Editing Economy of El Salvador (section)

=== Remittances ===
[[File:PoblacionSalvadoreñoenlosEstadosUnidos.png|left|thumb|[[Salvadoran American]] population in the United States]]
Remittances from Salvadorans working in the United States sent to family members are a major source of foreign income and offset the substantial [[trade deficit]] of around $2.9 billion. Remittances have increased steadily in the last decade and reached an all-time high of $2.9 billion in 2005—approximately 17.1% of gross national product ([[Gross national product|GNP]]).

Remittances have had positive and negative effects on El Salvador. In 2005, the number of people living in [[extreme poverty]] in El Salvador was 20%,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.redsolidaria.gob.sv/content/view/677/46/1/1/|title=Objetivos de Desarrollo del Milenio|access-date=23 May 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070527082755/http://www.redsolidaria.gob.sv/content/view/677/46/1/1/|archive-date=27 May 2007|language=es}}
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</ref> according to a United Nations Development Program report. While Salvadoran education levels have gone up, wage expectations have risen faster than productivity. This has led to an influx of Hondurans and Nicaraguans who are willing to work for the prevailing wage. Also, the local propensity for consumption has increased. Money from remittances has increased prices for certain commodities such as real estate. With much higher wages, many Salvadorans abroad can afford higher prices for houses in El Salvador and thus push up the prices that all Salvadorans must pay.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/13/AR2006051300879_pf.html|title=Money Earned in U.S. Pushes Up Prices in El Salvador|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=13 May 2006|access-date=2 May 2010|first=N.C.|last= Aizenman}}</ref>