending by international visitors while visiting a country as a share of gdp recorded in El Salvador?
- The highest recorded value was 11.2% in 2024.
- What is the lowest spending by international visitors while visiting a country as a share of gdp recorded in El Salvador?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.6% in 1996.
- How does El Salvador rank for spending by international visitors while visiting a country as a share of gdp?
- El Salvador ranks 35th out of 191 countries with data for 2024.
- Is spending by international visitors while visiting a country as a share of gdp rising or falling in El Salvador?
- Over the last ten years it is up 97.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this El Salvador data come from?
- The figures come from UN Tourism (2025); National statistical organizations and central banks, OECD national accounts, and World Bank staff estimates (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Spending by international visitors while visiting a country as a share of GDP. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 28 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Money received by the destination country from foreign visitors, including spending on accommodation, food, transport, entertainment, shopping, and fares paid to the country’s own airlines, as a share of, as a share of GDP.