El Salvador - Gross capital formation (% of GDP)

Gross capital formation (% of GDP) in El Salvador was 17.91 as of 2020. Its highest value over the past 55 years was 26.07 in 1978, while its lowest value was 10.85 in 1985.

Definition: Gross capital formation (formerly gross domestic investment) consists of outlays on additions to the fixed assets of the economy plus net changes in the level of inventories. Fixed assets include land improvements (fences, ditches, drains, and so on); plant, machinery, and equipment purchases; and the construction of roads, railways, and the like, including schools, offices, hospitals, private residential dwellings, and commercial and industrial buildings. Inventories are stocks of goods held by firms to meet temporary or unexpected fluctuations in production or sales, and "work in progress." According to the 1993 SNA, net acquisitions of valuables are also considered capital formation.

Source: World Bank national accounts data, and OECD National Accounts data files.

See also:

Year Value
1965 15.18
1966 16.58
1967 14.77
1968 11.54
1969 13.11
1970 13.25
1971 15.59
1972 14.16
1973 18.28
1974 22.63
1975 22.12
1976 19.62
1977 23.42
1978 26.07
1979 18.09
1980 13.27
1981 14.24
1982 13.22
1983 12.06
1984 11.96
1985 10.85
1986 13.25
1987 12.36
1988 12.79
1989 15.33
1990 13.81
1991 15.46
1992 18.83
1993 18.96
1994 20.36
1995 20.94
1996 15.35
1997 15.08
1998 18.65
1999 17.30
2000 17.67
2001 17.71
2002 17.06
2003 18.43
2004 18.14
2005 18.60
2006 20.08
2007 20.80
2008 20.17
2009 14.05
2010 16.67
2011 17.79
2012 17.71
2013 17.02
2014 16.40
2015 16.02
2016 15.97
2017 16.68
2018 18.37
2019 16.88
2020 17.91

Limitations and Exceptions: Because policymakers have tended to focus on fostering the growth of output, and because data on production are easier to collect than data on spending, many countries generate their primary estimate of GDP using the production approach. Moreover, many countries do not estimate all the components of national expenditures but instead derive some of the main aggregates indirectly using GDP (based on the production approach) as the control total. Data on capital formation may be estimated from direct surveys of enterprises and administrative records or based on the commodity flow method using data from production, trade, and construction activities. The quality of data on government fixed capital formation depends on the quality of government accounting systems (which tend to be weak in developing countries). Measures of fixed capital formation by households and corporations - particularly capital outlays by small, unincorporated enterprises - are usually unreliable. Estimates of changes in inventories are rarely complete but usually include the most important activities or commodities. In some countries these estimates are derived as a composite residual along with household final consumption expenditure. According to national accounts conventions, adjustments should be made for appreciation of the value of inventory holdings due to price changes, but this is not always done. In highly inflationary economies this element can be substantial.

Statistical Concept and Methodology: Gross domestic product (GDP) from the expenditure side is made up of household final consumption expenditure, general government final consumption expenditure, gross capital formation (private and public investment in fixed assets, changes in inventories, and net acquisitions of valuables), and net exports (exports minus imports) of goods and services. Such expenditures are recorded in purchaser prices and include net taxes on products.

Aggregation method: Weighted average

Periodicity: Annual

Classification

Topic: Economic Policy & Debt Indicators

Sub-Topic: National accounts