Prosperity gap in El Salvador

El Salvador: Prosperity gap was 3.55 in 2023. ▼ Falling

Latest (2023)
3.55
Change on year
down 7.3%
World rank
48th
of 120 countries
All-time high
12.66
in 1998
All-time low
3.25
in 2019
Years of data
29
1989–2023

Prosperity gap in El Salvador, 1989–2023

46810121989200620231989: 12.11991: 12.31995: 81996: 8.21998: 12.71999: 11.12000: 7.22001: 82002: 8.12003: 9.92004: 7.32005: 6.72006: 5.32007: 4.72008: 5.22009: 5.22010: 52011: 4.82012: 4.62013: 4.32014: 4.22015: 3.92016: 42017: 3.82018: 3.62019: 3.32021: 3.82022: 3.82023: 3.6

Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.

Analysis

El Salvador recorded 3.55 for prosperity gap in 2023.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 7.3% on the previous year and down 17.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, prosperity gap in El Salvador peaked at 12.66 in 1998 and was at its lowest, 3.25, in 2019.

That places El Salvador 48th out of 120 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 29 years of available data.

Prosperity gap in El Salvador, year by year

Annual values for Prosperity gap in El Salvador, 1989 to 2023.
Year Value Change
1989 12.05
1991 12.3 +2.0%
1995 8.02 -34.8%
1996 8.25 +2.8%
1998 12.66 +53.6%
1999 11.08 -12.5%
2000 7.25 -34.6%
2001 8 +10.4%
2002 8.07 +0.8%
2003 9.86 +22.3%
2004 7.33 -25.7%
2005 6.73 -8.3%
2006 5.35 -20.5%
2007 4.67 -12.6%
2008 5.18 +11.0%
2009 5.18 -0.1%
2010 4.98 -3.8%
2011 4.81 -3.4%
2012 4.6 -4.4%
2013 4.28 -6.8%
2014 4.23 -1.3%
2015 3.95 -6.6%
2016 3.95 +0.1%
2017 3.76 -5.0%
2018 3.55 -5.4%
2019 3.25 -8.5%
2021 3.83 +17.8%
2022 3.83 +0.1%
2023 3.55 -7.3%

El Salvador compared with similar countries

  • El Salvador's 3.55 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 2.67, 1.3× the median. (35 countries reporting)
  • El Salvador's 3.55 is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 2.65, 1.3× the median. (18 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Prosperity gap 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.

YearChange FromTo
1998 +53.6% 8.25 12.66

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 12.05 12.05 12.05 1
1990s 10.46 8.02 12.66 5
2000s 6.76 4.67 9.86 10
2010s 4.14 3.25 4.98 10
2020s 3.74 3.55 3.83 3

Countries ranked near El Salvador

  1. 45 Georgia 3.84 compare
  2. 46 Peru 3.63 compare
  3. 47 Armenia 3.61 compare
  4. 49 Iran 3.32 compare
  5. 50 Ecuador 3.07 compare
  6. 51 Azerbaijan 3.03 compare

See the full ranking of 120 places →

More reference data data for El Salvador

All data for El Salvador →

Frequently asked questions

What is prosperity gap in El Salvador?
Prosperity gap in El Salvador was 3.55 in 2023, according to World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest prosperity gap recorded in El Salvador?
The highest recorded value was 12.66 in 1998.
What is the lowest prosperity gap recorded in El Salvador?
The lowest recorded value was 3.25 in 2019.
How does El Salvador rank for prosperity gap?
El Salvador ranks 48th out of 120 countries with data for 2023.
Is prosperity gap rising or falling in El Salvador?
Over the last ten years it is down 17.1%. 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 Prosperity gap. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Prosperity gap in El Salvador. Statizoid, drawing on World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 24 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/prosperity-gap/el-salvador/

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About this data

Indicator
Prosperity gap
Source
World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
120 places, 2,148 data points, 1963–2025
Last refreshed

Average factor by which incomes need to be multiplied to bring everyone to the prosperity standard of $28 per person per day.