Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Iran instead of El Salvador, you would:
Health
live 5.5 years longer
In El Salvador, the average life expectancy is 72 years (68 years for men, 76 years for women) as of 2024. In Iran, that number is 78 years (76 years for men, 80 years for women) as of 2024.
be 23.6% less likely to be obese
In El Salvador, 32.2% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Iran, that number is 24.6% of people as of 2024.
have 12.1% more doctors per person
El Salvador has 16.2 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Iran has 18.1 as of 2023.
be 46.7% less likely to die by suicide
El Salvador has a suicide rate of 7.6 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Iran, it is 4.1 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 2.5 times more likely to be unemployed
In El Salvador, 3.3% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Iran, that number is 8.3% as of 2025.
make 31.9% less money
El Salvador has a GDP per capita of $5,767 as of 2025, while in Iran, the GDP per capita is $3,924 as of 2025.
Life
be 59.0% less likely to die during childbirth
In El Salvador, approximately 39.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Iran, 16.0 women do as of 2023.
be 17.0% more 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 Iran, on the other hand, 10.3 children do as of 2024.
have 19.4% fewer children
In El Salvador, there are approximately 15.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Iran, there are 12.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 28.4% more likely to have internet access
In El Salvador, approximately 66.5% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Iran, about 85.3% do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 15.1% less on education
El Salvador spends 3.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2024. Iran spends 2.8% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
spend 35.1% less on healthcare
El Salvador spends 9.3% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Iran, that number is 6.0% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 7.9 times more coastline
El Salvador has a total of 307 km of coastline. In Iran, that number is 2,440 km.
Infrastructure
use 3.4 times more electricity
El Salvador uses 1,137 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Iran uses 3,815 kWh as of 2023.
live with 6.7 times more strain on fresh water
El Salvador withdraws 12% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Iran withdraws 81% as of 2022.
Environment
be 64.5% more likely to die from air pollution
In El Salvador, air pollution causes 31.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Iran, it causes 51.0 as of 2019.
emit 6.0 times more CO2
El Salvador emits 1.5 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Iran emits 9.1 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook, United Nations SDG Indicators (2019). How we calculate this
Compare further: El Salvador vs. Iran
Iran: At a glance
How big is Iran compared to El Salvador? See an in-depth size comparison.