Population growth rate

• The last time that the population growth rate was above 1% was back in 1996. Ever since then, the growth rate has been slowly dwindling smaller and smaller.

• It hit the absolute low in growth in 2015 with a -1.05% growth rate (seen on the graph)

• In 2022 it was at only at 0.35% then in 2023 shot up to 0.45%. This is good news for El Salvador, it seems whatever policies or social change that has transpired in recent years has helped the population stabilize.

Birth and death rates

• It is worth noting that the birth rate within El Salvador has been trending downward since 2000 from 24.4% (2000) to ~16% (2023).

• the death rate has been fluctuating around ~8% to ~6% which compared to the birth rate is a good thing. This means for every 2 babies, one person is dying.

Death Causes

• Covid-19

• Violence

• Heart Disease

• Kidney diseases

• Diabetes

Why is it important to stop these deaths

• Solow growth model

• more people= more investment= more capital created = better life for all

Policy

• Lowering the death rate by increasing funding to medical institutions and bolstering state funded medicare and health insurance

• return El Salvadorians home, There are also 3.2 million Salvadorans living outside the country. This would help increase the population dramatically

  
  

Researchers used information such as:

• By using data from the 2007 census and a 2019 geocoded survey, researchers were able to compare economic outcomes in the San Salvador area.

• They compared the growth in nighttime light density in locations with high and low gang presence between 1992 and 2013.

Results have shown that residents of gang-controlled neighborhoods have worse dwelling conditions and are worse off than those living 50 meters away but outside of gang territory.

Residents of gang areas have a $350 lower monthly income than individuals in neighboring nongang locations and are 12% likely to work in a firm with at least 100 employees.

source: https://www.nber.org/digest/202012/gang-culture-and-economic-development-evidence-el-salvador

• Gangs affect socioeconomic development by implementing restrictions on nongang individuals' mobility in the areas they control.

• Gangs implement checkpoints in their control territory, which limits entering and exiting from their territory, allowing them to protect their controlled territory.

• It is because of this limitation of mobility that nongang individuals must settle for lower-paying jobs in their neighborhoods.

• Limited access to health care and high out-of-pocket costs disproportionately affected the poor and rural populations.

• The health care system required enhanced response capacity to address rising morbidity, mortality, and disability from both communicable and chronic noncommunicable diseases.

Based on the figure above from the Pan American Health Organization:

• Public expenditure on health (6.4% of GDP) is relatively modest compared to other countries that invest more in public health, potentially indicating underfunding in the health sector.

• Out-of-pocket spending (26.74% of total health expenditure) is a significant portion, which can place a heavy financial burden on individuals, especially the poor and vulnerable populations. High out-of-pocket spending often reflects gaps in public health coverage and can lead to inequalities in access to care.

Overall, these figures suggest that El Salvador's health system might face challenges related to affordability and accessibility of health care, with heavy reliance on individuals to cover costs.

• Figure 5 looks at the percentage of youth of secondary school ages who are out of school in El Salvador.

• Nearly 31% of female youth of secondary school age are out of school compared to 30% of male youth of the same age.

• For youth of secondary school age, the biggest disparity can be seen between the poorest and the richest youth.

The objective of the Education Quality Improvement Project for El Salvador is to improve access, retention and graduation rates for students in the lower secondary education and the upper secondary education of the Borrower's public schools adopting the Inclusive Full Time School (IFTS) model.

(1) Adoption of the IFTS Model. This component will support the creation of appropriate teaching-learning conditions in selected schools to convert them to IFTSs.

(2) Improvement of Ministry of Education Institutional Capacity and the Schooling System's Governance. This component will support the introduction of selected governance reforms at the central, departmental and cluster level.

The chart above dictates where the allocation of their spending on this project would go to.

(Total project cost includes funding from World Bank and non-bank sources in US$ millions.)

The Strengthening Public Health Care System Project aims to expand health service coverage, quality, and equity under the Integral and Integrated Health Care Service Networks (RIISS) and enhance the Ministry of Health's (MINSAL) capacity to manage public health functions in El Salvador.

Component 1: Expansion of priority health services

• Strengthen health service quality, including the Comprehensive Primary Health Care (CPHC) strategy and medical equipment acquisition.

• Improve public health programs (e.g., maternal and child health, dengue control).

• Support the National Medical Emergencies System (SEM) in 16 hospitals through coordination, equipment upgrades, and staff training.

  
  

Component 2: Institutional strengthening of MINSAL

• Enhance MINSAL’s capacity, including the Single Unified Health Information System (SUIS) and national pharmaceutical policy.

• Support the National Health Institute and Central Laboratory.

• Develop and implement a public health emergency preparedness plan.

  
  

Component 3: Project management and monitoring

• Conduct technical reviews, health facility surveys, and an impact evaluation to assess progress and outcomes.

Extrapolating from the graph above, we can tell that the country has had either high delayed care and interrupted treatment which leads to healthcare disparities, which is what this project aims to combat.

https://www.worlddata.info/america/el-salvador/populationgrowth.php

• El Salvador has reached at $5,344 USD per capita

• In entirety, El Salvador $34.02 USD

El Salvador's largest economic sectors:

• Food Processing

• Beverages

• Petroleum

• Chemicals

• Fertilizers

• Textiles

• Furniture

• Light metals

projects.worldbank.org

https://hia.paho.org/en/country-profiles/el-salvador

Government Policies

• In response to an unexpected surge in gang-related violence, President Nayib Bukele issued an emergency decree that suspended some civil liberties, including the right to assemble, and gave police the authority to detain anyone suspected of having gang involvement without a warrant.

  Ex: Plan Control Territorial, which aimed to enhance intelligence capabilities, disrupt organized criminal operations, and boost police presence in gang controlled areas.

  
  

• By focusing on illicit revenue streams including extortion, drug trafficking, and money laundering, as well as by enacting harsher sentences and fines, the government has also campaigned for measures that will deconstruct gang financing.

In Dedication To Kids & Community

• Employ strategies to assist susceptible youths, such as job training, financial aid, athletic programs, and social gatherings that foster a feeling of belonging and offer chances for individual growth.

  Ex: Ciudad Mujer, which is a huge initiative dedicated towards marginalized individuals who need assistance in breaking away from the grasp of violence.

  
  

• In order to keep young people from joining gangs because they lack economic prospects, it is believed that creating jobs and expanding educational chances are essential.

International Efforts

• The Salvadoran government has worked with neighboring Central American countries, particularly Honduras and Guatemala, on regional initiatives to combat human trafficking, drug trafficking, and organized crime.

• Cooperative actions and intelligence exchange have played a significant role in disrupting international criminal networks.

With the highest prisoner rate per capita in the world, an estimated 1,086 per 100,000 people, how well the government can strike a balance between security and providing prone adolescents with social, educational, and economic help will determine how successful these initiatives are in the long run.

https://www.usip.org/publications/2024/12/honduras-and-el-salvador-two-crackdowns-crime-different-outcomes

https://www.sdgfund.org/case-study/building-social-capital-prevent-violence-el-salvador

• Smaller areas of improvement can be found in agricultural advancements that can boost productivity, fixed training for general workers, or investment overall to promote investing opportunities for improved infrastructure, technology, and tourism sectors. 

• Skill-based training in particular is an approach that can aid in social constructs and better care qualities in the working class seeking better opportunities. Rights and unionized programs are also aligned with this as equal opportunity begins to implant itself and make laborers feel more reassurance that they are protected with ethical backing. Another point comes from quality education which is a major tool needed to prepare and ensure that these prospective laborers have a stronger backing and knowledge abilities for better work. 

• Other policies can aim to fulfill environmental sustenance by getting into more advanced areas of concern and being more mindful of the earth as a whole making it so that all humans can enjoy the world for generations, therefore inducing upscale fertility rates. By implementing these ethically minded solutions we can understand how we can combat destructive decisions that may heavily impact the future through renewable energy options that can help to mitigate climate change. 

https://www.usip.org/publications/2022/10/ending-el-salvadors-cycle-gang-violence

https://www.worlddata.info/america/el-salvador/economy.php#:~:text=Worldwide%20gross%20domestic%20product%20in,104%20of%20the%20major%20economies.

Stuffed tortillas with cheese or your choice of meat

Statistics

• 26.60% El Salvadorians live below the nation poverty line

• 3.4% percent live below the global poverty line ($2.15)

• the most impoverished group is people who live in rural areas

• 24.3% of adults do not have primary education

The graph illustrates that the poverty is slowly decreasing over time. Also that People living in poverty is falling at the same rate.

Policy to help

• Increase education spending and infrastructure. This will create skilled workers and skilled workers means better economy

• Some good infrastructure would be; more primary and secondary schools, and make a good university.

• Use the Mexico model of education that we learned about, subsidize rural families to keep their kids in school