Government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of GDP in El Salvador
El Salvador: Government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of GDP was 1.5% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of GDP in El Salvador, 1975–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of gdp in El Salvador is 1.5%, measured in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 3.4% on the previous year and down 10.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of gdp in El Salvador peaked at 1.9% in 2002 and was at its lowest, 0.5%, in 1975.
That places El Salvador 63rd out of 162 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 24 years of available data.
Government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of GDP in El Salvador, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | 0.5% | — |
| 1998 | 1.5% | +182.3% |
| 1999 | 1.5% | +1.4% |
| 2000 | 1.5% | +1.0% |
| 2002 | 1.9% | +25.3% |
| 2003 | 1.8% | -5.7% |
| 2005 | 1.6% | -9.6% |
| 2006 | 1.7% | +4.3% |
| 2007 | 1.7% | -1.0% |
| 2008 | 1.7% | +1.1% |
| 2010 | 1.7% | +2.0% |
| 2012 | 1.6% | -8.1% |
| 2013 | 1.6% | +2.4% |
| 2014 | 1.6% | -0.0% |
| 2015 | 1.6% | -2.2% |
| 2016 | 1.8% | +13.6% |
| 2017 | 1.7% | -5.9% |
| 2018 | 1.7% | -2.0% |
| 2019 | 1.6% | -5.0% |
| 2020 | 1.7% | +9.4% |
| 2021 | 1.7% | -3.5% |
| 2022 | 1.5% | -10.7% |
| 2023 | 1.5% | +1.4% |
| 2024 | 1.5% | -3.4% |
El Salvador compared with similar countries
- El Salvador's 1.5% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 1.4%, 1.1× the median. (43 countries reporting)
- El Salvador's 1.5% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 1.4%, 1.1× the median. (36 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of GDP in El Salvador changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | +182.3% | 0.5% | 1.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0.5% | 0.5% | 0.5% | 1 |
| 1990s | 1.5% | 1.5% | 1.5% | 2 |
| 2000s | 1.7% | 1.5% | 1.9% | 7 |
| 2010s | 1.7% | 1.6% | 1.8% | 9 |
| 2020s | 1.6% | 1.5% | 1.7% | 5 |
Countries ranked near El Salvador
More education data for El Salvador
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 17,715 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 21,853 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 100,826 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 100,758 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 417,193 (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 594,860 (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -2.27 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0939 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of gdp in El Salvador?
- Government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of gdp in El Salvador was 1.5% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of gdp recorded in El Salvador?
- The highest recorded value was 1.9% in 2002.
- What is the lowest government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of gdp recorded in El Salvador?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.5% in 1975.
- How does El Salvador rank for government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of gdp?
- El Salvador ranks 63rd out of 162 countries with data for 2024.
- Is government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of gdp rising or falling in El Salvador?
- Over the last ten years it is down 10.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this El Salvador data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of GDP (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 24 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release