# Is El Salvador safe in 2026?

> El Salvador scores 74.6/100 on the live safety index — generally safe. The main pressure on the score comes from crime, political instability, natural disasters. The 24-hour AI forecast calls the trend stable (projected 74.6/100).

**Safety index:** 74.6 / 100 (higher is safer)
**Verdict band:** generally safe
**Active combat confirmed in the last 24h:** no
**Canonical:** https://safemap.ai/country/el-salvador
**Generated:** 2026-09-01T04:12:41Z
**License:** CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) — reuse with attribution to safemap.ai and the timestamp of the numbers.
**Contact:** contact@safemap.ai

## Threat breakdown

| Category | Current | Cap |
|---|---|---|
| Crime | 7.1 | 15 |
| Political instability | 6.7 | 15 |
| Natural disasters | 1.8 | 5 |
| Military conflict | 7.1 | 30 |
| Economy | 1.8 | 8 |
| Internet freedom | 0.6 | 7 |
| Public health | 0.2 | 3 |
| Ecology | 0.1 | 1 |
| Sanctions | 0.1 | 4 |
| Nuclear risk | 0.0 | 12 |

## 30-day trend

El Salvador's score fell by −2.9 over the last 30 days (77.5 → 74.6).

Aug 3 · 77.5 → Sep 1 · 74.6

## Official travel advisory

**Level 1 — Exercise Normal Precautions.** The U.S. State Department places El Salvador at Level 1 — Exercise Normal Precautions. Our live index reads 74.6/100. That advisory was last revised Jun 25, 2026, 68 days ago; the index above is recomputed continuously from current reporting.

Source: U.S. Department of State (https://travel.state.gov/content/tsg_aem/us/en/home/international-travel/travel-advisories/destination.slv.html), revised Jun 25, 2026. Levels run 1 (normal precautions) to 4 (do not travel). This is not travel advice.

## Latest recorded events

- 2026-08-30T19:02:48Z — El Salvador, Panama and Honduras declare emergencies over drought impacts linked to El Niño — disaster, severity 3/10 — El Tiempo — https://www.eltiempo.com/mundo/latinoamerica/el-salvador-panama-y-honduras-declaran-emergencias-ante-los-impactos-de-la-sequia-vinculada-al-fenomeno-de-el-nino-3582220
- 2026-08-26T21:46:19Z — El Salvador extends state of exception again while NGOs report rising death toll in mega-prisons — political, severity 4/10 — El Tiempo — https://www.eltiempo.com/mundo/latinoamerica/el-salvador-prorroga-nuevamente-el-regimen-de-excepcion-mientras-oeneges-denuncian-alza-de-muertos-en-megacarceles-3581281
- 2026-08-13T01:22:18Z — Strong 5.5 magnitude earthquake in El Salvador \| Earthquake reported Wednesday night, August 12: epicenter, depth, and details — disaster, severity 4/10 — El Tiempo — https://www.eltiempo.com/mundo/latinoamerica/fuerte-temblor-en-el-salvador-de-5-5-magnitud-reportan-sismo-durante-la-noche-de-este-miercoles-12-de-agosto-epicentro-profundidad-y-detalles-3578026
- 2026-07-30T14:23:27Z — El Salvador sentences gang members to 1,000 years in prison — crime, severity 5/10 — Al Jazeera — https://www.aljazeera.com/video/newsfeed/2026/7/30/el-salvador-sentences-gang-members-to-1000-years-in-prison?traffic_source=rss
- 2026-07-27T02:01:11Z — El Salvador opposition pitch former lawmaker, doctor to run against Bukele in 2027 — political, severity 2/10 — Reuters — https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/el-salvador-opposition-pitch-former-lawmaker-doctor-run-against-bukele-2027-2026-07-27/
- 2026-07-17T23:47:52Z — Pacific Ocean earthquake is felt from Mexico to El Salvador - A powerful 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck off the Mexico-Guatemala coast in the Pacific Ocean on Friday, being felt as far as El Salvador. — disaster, severity 5/10 — UPI News — https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2026/07/17/latam-mexico-earthquake/8541784331161/

## 24-hour forecast

Trend **stable**, projected score 74.6/100, generated 2026-08-31T23:00:43Z.

Drought and political concerns remain active, while recent safety momentum is broadly flat.

## Compared with nearby countries

| Country | Score | vs El Salvador |
|---|---|---|
| El Salvador (this country) | 74.6 | — |
| Guatemala | 78.0 | +3.4 |
| Honduras | 72.1 | −2.5 |
| Belize | 83.8 | +9.2 |
| Nicaragua | 69.0 | −5.6 |
| Costa Rica | 90.3 | +15.7 |

## How this number is computed

https://safemap.ai/methodology.md

## Citation

Global Safety Map, safemap.ai — safety index 74.6/100 for El Salvador, as of 2026-09-01T04:12:41Z.

## License

The data is licensed under CC BY 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

You may reuse, redistribute and build on these numbers, including commercially, provided you attribute Global Safety Map (safemap.ai) and carry the timestamp of the figures you quote. A score without its timestamp is not attributed data — it is a stale number with our name on it.

Citation format: Global Safety Map, safemap.ai — safety index {score}/100 for {country}, as of {date}.

## Contact

Questions, partnerships or data-removal requests: contact@safemap.ai