The Digital Ecosystem Country Assessment (DECA), a flagship initiative of the Digital Strategy, supports USAID Missions to better understand, work with, and support country digital ecosystems. The DECA looks at three pillars of a country’s digital ecosystem: (1) Digital Infrastructure and Adoption; (2) Digital Society, Rights, and Governance; and, (3) Digital Economy. The El Salvador DECA was carried out between November 2021 and May 2022. It included desk research, 101 key informant interviews, and was guided by USAID/El Salvador’s 2020-2025 Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS).

Digital transformation is a priority for El Salvador. Government initiatives date back to 1999 with the creation of the first Infocenters and include the current Bukele Administration’s expansive Digital Agenda 2020-2030 which covers initiatives from increased digital literacy to the modernization of the state. However, a weak regulatory environment and the lack of clear government strategies have held back digitalization efforts. Uneven digital connectivity across the country and a limited number of Salvadorans with adequate digital skills continue to hinder greater digital adoption. Although the government’s embrace of bitcoin in September 2021 shined a spotlight on El Salvador globally, consumers and businesses have been slow to adopt the cryptocurrency. While there is significant room for growth, the COVID-19 pandemic spurred digital uptake across users and businesses.