Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Namibia instead of El Salvador, you would:
Health
be 43.2% less likely to be obese
In El Salvador, 32.2% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Namibia, that number is 18.3% of people as of 2024.
be 22.5 times more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In El Salvador, 0.4% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Namibia, that number is 9.0% of people as of 2024.
live 4.8 years less
In El Salvador, the average life expectancy is 72 years (68 years for men, 76 years for women) as of 2024. In Namibia, that number is 68 years (63 years for men, 71 years for women) as of 2024.
have 65.8% fewer doctors per person
El Salvador has 16.2 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Namibia has 5.5 as of 2022.
have 19.2% less access to essential health services
El Salvador scores 78 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Namibia scores 63 as of 2021.
be 12.6% more likely to die by suicide
El Salvador has a suicide rate of 7.6 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Namibia, it is 8.6 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 5.8 times more likely to be unemployed
In El Salvador, 3.3% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Namibia, that number is 19.3% as of 2025.
make 15.4% less money
El Salvador has a GDP per capita of $5,767 as of 2025, while in Namibia, the GDP per capita is $4,876 as of 2025.
Life
have 66.0% more children
In El Salvador, there are approximately 15.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Namibia, there are 25.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 3.6 times more 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 Namibia, 139.0 women do as of 2023.
be 4.1 times 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 Namibia, on the other hand, 36.4 children do as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 42.3% less likely to have access to electricity
In El Salvador, approximately 98% of people have electricity access (99% in urban areas, and 97% in rural areas) as of 2023. In Namibia, that number is 57% of people on average (75% in urban areas, and 34% in rural areas) as of 2023.
Expenditures
spend 2.7 times more on education
El Salvador spends 3.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2024. Namibia spends 9.1% of total GDP on education as of 2024.
Geography
see 5.1 times more coastline
El Salvador has a total of 307 km of coastline. In Namibia, that number is 1,572 km.
Safety
be 41.9% more likely to be murdered
El Salvador has a homicide rate of 7.9 per 100,000 people as of 2022. In Namibia, that number is 11.2 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 97.4% less strain on fresh water
El Salvador withdraws 12% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Namibia withdraws 0% as of 2022.
find 77.3% less home broadband
El Salvador has 12.5 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Namibia has 2.8 as of 2024.
Environment
emit 20.5% less CO2
El Salvador emits 1.5 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Namibia emits 1.2 tonnes as of 2024.
be 38.7% more likely to die from air pollution
In El Salvador, air pollution causes 31.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Namibia, it causes 43.0 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: El Salvador vs. Namibia
Namibia: At a glance
How big is Namibia compared to El Salvador? See an in-depth size comparison.