El Salvador's GDP grew 3.4% in the fourth quarter of 2024, according to Central Bank

The BCR’s economic growth projections for El Salvador for 2024 were higher than those of the World Bank (WB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

El Salvador’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew at a rate of 3.4% in the fourth quarter of 2024, according to figures from the Central Reserve Bank (BCR), while waiting for the financial institution to officialize the annual growth.

BCR data indicate that the last quarter of the year was the second one with the highest growth, given that the first quarter registered a growth of 4%, while the second and third quarters registered growth of 1.86% and 1.18%, respectively.

BCR authorities have not yet made official the GDP growth rate for 2024, which was adjusted upward last June to 4%, from between 3% and 3.5% previously.

According to local media estimates, such as La Prensa Gráfica, the country’s economy is estimated to have grown by only 2.6%.

El Salvador’s GDP grew 3.4% in the fourth quarter of 2024, according to Central Bank

The BCR’s economic growth projections for El Salvador for 2024 were higher than those of the World Bank (WB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The economic situation facing El Salvador was consolidated in 2024 as the main problem for the population, mainly due to unemployment and the high cost of living, leaving behind concerns about crime, according to surveys.

A study by the Instituto Universitario de Opinión Pública (Iudop) of the Universidad Centroamericana (UCA) indicates that in general 75.8% of the population believes that the main problem is the economy, while in 2023 this figure was 69.9%. The Salvadoran president, Nayib Bukele, said at the inauguration of his second consecutive term, despite the fact that the Constitution prohibits it, that he would seek in this five-year term to “heal” the economy after defeating the “cancer” of gangs.

With information from EFE.