Relative poverty: Share of population below 60% of the median in El Salvador
El Salvador: Relative poverty: Share of population below 60% of the median was 22.8% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Relative poverty: Share of population below 60% of the median in El Salvador, 1989–2023
Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for relative poverty: share of population below 60% of the median in El Salvador is 22.8%, measured in 2023.
That represents a change of down 2.1% on the previous year and down 2.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, relative poverty: share of population below 60% of the median in El Salvador peaked at 32.2% in 1998 and was at its lowest, 21.8%, in 2019.
El Salvador ranks 26th of 120 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 29 years of available data.
Relative poverty: Share of population below 60% of the median in El Salvador, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1989 | 30.6% | — |
| 1991 | 29.7% | -2.7% |
| 1995 | 27.9% | -6.2% |
| 1996 | 28.1% | +0.7% |
| 1998 | 32.2% | +14.7% |
| 1999 | 29.6% | -8.0% |
| 2000 | 29.2% | -1.6% |
| 2001 | 29.6% | +1.4% |
| 2002 | 29.6% | -0.0% |
| 2003 | 29.4% | -0.6% |
| 2004 | 26.3% | -10.4% |
| 2005 | 27.1% | +3.0% |
| 2006 | 25.2% | -7.2% |
| 2007 | 23.5% | -6.6% |
| 2008 | 25.2% | +7.4% |
| 2009 | 25.0% | -1.1% |
| 2010 | 25.0% | -0.1% |
| 2011 | 23.4% | -6.3% |
| 2012 | 23.2% | -0.8% |
| 2013 | 23.5% | +1.3% |
| 2014 | 22.9% | -2.8% |
| 2015 | 22.1% | -3.5% |
| 2016 | 23.4% | +6.0% |
| 2017 | 22.2% | -4.8% |
| 2018 | 22.7% | +2.0% |
| 2019 | 21.8% | -4.0% |
| 2021 | 23.6% | +8.5% |
| 2022 | 23.3% | -1.2% |
| 2023 | 22.8% | -2.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 30.6% | 30.6% | 30.6% | 1 |
| 1990s | 29.5% | 27.9% | 32.2% | 5 |
| 2000s | 27.0% | 23.5% | 29.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 23.0% | 21.8% | 25.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 23.3% | 22.8% | 23.6% | 3 |
Countries ranked near El Salvador
- 23 Mozambique 23.7% compare
- 24 Paraguay 23.7% compare
- 25 Türkiye 23.7% compare
- 27 Mexico 22.7% compare
- 28 Montenegro 22.7% compare
- 29 Palestine, State of 22.5% compare
More poverty & inequality data for El Salvador
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 7 surveys (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per person (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Fertility rate vs. share living in extreme poverty 1.77 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 2,819 kg per hectare (2024)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, annual growth rate 1.53 % change on previous year (2024)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 20.61 (2023)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 20.6% (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is relative poverty: share of population below 60% of the median in El Salvador?
- Relative poverty: share of population below 60% of the median in El Salvador was 22.8% in 2023, according to World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest relative poverty: share of population below 60% of the median recorded in El Salvador?
- The highest recorded value was 32.2% in 1998.
- What is the lowest relative poverty: share of population below 60% of the median recorded in El Salvador?
- The lowest recorded value was 21.8% in 2019.
- How does El Salvador rank for relative poverty: share of population below 60% of the median?
- El Salvador ranks 26th out of 120 countries with data for 2023.
- Is relative poverty: share of population below 60% of the median rising or falling in El Salvador?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this El Salvador data come from?
- The figures come from World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Relative poverty: Share of population below 60% of the median. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Percentage of population living in households with an income or consumption below 60% of the median.