Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Cuba instead of El Salvador, you would:
Health
live 6.0 years longer
In El Salvador, the average life expectancy is 72 years (68 years for men, 76 years for women) as of 2024. In Cuba, that number is 78 years (76 years for men, 81 years for women) as of 2024.
be 28.5% less likely to be obese
In El Salvador, 32.2% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Cuba, that number is 23.0% of people as of 2024.
see 2.2 times more spent on your healthcare
El Salvador spends $1,176 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Cuba spends $2,575 as of 2023.
have 5.9 times more doctors per person
El Salvador has 16.2 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Cuba has 95.4 as of 2021.
be 80.7% more likely to die by suicide
El Salvador has a suicide rate of 7.6 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Cuba, it is 13.8 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 47.0% less likely to be unemployed
In El Salvador, 3.3% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Cuba, that number is 1.8% as of 2025.
Life
be 11.1% more likely to be literate
In El Salvador, the literacy rate is 89.8% as of 2024. In Cuba, it is 99.7% as of 2021.
be 22.7% less likely to die during infancy
In El Salvador, approximately 8.8 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Cuba, on the other hand, 6.8 children do as of 2024.
have 44.7% fewer children
In El Salvador, there are approximately 15.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Cuba, there are 8.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 2.5 times more on education
El Salvador spends 3.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2024. Cuba spends 8.4% of total GDP on education as of 2022.
Geography
see 12.2 times more coastline
El Salvador has a total of 307 km of coastline. In Cuba, that number is 3,735 km.
Safety
be 43.5% less likely to be murdered
El Salvador has a homicide rate of 7.9 per 100,000 people as of 2022. In Cuba, that number is 4.5 per 100,000 as of 2019.
be 74.9% less likely to die in a road accident
In El Salvador, road accidents kill 21.5 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Cuba, they kill 5.4 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
use 28.6% more electricity
El Salvador uses 1,137 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Cuba uses 1,462 kWh as of 2023.
find 75.3% less home broadband
El Salvador has 12.5 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Cuba has 3.1 as of 2024.
live with 98.0% more strain on fresh water
El Salvador withdraws 12% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Cuba withdraws 24% as of 2022.
Environment
emit 26.5% more CO2
El Salvador emits 1.5 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Cuba emits 1.9 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2019–2025), The World Factbook (2021), World Health Organization (2024), United Nations SDG Indicators (2021). How we calculate this
Compare further: El Salvador vs. Cuba
Cuba: At a glance
How big is Cuba compared to El Salvador? See an in-depth size comparison.