El Salvador’s dramatic transformation in public security is beginning to show up in another place: the country’s poverty figures. After years of persistently weak economic growth, the sharp decline in crime appears to be removing one of the obstacles that had constrained businesses and households, while tourism and foreign investment are gaining momentum.

The country’s economic expansion remains modest for a developing economy, but GDP grew by 4% in 2025, well above the average annual growth rate of 2.1% recorded since 2000. At the same time, monetary poverty fell to 28.4% in 2025, down from 29.6% in 2024. Multidimensional poverty has also improved, with 20.1% of households now classified as multidimensionally poor and 14 of the 20 indicators showing improvement during 2025.

Security appears to be part of that shift. The country’s homicide rate has fallen to 1.9 per 100,000 inhabitants, while the multidimensional poverty indicator measuring the incidence of crime and delinquency dropped to 4.8%. The World Bank notes that “a sharp decline in crime removed a key constraint on economic activity, strengthening market confidence.”For small and medium-sized businesses, the disappearance of extortion has made it easier to plan and operate without having to surrender part of their income to criminal groups.

The change is also visible in tourism. International arrivals rose from 817,000 in 2019 to a record 4.1 million in 2025, according to the figures cited in the report. Tourism now represents 10% of GDP, adding another potential engine of growth. The question for El Salvador is whether these early gains can develop into a sustained cycle of higher investment, stronger incomes and further reductions in poverty.