Primary energy use in El Salvador
El Salvador: Primary energy use was 46.81 terawatt-hours in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
46.81 terawatt-hours
Change on year
down 3.9%
World rank
119th
of 219 countries
All-time high
48.7 terawatt-hours
in 2023
All-time low
8.9 terawatt-hours
in 1981
Years of data
45
1980–2024
Primary energy use in El Salvador, 1980–2024
Source: Energy Institute – Statistical Review of World Energy (2026); Smil (2017); U.S. Energy Information Administration (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in terawatt-hours.
Analysis
El Salvador recorded 46.81 terawatt-hours for primary energy use in 2024.
That represents a change of down 3.9% on the previous year and up 48.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, primary energy use in El Salvador peaked at 48.7 terawatt-hours in 2023 and was at its lowest, 8.9 terawatt-hours, in 1981.
That places El Salvador 119th out of 219 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 45 years of available data.
Primary energy use in El Salvador, year by year
| Year | terawatt-hours | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 10.1 terawatt-hours | — |
| 1981 | 8.9 terawatt-hours | -11.9% |
| 1982 | 9.01 terawatt-hours | +1.2% |
| 1983 | 9.45 terawatt-hours | +4.9% |
| 1984 | 9.7 terawatt-hours | +2.7% |
| 1985 | 10.17 terawatt-hours | +4.8% |
| 1986 | 10.82 terawatt-hours | +6.5% |
| 1987 | 10.56 terawatt-hours | -2.4% |
| 1988 | 11.52 terawatt-hours | +9.1% |
| 1989 | 11.37 terawatt-hours | -1.4% |
| 1990 | 11.94 terawatt-hours | +5.0% |
| 1991 | 12.94 terawatt-hours | +8.4% |
| 1992 | 14.81 terawatt-hours | +14.5% |
| 1993 | 15.11 terawatt-hours | +2.0% |
| 1994 | 16.72 terawatt-hours | +10.6% |
| 1995 | 21 terawatt-hours | +25.6% |
| 1996 | 20.75 terawatt-hours | -1.2% |
| 1997 | 21.43 terawatt-hours | +3.3% |
| 1998 | 24.77 terawatt-hours | +15.6% |
| 1999 | 25.68 terawatt-hours | +3.7% |
| 2000 | 26.4 terawatt-hours | +2.8% |
| 2001 | 26.42 terawatt-hours | +0.1% |
| 2002 | 27.61 terawatt-hours | +4.5% |
| 2003 | 28.99 terawatt-hours | +5.0% |
| 2004 | 29.12 terawatt-hours | +0.4% |
| 2005 | 29.58 terawatt-hours | +1.6% |
| 2006 | 30.82 terawatt-hours | +4.2% |
| 2007 | 32.11 terawatt-hours | +4.2% |
| 2008 | 30.53 terawatt-hours | -4.9% |
| 2009 | 30.28 terawatt-hours | -0.8% |
| 2010 | 30.49 terawatt-hours | +0.7% |
| 2011 | 30.65 terawatt-hours | +0.5% |
| 2012 | 31.43 terawatt-hours | +2.5% |
| 2013 | 30.52 terawatt-hours | -2.9% |
| 2014 | 31.53 terawatt-hours | +3.3% |
| 2015 | 33.66 terawatt-hours | +6.7% |
| 2016 | 34.13 terawatt-hours | +1.4% |
| 2017 | 33.04 terawatt-hours | -3.2% |
| 2018 | 36.14 terawatt-hours | +9.4% |
| 2019 | 40.3 terawatt-hours | +11.5% |
| 2020 | 33.58 terawatt-hours | -16.7% |
| 2021 | 39.18 terawatt-hours | +16.7% |
| 2022 | 43.16 terawatt-hours | +10.2% |
| 2023 | 48.7 terawatt-hours | +12.8% |
| 2024 | 46.81 terawatt-hours | -3.9% |
El Salvador compared with similar countries
- El Salvador's 46.81 terawatt-hours is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 87.51 terawatt-hours, 53% of the median. (57 countries reporting)
- El Salvador's 46.81 terawatt-hours is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 46.81 terawatt-hours, 1.0× the median. (39 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 10.16 terawatt-hours | 8.9 terawatt-hours | 11.52 terawatt-hours | 10 |
| 1990s | 18.51 terawatt-hours | 11.94 terawatt-hours | 25.68 terawatt-hours | 10 |
| 2000s | 29.19 terawatt-hours | 26.4 terawatt-hours | 32.11 terawatt-hours | 10 |
| 2010s | 33.19 terawatt-hours | 30.49 terawatt-hours | 40.3 terawatt-hours | 10 |
| 2020s | 42.29 terawatt-hours | 33.58 terawatt-hours | 48.7 terawatt-hours | 5 |
Countries ranked near El Salvador
More energy & mining data for El Salvador
- Fossil fuel consumption by fuel, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary energy use, annual growth rate -3.87 % change on previous year (2024)
- Coal consumption, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2024)
- Coal consumption, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary energy use, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary energy use, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2024)
- Coal production, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2024)
- Coal production, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Fossil fuel consumption by fuel, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2024)
- Fuel imports 14.8% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is primary energy use in El Salvador?
- Primary energy use in El Salvador was 46.81 terawatt-hours in 2024, according to Energy Institute – Statistical Review of World Energy (2026); Smil (2017); U.S. Energy Information Administration (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest primary energy use recorded in El Salvador?
- The highest recorded value was 48.7 terawatt-hours in 2023.
- What is the lowest primary energy use recorded in El Salvador?
- The lowest recorded value was 8.9 terawatt-hours in 1981.
- How does El Salvador rank for primary energy use?
- El Salvador ranks 119th out of 219 countries with data for 2024.
- Is primary energy use rising or falling in El Salvador?
- Over the last ten years it is up 48.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this El Salvador data come from?
- The figures come from Energy Institute – Statistical Review of World Energy (2026); Smil (2017); U.S. Energy Information Administration (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Primary energy use. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 45 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Measured in terawatt-hours of total energy supply.