Share of the population at risk of catastrophic spending when surgical care is required in El Salvador
El Salvador: Share of the population at risk of catastrophic spending when surgical care is required was 13.3% in 2022. ▼ Falling
Share of the population at risk of catastrophic spending when surgical care is required in El Salvador, 2003–2022
Source: Harvard Medical School Program in Global Surgery and Social Change (PGSSC), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of people at risk.
Analysis
El Salvador recorded 13.3% for share of the population at risk of catastrophic spending when surgical care is required in 2022. That is the lowest value across all 20 years on record.
That represents a change of down 2.9% on the previous year and down 39.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of the population at risk of catastrophic spending when surgical care is required in El Salvador peaked at 37.8% in 2003 and was at its lowest, 13.3%, in 2022.
That places El Salvador 66th out of 134 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 20 years of available data.
Share of the population at risk of catastrophic spending when surgical care is required in El Salvador, year by year
| Year | % of people at risk | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 37.8% | — |
| 2004 | 34.1% | -9.8% |
| 2005 | 33.9% | -0.6% |
| 2006 | 26.2% | -22.7% |
| 2007 | 26.1% | -0.4% |
| 2008 | 28.6% | +9.6% |
| 2009 | 27.0% | -5.6% |
| 2010 | 24.1% | -10.7% |
| 2011 | 22.5% | -6.6% |
| 2012 | 22.1% | -1.8% |
| 2013 | 21.8% | -1.4% |
| 2014 | 19.3% | -11.5% |
| 2015 | 16.9% | -12.4% |
| 2016 | 15.1% | -10.7% |
| 2017 | 14.5% | -4.0% |
| 2018 | 15.1% | +4.1% |
| 2019 | 14.1% | -6.6% |
| 2020 | 14.1% | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 13.7% | -2.8% |
| 2022 | 13.3% | -2.9% |
El Salvador compared with similar countries
- El Salvador's 13.3% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 10.4%, 1.3× the median. (41 countries reporting)
- El Salvador's 13.3% is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 14.3%, 93% of the median. (19 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 30.5% | 26.1% | 37.8% | 7 |
| 2010s | 18.6% | 14.1% | 24.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 13.7% | 13.3% | 14.1% | 3 |
Countries ranked near El Salvador
More population data for El Salvador
- Population regions with projections, annual growth rate -0.8534 % change on previous year (2100)
- Urban and rural population 2050, annual growth rate -0.2367 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population long run with projections, annual growth rate -0.8534 % change on previous year (2100)
- Un population 2024 vs 2022, annual growth rate -1.5 % change on previous year (2100)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 05 - Demographic estimates 6,637 Persons (2050)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 03 - Annual population 0.3467 Percent per annum (2030)
- Projected population under age 5, annual growth rate -1.06 % change on previous year (2100)
- World population growth -0.9% (2100)
- Population density 244.85 people per km² (2100)
- Number of children under 5, by world region 204,177 people (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of the population at risk of catastrophic spending when surgical care is required in El Salvador?
- Share of the population at risk of catastrophic spending when surgical care is required in El Salvador was 13.3% in 2022, according to Harvard Medical School Program in Global Surgery and Social Change (PGSSC), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of the population at risk of catastrophic spending when surgical care is required recorded in El Salvador?
- The highest recorded value was 37.8% in 2003.
- What is the lowest share of the population at risk of catastrophic spending when surgical care is required recorded in El Salvador?
- The lowest recorded value was 13.3% in 2022.
- How does El Salvador rank for share of the population at risk of catastrophic spending when surgical care is required?
- El Salvador ranks 66th out of 134 countries with data for 2022.
- Is share of the population at risk of catastrophic spending when surgical care is required rising or falling in El Salvador?
- Over the last ten years it is down 39.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this El Salvador data come from?
- The figures come from Harvard Medical School Program in Global Surgery and Social Change (PGSSC), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of the population at risk of catastrophic spending when surgical care is required. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 20 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Catastrophic expenditure is defined as direct out-of-pocket payments for surgical and anaesthesia care exceeding 10% of total income.