The health system comprises the public and private sectors. The public sector includes the Ministry of Health and the Salvadoran Social Security Institute, which together cover most of the Salvadoran population. National coverage of essential services for 2019 was estimated at 76%.
Public spending on health represented 4.7% of GDP, which is below the 6% the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) recommends, and 17.4% of total public spending for 2019. Out-of-pocket spending on health equaled 33% of total health spending in 2020, which is relatively high and exceeds PAHO’s benchmark of 20%. Catastrophic health spending for 2018 was estimated at 1.7%.
