Quality of life comparison
If you lived in El Salvador instead of Barbados, you would:
Health
be 18.4% less likely to be obese
In Barbados, 39.4% of adults are obese as of 2024. In El Salvador, that number is 32.2% of people as of 2024.
live 4.0 years less
In Barbados, the average life expectancy is 76 years (74 years for men, 79 years for women) as of 2024. In El Salvador, that number is 72 years (68 years for men, 76 years for women) as of 2024.
have 45.4% fewer doctors per person
Barbados has 29.6 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. El Salvador has 16.2 as of 2023.
be 2.2 times more likely to die by suicide
Barbados has a suicide rate of 3.5 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In El Salvador, it is 7.6 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 49.4% less likely to be unemployed
In Barbados, 6.5% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In El Salvador, that number is 3.3% as of 2025.
make 79.7% less money
Barbados has a GDP per capita of $28,365 as of 2025, while in El Salvador, the GDP per capita is $5,767 as of 2025.
Life
have 40.3% more children
In Barbados, there are approximately 11.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In El Salvador, there are 15.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 72.0% more on healthcare
Barbados spends 5.4% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In El Salvador, that number is 9.3% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 3.2 times more coastline
Barbados has a total of 97 km of coastline. In El Salvador, that number is 307 km.
Safety
be 2.1 times more likely to die in a road accident
In Barbados, road accidents kill 10.0 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In El Salvador, they kill 21.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 86.2% less strain on fresh water
Barbados withdraws 88% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. El Salvador withdraws 12% as of 2022.
find 66.8% less home broadband
Barbados has 37.5 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2022. El Salvador has 12.5 as of 2024.
Environment
emit 40.1% less CO2
Barbados emits 2.5 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. El Salvador emits 1.5 tonnes as of 2024.
be 63.2% more likely to die from air pollution
In Barbados, air pollution causes 19.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In El Salvador, it causes 31.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Barbados vs. El Salvador
El Salvador: At a glance
How big is El Salvador compared to Barbados? See an in-depth size comparison.