Quality of life comparison
If you lived in El Salvador instead of Belize, you would:
Health
be 66.7% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Belize, 1.2% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In El Salvador, that number is 0.4% of people as of 2024.
be 25.9% less likely to be obese
In Belize, 43.4% of adults are obese as of 2024. In El Salvador, that number is 32.2% of people as of 2024.
see 2.1 times more spent on your healthcare
Belize spends $573 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). El Salvador spends $1,176 as of 2023.
have 14.7% more access to essential health services
Belize scores 68 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. El Salvador scores 78 as of 2021.
live 1.4 years less
In Belize, the average life expectancy is 74 years (71 years for men, 77 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.
be 82.5% more likely to die by suicide
Belize has a suicide rate of 4.2 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In El Salvador, it is 7.6 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 62.8% less likely to be unemployed
In Belize, 8.9% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In El Salvador, that number is 3.3% as of 2025.
make 26.7% less money
Belize has a GDP per capita of $7,865 as of 2025, while in El Salvador, the GDP per capita is $5,767 as of 2025.
Life
be 41.8% less likely to die during childbirth
In Belize, approximately 67.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In El Salvador, 39.0 women do as of 2023.
be 18.5% less likely to die during infancy
In Belize, approximately 10.8 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In El Salvador, on the other hand, 8.8 children do as of 2024.
have 13.6% fewer children
In Belize, there are approximately 18.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In El Salvador, there are 15.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 16.9% less likely to have internet access
In Belize, approximately 80.0% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In El Salvador, about 66.5% do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 28.1% less on education
Belize spends 4.6% of its total GDP on education as of 2024. El Salvador spends 3.3% of total GDP on education as of 2024.
spend 2.2 times more on healthcare
Belize spends 4.2% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In El Salvador, that number is 9.3% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 20.5% less coastline
Belize has a total of 386 km of coastline. In El Salvador, that number is 307 km.
Safety
be 71.8% less likely to be murdered
Belize has a homicide rate of 28.1 per 100,000 people as of 2022. In El Salvador, that number is 7.9 per 100,000 as of 2022.
be 22.9% more likely to die in a road accident
In Belize, road accidents kill 17.5 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In El Salvador, they kill 21.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 27.8% more home broadband
Belize has 9.8 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2022. El Salvador has 12.5 as of 2024.
live with 9.6 times more strain on fresh water
Belize withdraws 1% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. El Salvador withdraws 12% as of 2022.
Environment
be 47.6% more likely to die from air pollution
In Belize, air pollution causes 21.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In El Salvador, it causes 31.0 as of 2019.
emit 62.4% more CO2
Belize emits 0.9 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. El Salvador emits 1.5 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Belize vs. El Salvador
El Salvador: At a glance
How big is El Salvador compared to Belize? See an in-depth size comparison.