GDP (annual) in El Salvador

Annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) measures the value of all final goods and services produced in El Salvador over a year. Published by the Central Reserve Bank (BCR), it is the broadest gauge of the size and pace of growth of the Salvadoran economy.

It is estimated from the output side (sector value added plus taxes), the expenditure side and the income side, which should agree. As the economy is dollarised, it is reported in US dollars at current and constant prices, with the real annual growth rate measured against the previous year.

It is the main reference for judging El Salvador's cycle, heavily dependent on remittances, consumption and US demand. Solid growth underpins revenues and employment; a weak reading fuels concerns about public finances. Being dollarised, the country has no independent monetary policy.

It is released with a lag and early estimates are revised. The small size of the economy, the weight of remittances and a large informal sector make precise measurement difficult and add volatility to the figure.