Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Sri Lanka instead of El Salvador, you would:
Health
live 5.4 years longer
In El Salvador, the average life expectancy is 72 years (68 years for men, 76 years for women) as of 2024. In Sri Lanka, that number is 78 years (74 years for men, 81 years for women) as of 2024.
be 65.1% less likely to be obese
In El Salvador, 32.2% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Sri Lanka, that number is 11.2% of people as of 2024.
see 56.9% less spent on your healthcare
El Salvador spends $1,176 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Sri Lanka spends $507 as of 2023.
have 29.7% fewer doctors per person
El Salvador has 16.2 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Sri Lanka has 11.4 as of 2023.
have 14.1% less access to essential health services
El Salvador scores 78 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Sri Lanka scores 67 as of 2021.
be 93.2% more likely to die by suicide
El Salvador has a suicide rate of 7.6 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Sri Lanka, it is 14.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 21.2% more likely to be unemployed
In El Salvador, 3.3% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Sri Lanka, that number is 4.0% as of 2025.
make 13.3% less money
El Salvador has a GDP per capita of $5,767 as of 2025, while in Sri Lanka, the GDP per capita is $5,002 as of 2025.
Life
be 53.8% 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 Sri Lanka, 18.0 women do as of 2023.
be 40.9% 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 Sri Lanka, on the other hand, 5.2 children do as of 2024.
have 35.3% fewer children
In El Salvador, there are approximately 15.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Sri Lanka, there are 10.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 17.9% less likely to have internet access
In El Salvador, approximately 66.5% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Sri Lanka, about 54.6% do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 44.9% less on education
El Salvador spends 3.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2024. Sri Lanka spends 1.8% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
spend 60.4% less on healthcare
El Salvador spends 9.3% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Sri Lanka, that number is 3.7% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 4.4 times more coastline
El Salvador has a total of 307 km of coastline. In Sri Lanka, that number is 1,340 km.
Safety
be 58.1% less likely to be murdered
El Salvador has a homicide rate of 7.9 per 100,000 people as of 2022. In Sri Lanka, that number is 3.3 per 100,000 as of 2019.
be 46.5% less likely to die in a road accident
In El Salvador, road accidents kill 21.5 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Sri Lanka, they kill 11.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 32.0% less home broadband
El Salvador has 12.5 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Sri Lanka has 8.5 as of 2024.
live with 7.5 times more strain on fresh water
El Salvador withdraws 12% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Sri Lanka withdraws 91% as of 2022.
use 43.3% less electricity
El Salvador uses 1,137 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Sri Lanka uses 644 kWh as of 2023.
Environment
emit 29.8% less CO2
El Salvador emits 1.5 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Sri Lanka emits 1.1 tonnes as of 2024.
be 19.4% more likely to die from air pollution
In El Salvador, air pollution causes 31.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Sri Lanka, it causes 37.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2019–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: El Salvador vs. Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: At a glance
How big is Sri Lanka compared to El Salvador? See an in-depth size comparison.