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With 57 votes, the Legislative Assembly approved a loan agreement between the Ministry of Finance and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) for up to US$50 million to finance the Economic Statistics Strengthening Program, which will be implemented by the Banco Central de Reserva (BCR).
The financing will allow for a new Economic Census, as the last one was conducted in 2005. The project aims to update information on the structure and evolution of the country’s economic activities and strengthen the use of official statistics for public decision-making.
The BCR, as the entity responsible for the Sistema Estadístico Nacional, will oversee implementing the program. Its components include the modernization of statistical systems and the incorporation of digital technologies for collection, management, analysis, and dissemination of information.
The project also aims to generate timely and reliable data to inform government decisions. To this end, digital solutions will be incorporated into the various stages of the censuses, including tools for management, technical support, and strengthening the cybersecurity infrastructure related to census activities.
One of the elements included in the new Economic Census is the collection of information on the informal economy, a sector that plays a significant role in employment and economic activity in El Salvador. This information will broaden the statistical overview of productive activities in the country.
The new project builds upon the statistical work carried out by the BCR in recent years. In 2024, the institution conducted the VII Censo de Población and VI Censo de Vivienda, while in 2025 it carried out the V Censo Agropecuario y el I Censo de Pesca.
Unlike previous censuses, the Economic Statistics Strengthening Program includes the use of digital tools throughout the entire census cycle. This includes the collection and processing of data, as well as its subsequent analysis and dissemination, with the aim of modernizing the production of official economic statistics.
According to the agreement approved, the BCR must deliver the project results no later than the third quarter of 2027. The IDB financing will thus allow for the updating of the country’s economic information and strengthen the statistical infrastructure used to analyze productive activity and support public decision-making.
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