Latin America & Caribbean
A life that begins in El Salvador
One in every 1,351 babies in the world is born here: about 99,283 a year, 0.19 a minute.
- Population
- 6,365,503
- Births a year
- 99,283
- Life expectancy
- 72.1
- Children who die before 5 (per 1,000)
- 10
Health and survival
Life expectancy, women (years)
76.5
World: 75.9
Life expectancy, men (years)
67.8
World: 71
Babies who die before 1 (per 1,000)
8.8
World: 27.8
Children who die before 5 (per 1,000)
10
World: 37.6
Mothers who die in childbirth (per 100,000 births)
39
World: 189
Adults living with HIV (%)
0.4
World: 0.7
Adults who smoke (%)
8
World: 20
Alcohol per adult (litres a year)
3.2
World: 4.6
Road deaths (per 100,000)
20.9
World: 17
Homicides (per 100,000)
7.9
World: 4.7
Family and school
Children per woman
1.77
World: 2.85
Women married before 18 (%)
20
World: 18
Children in primary school (%)
81
World: 89
Secondary school enrolment (%)
62
World: 81
Higher education enrolment (%)
33
World: 48
Children aged 7–14 who work (%)
7.8
World: 11.9
Money and work
Income per person (PPP)
$12,050
World: $21,797
Income inequality (Gini, 0–100)
40
World: 34
Living on under $3 a day (%)
4.6
World: 9.9
Unemployment (%)
3.3
World: 5.1
Jobs in farming (%)
14
World: 27
Women in the workforce (%)
49
World: 48
Health costs paid out of pocket (%)
32
World: 37
Home and connection
Living in cities (%)
76
World: 58
Access to electricity (%)
99
World: 92
Safe drinking water (%)
92
World: 91
Internet users (%)
66
World: 72
Peace and wellbeing
Life satisfaction (0–10)
6.58
World: 5.4
Deaths in armed conflict (per 100,000 a year)
0.28
World: 2.43
Refugees abroad (% of population)
1.07
World: 0.34
From 1960 to 2050
How life here has changed, and where UN projections expect it to go. The dashed part is a projection.
1960: 48.3 → 2026: 72.1 → 2050: 77.4
World
1960: 201 → 2026: 9 → 2050: 3
World
1960: 6.6 → 2026: 1.8 → 2050: 1.7
World
1960: 38 → 2026: 76 → 2050: 83
World
Nobody chooses where they are born
In the game, the country is drawn by the real share of births: El Salvador comes up about once in every 1,351 lives.
Be born nowOther countries in Latin America & Caribbean
All 178 countries →Sources: World Bank (WDI), UN World Population Prospects, Our World in Data, World Happiness Report, UCDP and PRIO. Updated 2026-10-18.