El Salvador
Military spending in El Salvador
Military spending in El Salvador: 0.74% of GDP in 1965 and 1.34% of GDP in 2025, by SIPRI estimates.
- Latest, 2025
- 1.34% of GDP
- Since 1965
- +0.6 percentage points
- Rank, 2025
- 92 of 151
- counting from the highest
% of GDP · SIPRI
What the numbers say
- The highest was 6.59% of GDP in 1985, the lowest 0.63% of GDP in 1970.
Every year
% of GDP · SIPRI
| Year | El Salvador |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 1.34 |
| 2024 | 1.39 |
| 2023 | 1.34 |
| 2022 | 1.44 |
| 2021 | 1.21 |
| 2020 | 1.38 |
| 2019 | 1.18 |
| 2018 | 1.13 |
| 2017 | 1.04 |
| 2016 | 1.02 |
| 2015 | 1.06 |
| 2014 | 1.04 |
| 2013 | 1.08 |
| 2012 | 1.05 |
| 2011 | 1.09 |
| 2010 | 1.09 |
| 2009 | 1.08 |
| 2008 | 0.96 |
| 2007 | 0.97 |
| 2006 | 0.89 |
| 2005 | 0.9 |
| 2004 | 0.81 |
| 2003 | 0.84 |
| 2002 | 1.13 |
| 2001 | 1.09 |
| 2000 | 0.84 |
| 1999 | 0.92 |
| 1998 | 0.92 |
| 1997 | 1.01 |
| 1996 | 1.07 |
| 1995 | 1.18 |
| 1994 | 1.35 |
| 1993 | 1.68 |
| 1992 | 2.25 |
| 1991 | 2.73 |
| 1990 | 3.41 |
| 1989 | 4.87 |
| 1988 | 4.27 |
| 1987 | 4.47 |
| 1986 | 4.33 |
| 1985 | 6.59 |
| 1984 | 6.44 |
| 1983 | 3.55 |
| 1982 | 2.78 |
| 1981 | 2.28 |
| 1980 | 1.74 |
| 1979 | 1.58 |
| 1978 | 1.12 |
| 1977 | 0.97 |
| 1976 | 0.88 |
| 1975 | 0.83 |
| 1974 | 0.8 |
| 1973 | 0.87 |
| 1972 | 0.88 |
| 1971 | 0.72 |
| 1970 | 0.63 |
| 1969 | 0.72 |
| 1968 | 0.66 |
| 1967 | 0.69 |
| 1966 | 0.71 |
| 1965 | 0.74 |
- Estimate
- Highly uncertain
Good to know
- What the country spends on its armed forces and defence, as a share of its economy, by SIPRI’s count.
- Source: Information from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) Military Expenditure Database, https://doi.org/10.55163/CQGC9685.
- Marked points are SIPRI’s own: a dot where it gives the figure as its estimate, a ring where it calls the figure highly uncertain.
- Ranks count the 151 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 in numbers
Every measure for El Salvador on one page
Health
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Military
- Military spending in US dollars$489M in 2025
- Military spending per person$77 in 2025
- Military share of state spending4.4% of government spending in 2025
- Armed forces personnel42,000 people in 2020
- National power0.05% of world capability in 2022
- Armed forces, share of workers1.62% of the labour force in 2020
- Arms imports3 million TIV in 2025
- Arms exports1 million TIV in 1991