Salvadorans perceive deterioration in the economy and improvement in security, according to a survey

El Salvador is going through an unfavorable economic situation and a notable improvement in public security, indicate the results of the recent survey carried out by the University Institute of Public Opinion (IUDOP) of the José Simeón Cañas Central American University (UCA), based in La Libertad .

In the economic area, 63 out of every 100 Salvadorans surveyed said that the economy was the main problem they faced in 2022, with unemployment and rising prices of goods and services being the causes.

While 88 out of 100 Salvadorans said they felt safe or very safe at the end of 2022. The improvement is mainly attributed to to the exception regimeapproved by the Congress of El Salvador in March 2022, after a wave of murders caused by gangs.

Rising prices in the face of low wages

“The proportion of citizens who consider that economic aspects constitute the country’s main problem was 63.4%; this is the highest proportion recorded in the opinion studies carried out by the IUDOP in the last 10 years”, reads the report.

The statistical analysis revealed that it is women who have a less optimistic opinion of their family economic situation.

According to the data, 21.5% of the women surveyed thought that the family economic situation had worsened compared to 13.2% of the men.

El Salvador has a minimum wage of $365 per month. In November 2022, the country closed with inflation of 7.3%, according to the central bank, one of the highest rates in the last 20 years.

El Salvador, safer

After El Salvador found itself on the list of countries with the highest rates of homicidal violence a few years ago, today public security is the area best evaluated by citizens, according to the survey.

In total, 88 out of 100 Salvadorans said they felt safe or very safe at the end of 2022. The improvement in security is mainly attributed to the exception regime approved by Congress of El Salvador in March 2022, after a wave of murders caused by gangs.

Homicides in the Central American country have dropped to historic levels. After rates of 45 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants, El Salvador reached 2021 with a rate of 17 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants. At the end of 2022 the rate dropped to 7.8, according to data of the Ministry of Security.

“The perceived security is mainly attributed to the decrease in crime in the neighborhoods, to the fact that for the moment there are no gangs, only a police and military presence,” the study maintains.

At the end of last year, men felt more secure than women when faced with the possibility of being victims of a criminal act.

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