Rates have not risen above the low single digits in nearly two decades – part of a broader environment of macroeconomic instability which the integration of the United States dollar has done little to improve.

In 2011, El Salvador had a Gini coefficient of .485,[15] which although similar to that of the United States,[16] leaves 37.8% of the population below the poverty line,[17] due to lower aggregate income.

This way, the government has formally limited its possibility of implementing open market monetary policies to influence short term variables in the economy.

The change to the dollar also precipitated a trend toward lower interest rates in El Salvador, helping many to secure credit in order to buy a house or a car.

[22] In January 2022, The International Monetary Fund (IMF) urged El Salvador to reverse its decision to make cryptocurrency Bitcoin legal tender.

[23] In the first 18 months of Bitcoin adoption, the cryptocurrency was rarely used by the local population or tourists, leaving USD the de facto standard for transactions.

Debates surrounding the emission of bonds have stalled the approval of the national budget for many months on several occasions, reason for which in 2006 the government will finance the deficit by reducing expenditure in other posts.

Remittances from Salvadorans working in the United States sent to family members are a major source of foreign income and offset the substantial trade deficit of around $2.9 billion.

In 2005, the number of people living in extreme poverty in El Salvador was 20%,[29] according to a United Nations Development Program report.

The 1992 peace accords made provisions for land transfers to all qualified ex-combatants of both the FMLN and ESAF, as well as to landless peasants living in former conflict areas.

El Salvador's energy industry is diversified across fossil fuels, hydro, other renewables (mainly geothermal) for local electricity production, along with a reliance on imports for oil.

El Salvador has an installed capacity of 1,983 MW generating 5,830 GWh of electricity per year, 52% of this comes from renewable sources including 29% from geothermal (produced from the country's many volcanoes), 23% from hydro and the rest is from fossil fuels.

After the war, the country's right-wing government proposed 33 mining zones, issuing exploration licences to American, Australian, and Canadian companies.

[41] The industry has since expanded with companies such as Creativa Consultores, Applaudo Studios, and Elaniin providing software and website design services to clients globally while employing thousands of people.

[42] Canadian Telus International, a major global IT outsourcing and software development firm, has a significant workforce in the country employing nearly 1,500 people in high tech and customer service roles.

[43] The startup scene has also been growing with firms such as HugoApp employing 600 locals and providing delivery and ride sharing services to nearly 1 million users in the Central American/CAFTA region.

In the 21st century, numerous call centers serving North American markets have been developed in El Salvador, including Ubiquity Global Services and Synnex.

On occasions this compensation implied merely the right to work for seasons in the newly created coffee farms and to be allowed to grow their own food.

The largest beneficiary has been the maquila industry, which provides 88,700 jobs directly, and consists primarily of cutting and assembling clothes for export to the United States.

In order to take advantage of CAFTA-DR, the Salvadoran government is challenged to conduct policies that guarantee better conditions for entrepreneurs and workers to transfer from declining to growing sectors in the economy.

El Salvador has already signed free trade agreements with Mexico, Chile, the Dominican Republic, and Panama, and increased its exports to those countries.

In addition to this, the limited size of its domestic market, weak infrastructures and institutions, as well as the high level of criminality have been real obstacles to investors.

"[49] Foreign companies have lately resorted to arbitration in international trade tribunals in total disagreement with Salvadoran government policies.

Four years later, Enel indicated it would seek arbitration against El Salvador, blaming the government for technical problems that prevent it from completing its investment.

Hurricane Mitch hit El Salvador in late October 1998, generating extreme rainfall of which caused widespread flooding and landslides.

Three major bridges that cross the Lempa were swept away, restricting access to the eastern third of the country and forcing the emergency evacuation of many communities.

The heavy rainfall, flooding, and mudslides caused by Hurricane Mitch also severely damaged El Salvador's road network.

Reconstruction from Mitch was still underway when, in early 2001, the country experienced a series of devastating earthquakes that left nearly 2,000 people dead or missing, 8,000 injured, and caused severe dislocations across all sectors of Salvadoran society.

The Hurricane Mitch disaster prompted a tremendous response from the international community governments, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and private citizens alike.

Sixteen foreign governments—including the U.S., 19 international NGOs, 20 Salvadoran embassies and consulates, and 20 private firms and individuals provided El Salvador with in-kind assistance.