El Salvador2020 Economic Complexity : -0.16, Rank 67 of 127
2020 Product Exports | Imports: $5.31B | $10.3B, 111 of 226 | 97 of 226
2020 Per Capita Product Exports | Imports: $819 | $1.58k, 127 of 219 | 122 of 219
2020 Service Exports | Imports : $1.45B | $1.15B, 52 of 65 | 56 of 65
Overview In 2020, El Salvador was the number 106 economy in the world in terms of GDP (current US$), the number 111 in total exports, the number 97 in total imports, the number 131 economy in terms of GDP per capita (current US$) and the number 67 most complex economy according to the Economic Complexity Index (ECI).
Exports The top exports of El Salvador are Knit T-shirts ($573M), Knit Sweaters ($259M), Electrical Capacitors ($258M), Raw Sugar ($217M), and Plastic Lids ($216M), exporting mostly to United States ($2.01B), Guatemala ($876M), Honduras ($779M), Nicaragua ($367M), and Costa Rica ($235M).
Imports The top imports of El Salvador are Refined Petroleum ($659M), Broadcasting Equipment ($300M), Electric Generating Sets ($264M), Petroleum Gas ($256M), and Packaged Medicaments ($242M), importing mostly from United States ($2.7B), China ($1.36B), Guatemala ($1.32B), Mexico ($968M), and Honduras ($658M).
Location El Salvador borders Guatemala by land and Honduras and Nicaragua by sea.
The following section uses the most recent trade data from partners of El Salvador.
Disclaimer: data is presented based on availability and only countries that use the harmonized system are being shown.
*All data is converted to USD using January 2020 exchange rates when data is reported in local currency.
The data obtained is mirror data. The trade of countries that do not report current data can be reconstructed based on data reported by partner countries with current data available.
*All data is converted to USD using January 2020 exchange rates when data is reported in local currency.
Top Export (2020): Knit T-shirts, $573M
Top Destination (2020): United States, $2.7B
In 2020, El Salvador exported a total of $5.31B, making it the number 111 exporter in the world. During the last five reported years the exports of El Salvador have changed by -$531M from $5.84B in 2015 to $5.31B in 2020.
The most recent exports are led by Knit T-shirts ($573M), Knit Sweaters ($259M), Electrical Capacitors ($258M), Raw Sugar ($217M), and Plastic Lids ($216M). The most common destination for the exports of El Salvador are United States ($2.01B), Guatemala ($876M), Honduras ($779M), Nicaragua ($367M), and Costa Rica ($235M).
Fastest Growing Export Markets (2019 - 2020)
El Salvador Exports Services (2020): $1.45B
El Salvador Imports Services (2020): $1.15B
In 2020, El Salvador exported $1.45B worth of services. The top services exported by El Salvador in 2020 were Personal travel ($623M), Telecommunications services ($162M), Air transport ($129M), Miscellaneous business, professional, and technical services ($124M), and Government services, n.i.e. ($104M).
The top services imported by El Salvador in 2020 were Sea transport ($378M), Personal travel ($147M), Reinsurance ($142M), Other transport ($112M), and Royalties and license fees ($97.7M).
El Salvador has a high level of specialization in Molasses (143), Cereal Flours (99.4), Asbestos Cement Articles (73), Knit Men's Undergarments (61.3), and Knit T-shirts (45.4). Specialization is measured using RCA, an index that takes the ratio between El Salvador observed and expected exports in each product.
The highest complexity exports of El Salvador according to the product complexity index (PCI) are Flat-Rolled Iron (1.37), Flat Flat-Rolled Steel (1.36), Electrical Capacitors (1.29), Ink Ribbons (1.05), and Sewing Machines (0.95). PCI measures the knowledge intensity of a product by considering the knowledge intensity of its exporters.
The top export opportunities for El Salvador according to the relatedness index, are Bananas (0.27), Non-Knit Men's Suits (0.27), Raw Tobacco (0.27), Palm Oil (0.27), and Other Vegetables (0.26). Relatedness measures the distance between a country's current exports and each product. The barchart show only products that El Salvador is not specialized in.
The product space is a network connecting products that are likely to be co-exported. The product space can be used to predict future exports, since countries are more likely to start exporting products that are related to current exports. Relatedness measures the distance between a product, and all of the products a country currently specializes in.
The Complexity-Relatedness diagram compares the risk vs strategic value of a country's potential export oppotunities. Relatedness is predictive of the probability that a country increases its exports in a product. Complexity, is associated with higher levels of income, economic growth, less income inequality, and lower greenhouse emissions.
During the last 20 years El Salvador's economy has become relatively less complex, moving from the 57th to the 67th position in the ECI rank.
These economic complexity rankings use 6 digit exports classified according to the HS96 classification. We consider only countries with population of at least 1 million and exports of at least $1 billion, and products with world trade over $500 million. To explore different rankings and vary these parameters visit the custom rankings section.
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