If you lived in New Caledonia instead of El Salvador, you would:

Health

live 6.6 years longer

In El Salvador, the average life expectancy is 72 years (68 years for men, 76 years for women) as of 2024. In New Caledonia, that number is 79 years (76 years for men, 81 years for women) as of 2024.

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Economy

make 5.1 times more money

El Salvador has a GDP per capita of $5,767 as of 2025, while in New Caledonia, the GDP per capita is $29,213 as of 2024.

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be 3.4 times more likely to be unemployed

In El Salvador, 3.3% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In New Caledonia, that number is 11.2% as of 2025.

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Life

have 10.1% fewer children

In El Salvador, there are approximately 15.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In New Caledonia, there are 14.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

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Basic Needs

be 23.3% more likely to have internet access

In El Salvador, approximately 66.5% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In New Caledonia, about 82.0% do as of 2021.

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Geography

see 7.3 times more coastline

El Salvador has a total of 307 km of coastline. In New Caledonia, that number is 2,254 km.

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Infrastructure

find 55.5% more home broadband

El Salvador has 12.5 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. New Caledonia has 19.4 as of 2022.

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Environment

emit 11.3 times more CO2

El Salvador emits 1.5 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. New Caledonia emits 17.1 tonnes as of 2024.

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Sources: World Bank (2022–2025), The World Factbook (2021). How we calculate this

New Caledonia: At a glance

New Caledonia is a sovereign country in Australia-Oceania, with a total land area of approximately 18,275 sq km. Settled by both Britain and France during the first half of the 19th century, the island became a French possession in 1853. It served as a penal colony for four decades after 1864. Agitation for independence during the 1980s and early 1990s ended in the 1998 Noumea Accord, which over a period of 15 to 20 years will transfer an increasing amount of governing responsibility from France to New Caledonia. The agreement also commits France to conduct a referendum between 2014 and 2018 to decide whether New Caledonia should assume full sovereignty and independence.
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How big is New Caledonia compared to El Salvador? See an in-depth size comparison.

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