Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Syria instead of El Salvador, you would:
Health
be 92.3% less likely to die by suicide
El Salvador has a suicide rate of 7.6 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Syria, it is 0.6 per 100,000 as of 2021.
see 89.6% less spent on your healthcare
El Salvador spends $1,176 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Syria spends $122 as of 2023.
have 17.9% less access to essential health services
El Salvador scores 78 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Syria scores 64 as of 2021.
Economy
be 4.1 times more likely to be unemployed
In El Salvador, 3.3% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Syria, that number is 13.6% as of 2025.
make 81.7% less money
El Salvador has a GDP per capita of $5,767 as of 2025, while in Syria, the GDP per capita is $1,057 as of 2022.
Life
be 48.7% 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 Syria, 20.0 women do as of 2023.
have 48.5% more children
In El Salvador, there are approximately 15.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Syria, there are 23.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 2.0 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 Syria, on the other hand, 17.7 children do as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 10.1% 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 Syria, that number is 88% of people on average (100% in urban areas, and 73% in rural areas) as of 2023.
be 29.9% less likely to have internet access
In El Salvador, approximately 66.5% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Syria, about 46.6% do as of 2022.
Expenditures
spend 70.8% less on healthcare
El Salvador spends 9.3% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Syria, that number is 2.7% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 37.1% less coastline
El Salvador has a total of 307 km of coastline. In Syria, that number is 193 km.
Safety
be 39.1% more likely to die in a road accident
In El Salvador, road accidents kill 21.5 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Syria, they kill 29.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 44.9% less home broadband
El Salvador has 12.5 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Syria has 6.9 as of 2023.
live with 10.3 times more strain on fresh water
El Salvador withdraws 12% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Syria withdraws 124% as of 2022.
use 24.9% less electricity
El Salvador uses 1,137 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Syria uses 854 kWh as of 2023.
Environment
emit 15.9% less CO2
El Salvador emits 1.5 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Syria emits 1.3 tonnes as of 2024.
be 2.7 times more likely to die from air pollution
In El Salvador, air pollution causes 31.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Syria, it causes 83.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), The World Factbook (2022). How we calculate this
Compare further: El Salvador vs. Syria
Syria: At a glance
How big is Syria compared to El Salvador? See an in-depth size comparison.