Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Vanuatu instead of El Salvador, you would:
Health
be 29.8% less likely to be obese
In El Salvador, 32.2% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Vanuatu, that number is 22.6% of people as of 2024.
see 88.0% less spent on your healthcare
El Salvador spends $1,176 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Vanuatu spends $141 as of 2023.
have 39.7% less access to essential health services
El Salvador scores 78 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Vanuatu scores 47 as of 2021.
be 2.1 times more likely to die by suicide
El Salvador has a suicide rate of 7.6 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Vanuatu, it is 15.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 41.5% less likely to live below the poverty line
In El Salvador, 27.2% live below the poverty line as of 2023. In Vanuatu, however, that number is 15.9% as of 2020.
be 53.6% more likely to be unemployed
In El Salvador, 3.3% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Vanuatu, that number is 5.1% as of 2025.
make 30.0% less money
El Salvador has a GDP per capita of $5,767 as of 2025, while in Vanuatu, the GDP per capita is $4,039 as of 2025.
Life
have 77.2% more children
In El Salvador, there are approximately 15.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Vanuatu, there are 27.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 2.6 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 Vanuatu, 100.0 women do as of 2023.
be 63.6% 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 Vanuatu, on the other hand, 14.4 children do as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 37.3% 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 Vanuatu, that number is 62% of people on average (88% in urban areas, and 54% in rural areas) as of 2023.
Expenditures
spend 55.7% less on healthcare
El Salvador spends 9.3% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Vanuatu, that number is 4.1% of GDP as of 2023.
spend 2.3 times more on education
El Salvador spends 3.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2024. Vanuatu spends 7.6% of total GDP on education as of 2024.
Geography
see 8.2 times more coastline
El Salvador has a total of 307 km of coastline. In Vanuatu, that number is 2,528 km.
Safety
be 95.8% less likely to be murdered
El Salvador has a homicide rate of 7.9 per 100,000 people as of 2022. In Vanuatu, that number is 0.3 per 100,000 as of 2020.
be 41.9% less likely to die in a road accident
In El Salvador, road accidents kill 21.5 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Vanuatu, they kill 12.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 90.7% less home broadband
El Salvador has 12.5 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Vanuatu has 1.2 as of 2024.
Environment
emit 42.4% less CO2
El Salvador emits 1.5 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Vanuatu emits 0.9 tonnes as of 2024.
be 83.9% more likely to die from air pollution
In El Salvador, air pollution causes 31.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Vanuatu, it causes 57.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2020–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), The World Factbook (2020), World Health Organization (2024). How we calculate this
Compare further: El Salvador vs. Vanuatu
Vanuatu: At a glance
How big is Vanuatu compared to El Salvador? See an in-depth size comparison.