Short-term debt (% of total external debt) in El Salvador
El Salvador: Short-term debt (% of total external debt) was 13.3% in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Short-term debt in El Salvador, 1970–2025
Source: International Debt Statistics, World Bank (WB). Measured in % of total external debt.
Analysis
In 2025, short-term debt in El Salvador stood at 13.3%.
That represents a change of up 25.8% on the previous year and up 3.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, short-term debt in El Salvador peaked at 36.3% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 1970.
That places El Salvador 44th out of 123 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Short-term debt (% of total external debt) in El Salvador, year by year
| Year | % of total external debt | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 0.0% | — |
| 1971 | 0.0% | — |
| 1972 | 0.0% | — |
| 1973 | 0.0% | — |
| 1974 | 0.0% | — |
| 1975 | 0.0% | — |
| 1976 | 0.0% | — |
| 1977 | 26.5% | — |
| 1978 | 33.0% | +24.1% |
| 1979 | 28.5% | -13.4% |
| 1980 | 22.1% | -22.7% |
| 1981 | 17.4% | -21.2% |
| 1982 | 13.4% | -22.8% |
| 1983 | 5.1% | -61.8% |
| 1984 | 5.8% | +13.4% |
| 1985 | 4.3% | -25.6% |
| 1986 | 6.5% | +50.9% |
| 1987 | 10.4% | +59.0% |
| 1988 | 11.6% | +12.2% |
| 1989 | 9.7% | -16.6% |
| 1990 | 9.5% | -1.6% |
| 1991 | 4.7% | -50.7% |
| 1992 | 4.5% | -3.6% |
| 1993 | 5.6% | +23.7% |
| 1994 | 8.8% | +57.1% |
| 1995 | 20.6% | +133.1% |
| 1996 | 20.9% | +1.5% |
| 1997 | 25.3% | +21.2% |
| 1998 | 25.7% | +1.4% |
| 1999 | 28.0% | +9.1% |
| 2000 | 36.3% | +29.6% |
| 2001 | 35.7% | -1.6% |
| 2002 | 19.0% | -46.6% |
| 2003 | 18.8% | -1.2% |
| 2004 | 19.5% | +3.5% |
| 2005 | 19.3% | -0.8% |
| 2006 | 12.9% | -33.2% |
| 2007 | 13.1% | +1.6% |
| 2008 | 14.4% | +10.2% |
| 2009 | 8.3% | -42.5% |
| 2010 | 7.3% | -12.4% |
| 2011 | 9.6% | +32.1% |
| 2012 | 11.3% | +17.3% |
| 2013 | 13.1% | +16.4% |
| 2014 | 13.3% | +1.4% |
| 2015 | 12.9% | -2.8% |
| 2016 | 15.3% | +18.1% |
| 2017 | 11.9% | -22.2% |
| 2018 | 12.4% | +4.4% |
| 2019 | 12.9% | +3.6% |
| 2020 | 10.1% | -21.2% |
| 2021 | 11.1% | +9.7% |
| 2022 | 11.2% | +0.7% |
| 2023 | 12.7% | +13.9% |
| 2024 | 10.6% | -16.8% |
| 2025 | 13.3% | +25.8% |
El Salvador compared with similar countries
- El Salvador's 13.3% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 11.8%, 1.1× the median. (52 countries reporting)
- El Salvador's 13.3% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 9.1%, 1.5× the median. (22 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 8.8% | 0.0% | 33.0% | 10 |
| 1980s | 10.6% | 4.3% | 22.1% | 10 |
| 1990s | 15.4% | 4.5% | 28.0% | 10 |
| 2000s | 19.7% | 8.3% | 36.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 12.0% | 7.3% | 15.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 11.5% | 10.1% | 13.3% | 6 |
Countries ranked near El Salvador
- 41 Indonesia 14.1% compare
- 42 Afghanistan 13.8% compare
- 43 Philippines 13.7% compare
- 45 Morocco 12.6% compare
- 46 Albania 12.6% compare
- 47 Bangladesh 12.4% compare
More external debt data for El Salvador
- Net financial flows, IBRD 328.30 million NFL, current US$ (2025)
- IFC, private nonguaranteed (NFL, US$), per capita 4.66 NFL, US$ per person (2024)
- IFC, private nonguaranteed (NFL, US$), per unit of GDP 0.0008 NFL, US$ per US$ of GDP (2024)
- IFC, private nonguaranteed (NFL, US$), per square kilometre -902.82 NFL, US$ per square kilometre (2023)
- Net financial flows, IDA (NFL, current US$), per capita -0.0568 NFL, current US$ per person (2024)
- Net financial flows, IDA (NFL, current US$), per unit of GDP -0 NFL, current US$ per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Net financial flows, IDA (NFL, current US$), per square kilometre -17.37 NFL, current US$ per square kilometre (2023)
- Use of IMF credit 837.31 million DOD, current US$ (2025)
- External debt stocks, public and publicly guaranteed (PPG) 15.67 billion DOD, current US$ (2025)
- External debt stocks, long-term 23.36 billion DOD, current US$ (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is short-term debt in El Salvador?
- Short-term debt in El Salvador was 13.3% in 2025, according to International Debt Statistics, World Bank (WB).
- What is the highest short-term debt recorded in El Salvador?
- The highest recorded value was 36.3% in 2000.
- What is the lowest short-term debt recorded in El Salvador?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 1970.
- How does El Salvador rank for short-term debt?
- El Salvador ranks 44th out of 123 countries with data for 2025.
- Is short-term debt rising or falling in El Salvador?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this El Salvador data come from?
- The figures come from International Debt Statistics, World Bank (WB), published as part of Short-term debt (% of total external debt). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 56 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Short-term debt includes all debt having an original maturity of one year or less and interest in arrears on long-term debt. Total external debt is debt owed to nonresidents repayable in currency, goods, or services. Total external debt is the sum of public, publicly guaranteed, and private nonguaranteed long-term debt, use of IMF credit, and short-term debt.