Transport services in El Salvador
El Salvador: Transport services was 10.1% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Transport services in El Salvador, 1976–2025
Source: Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of commercial service exports.
Analysis
The most recent figure for transport services in El Salvador is 10.1%, measured in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 50 years on record.
That represents a change of down 12.6% on the previous year and down 50.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, transport services in El Salvador peaked at 35.4% in 1988 and was at its lowest, 10.1%, in 2025.
That places El Salvador 131st out of 198 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 50 years of available data.
Transport services in El Salvador, year by year
| Year | % of commercial service exports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | 12.9% | — |
| 1977 | 18.5% | +42.8% |
| 1978 | 21.0% | +13.8% |
| 1979 | 20.2% | -3.7% |
| 1980 | 20.9% | +3.0% |
| 1981 | 18.3% | -12.1% |
| 1982 | 20.5% | +12.0% |
| 1983 | 23.1% | +12.7% |
| 1984 | 28.7% | +24.1% |
| 1985 | 29.5% | +2.9% |
| 1986 | 32.5% | +10.1% |
| 1987 | 26.0% | -20.2% |
| 1988 | 35.4% | +36.2% |
| 1989 | 29.9% | -15.3% |
| 1990 | 26.2% | -12.6% |
| 1991 | 26.0% | -0.6% |
| 1992 | 23.6% | -9.4% |
| 1993 | 22.2% | -5.9% |
| 1994 | 21.2% | -4.5% |
| 1995 | 23.3% | +9.9% |
| 1996 | 18.7% | -19.6% |
| 1997 | 23.7% | +26.9% |
| 1998 | 20.2% | -15.0% |
| 1999 | 21.0% | +4.3% |
| 2000 | 21.8% | +3.8% |
| 2001 | 25.4% | +16.1% |
| 2002 | 26.1% | +2.8% |
| 2003 | 24.2% | -7.1% |
| 2004 | 25.9% | +6.7% |
| 2005 | 25.2% | -2.6% |
| 2006 | 25.1% | -0.5% |
| 2007 | 24.8% | -0.9% |
| 2008 | 23.6% | -5.1% |
| 2009 | 21.9% | -7.1% |
| 2010 | 20.8% | -5.1% |
| 2011 | 24.2% | +16.5% |
| 2012 | 23.2% | -4.1% |
| 2013 | 24.9% | +7.3% |
| 2014 | 24.5% | -1.6% |
| 2015 | 20.3% | -17.0% |
| 2016 | 18.1% | -10.9% |
| 2017 | 19.4% | +7.0% |
| 2018 | 17.3% | -10.6% |
| 2019 | 16.4% | -5.1% |
| 2020 | 13.0% | -20.6% |
| 2021 | 14.8% | +13.5% |
| 2022 | 14.6% | -1.2% |
| 2023 | 13.0% | -11.1% |
| 2024 | 11.5% | -11.2% |
| 2025 | 10.1% | -12.6% |
El Salvador compared with similar countries
- El Salvador's 10.1% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 14.5%, 69% of the median. (55 countries reporting)
- El Salvador's 10.1% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 8.0%, 1.3× the median. (37 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 18.2% | 12.9% | 21.0% | 4 |
| 1980s | 26.5% | 18.3% | 35.4% | 10 |
| 1990s | 22.6% | 18.7% | 26.2% | 10 |
| 2000s | 24.4% | 21.8% | 26.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 20.9% | 16.4% | 24.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 12.9% | 10.1% | 14.8% | 6 |
Countries ranked near El Salvador
More private sector data for El Salvador
- Merchandise trade 66.1% (2025)
- Food imports 20.1% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 62.0% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 17.85 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 22.9% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 70.0% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 6.43 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 1,010 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.1751 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 1.87 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is transport services in El Salvador?
- Transport services in El Salvador was 10.1% in 2025, according to Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest transport services recorded in El Salvador?
- The highest recorded value was 35.4% in 1988.
- What is the lowest transport services recorded in El Salvador?
- The lowest recorded value was 10.1% in 2025.
- How does El Salvador rank for transport services?
- El Salvador ranks 131st out of 198 countries with data for 2025.
- Is transport services rising or falling in El Salvador?
- Over the last ten years it is down 50.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this El Salvador data come from?
- The figures come from Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF), published as part of Transport services (% of commercial service exports). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Transport is the process of carriage of people and objects from one location to another as well as related supporting and auxiliary services. Also included are postal and courier services. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of service exports which are commercial services provided by residents to non-residents.