What is the Population of El Salvador in 2023? El Salvador Population

El Salvador Population
El Salvador Population

The population of El Salvador in 2023 is 6,338,881. El Salvador’s population increased by 0.13% compared to 2021, which had a population of 6,330,947. According to the General Directorate of Statistics and Censuses (DIGESTYC).

According to experts, El Salvador’s population growth rate is expected to slow in the upcoming years, mainly because of all the people leaving the country for political and economic reasons.

The population of El Salvador 2020 to 2023
2020 2021 2022 2023
Population 6,321,042 6,325,827 6,330,947 6,338,881

El Salvador Population by Department

The most populated departments in El Salvador in 2023 are San Salvador with 1,732,068, La Libertad with 800,920, and Santa Ana with 560,355 residents.

The least populated departments are Cabañas with 153,437, San Vicente with 174,223, and Chalatenango with 179,255 inhabitants.

Department 2022
Population
2023
Population
1 San Salvador 1,732,068 1,730,449
2 La Libertad 800,920 803,933
3 Santa Ana 560,355 560,508
4 Sonsonate 504,581 506,682
5 San Miguel 464,558 464,171
6 Ahuachapan 365,128 367,811
7 La Paz 357,629 359,545
8 Usulutan 349,229 348,882
9 Cuscatlan 266,027 267,797
10 La Union 229,871 228,386
11 Morazan 193,666 194,287
12 Chalatenango 179,255 178,166
13 San Vicente 174,223 174,693
14 Cabañas 153,437 153,571

Most populated Municipalities in El Salvador

The most populated municipalities in El Salvador in 2022 are San Salvador, Soyapango, Santa Ana, San Miguel, and Apopa. The following table has the ten most populated municipalities in the country.

Municipality Department 2022
Population
2023
Population
1 San Salvador San Salvador 335,982 335,070
2 Soyapango San Salvador 258,672 258,445
3 Santa Ana Santa Ana 251,095 250,318
4 San Miguel San Miguel 215,597 214,677
5 Apopa San Salvador 155,466 155,219
6 Mejicanos San Salvador 135,556 134,878
7 Santa Tecla La Libertad 127,294 127,269
8 Ahuachapan Ahuachapan 125,544 126,730
9 Delgado San Salvador 123,258 123,429
10 Colon La Libertad 120,088 120,819

Most of the most populated municipalities are in the San Salvador greater metropolitan area.

Least populated Municipalities in El Salvador

The municipalities less populated in El Salvador are San Antonio Los Ranchos, Azacualpa, Mercedes La Ceiba, San Francisco Lempa, and San Luís del Carmen. The following table has the ten least populated municipalities in the country.

Municipality Department 2022
Population
2023
Population
253 San Jose Cancasque Chalatenango 1524 1509
254 Cinquera Cabañas 1363 1364
255 San Jose Las Flores Chalatenango 1323 1318
256 Las Vueltas Chalatenango 1301 1294
257 San Isidro Labrador Chalatenango 1235 1233
258 San Luís del Carmen Chalatenango 1103 1098
259 Mercedes La Ceiba La Paz 1008 1012
260 San Francisco Lempa Chalatenango 1008 1006
261 Azacualpa Chalatenango 997 994
262 San Antonio Los Ranchos Chalatenango 988 979

Most of the municipalities with few inhabitants are in the department of Chalatenago, which is a mainly rural department near the Honduras border.