El Salvador vs Honduras
El Salvador vs Honduras: Government debt
Government debt in 2025: 87.6% of GDP in El Salvador and 40.3% of GDP in Honduras, by IMF estimates. In 2025 the value was higher in El Salvador, by 47.2 percentage points, or 2.17 times that in Honduras.
% of GDP · IMF
What the numbers say
- El Salvador has been higher since 2006, when it overtook Honduras.
- In 2025, El Salvador ranked 26 and Honduras ranked 104 of 149 countries, counting from the highest.
- The IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) puts El Salvador at 80.3% of GDP and Honduras at 38.3% of GDP in 2031.
Every year
% of GDP · IMF
| Year | El Salvador | Honduras |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 87.6 | 40.3 |
| 2024 | 87.7 | 42.2 |
| 2023 | 83.9 | 42.1 |
| 2022 | 83.7 | 46.9 |
| 2021 | 88 | 52.7 |
| 2020 | 95.4 | 54.3 |
| 2019 | 77.9 | 44.1 |
| 2018 | 77 | 43.2 |
| 2017 | 77.1 | 42.2 |
| 2016 | 75.2 | 40.3 |
| 2015 | 73.5 | 39.3 |
| 2014 | 71.8 | 36.3 |
| 2013 | 69.7 | 38.6 |
| 2012 | 70 | 28.4 |
| 2011 | 65.6 | 26.1 |
| 2010 | 66.8 | 23.4 |
| 2009 | 65.8 | 25.5 |
| 2008 | 54.2 | 22.3 |
| 2007 | 52.2 | 24 |
| 2006 | 52.6 | 39.2 |
| 2005 | 46.3 | 55.6 |
| 2004 | 46.8 | 60.9 |
| 2003 | 46 | 67.8 |
| 2002 | 43.8 | 64.3 |
| 2001 | 37.8 | 63.4 |
| 2000 | 29.6 | 65.8 |
| 1999 | 28 | 75.8 |
| 1998 | 25.7 | 67.4 |
| 1997 | 27.8 | 70.8 |
| 1996 | 28.6 | 64.6 |
| 1995 | 28 | 65.4 |
| 1994 | 30.6 | 85.5 |
| 1993 | 31.9 | 111.7 |
| 1992 | 36.4 | 123.2 |
| 1991 | 43.3 | 135.4 |
| 1990 | – | 236.5 |
IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) · 2026–2031
| Year | El Salvador | Honduras |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 85 | 44 |
| 2027 | 89.2 | 42.3 |
| 2028 | 87.3 | 41.3 |
| 2029 | 85 | 40.2 |
| 2030 | 82.8 | 39.2 |
| 2031 | 80.3 | 38.3 |
Each country on its own
Good to know
- What the government owes, as a share of the economy’s yearly output.
- Source: IMF, World Economic Outlook, October 2026.
- The dashed line is the IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026), a scenario rather than a forecast.
- Ranks count the 149 countries with a value in 2025, highest first.
How the layers work, where their data comes from and what they can’t tell you: Countries through time
El Salvador vs Honduras
Health
- Life expectancyEl Salvador: 72.1 years in 2023Honduras: 72.9 years in 2023
- Child mortalityEl Salvador: 1 per 100 live births in 2024Honduras: 1.5 per 100 live births in 2024
- Infant mortalityEl Salvador: 9.5 per 1,000 live births in 2023Honduras: 13 per 1,000 live births in 2023
- DepressionEl Salvador: 3.03% in 2017Honduras: 2.75% in 2017
- Suicide rateEl Salvador: 9.8 per 100,000 people in 2017Honduras: 4.4 per 100,000 people in 2017
People
- PopulationEl Salvador: 6.31 million people in 2023Honduras: 10.6 million people in 2023
- Population growthEl Salvador: 0.46% a year in 2023Honduras: 1.7% a year in 2023
- Fertility rateEl Salvador: 1.78 births per woman in 2023Honduras: 2.5 births per woman in 2023
- Urban populationEl Salvador: 75.5% in 2025Honduras: 59.3% in 2025
- Median ageEl Salvador: 27 years in 2023Honduras: 23.6 years in 2023
- People aged 65 and overEl Salvador: 8% in 2023Honduras: 4.3% in 2023
- Net migration rateEl Salvador: -3.7 per 1,000 people in 2023Honduras: -0.5 per 1,000 people in 2023
Economy
Education
Politics
Conflict
Military
- Military spendingEl Salvador: 1.34% of GDP in 2025Honduras: 1.46% of GDP in 2025
- Military spending in US dollarsEl Salvador: $489M in 2025Honduras: $582M in 2025
- Military spending per personEl Salvador: $77 in 2025Honduras: $53 in 2025
- Military share of state spendingEl Salvador: 4.4% of government spending in 2025Honduras: 5.7% of government spending in 2025
- Armed forces personnelEl Salvador: 42,000 people in 2020Honduras: 23,000 people in 2020
- National powerEl Salvador: 0.05% of world capability in 2022Honduras: 0.06% of world capability in 2022
- Armed forces, share of workersEl Salvador: 1.62% of the labour force in 2020Honduras: 0.56% of the labour force in 2020
- Arms importsEl Salvador: 3 million TIV in 2025Honduras: 7 million TIV in 2024