El Salvador

El Salvador
State type
Unitary
Type of government
Republicano democrático representativo
Branches
Legislative
Judicial
Executive
Administrative Division

National Level

Gobierno Central

Intermediate/Regional Level

Departamentos 14

Local Level

Municipios 44

National Urban Policy

  • This proposal for a National Housing and Habitat Policy of El Salvador has been conceptualized as a high-level public management instrument, with a long-term vision that transcends the periods of administration of the Executive Branch (five-year terms) and should give coherence to the programs and projects to be implemented in the short and medium term to provide a structural response to the housing and habitat problems of El Salvador (Pg. 8).

    Política Nacional de Vivienda y Hábitat de El Salvador (PNVH)
    National urban policy type:
    Partial - Housing and Habitat Policy
    Policy temporality:
    Long-term
    View more

  • Urban municipal financing system of El Salvador

    El Salvador is a unitary republic. Its Political Constitution encouraged the decentralization process, designating municipalities as autonomous governments in technical, economic, and administrative matters. Municipal authorities have the power to regulate their own taxes. Departments are merely administrative and deconcentrated divisions representing the central government.

    The main sources of municipal revenue are transfers from the central government, which account for an average of 62% of local revenues (2024), indicating a high degree of dependence, followed by fees, licenses, and local taxes. Among local taxes, the most important is the business tax (impuesto de giro), which is levied on the assets, capital, and profits of economic activities carried out within the municipality. El Salvador does not have a property tax: it is the only country in Central America without a general and recurring tax on real estate.

    Read more

Urban Rights

English