If you lived in El Salvador instead of Rhode Island, you would:

Economy

be 25.0% less likely to be unemployed

In Rhode Island, 4.4% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In El Salvador, that number is 3.3% as of 2025.

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be 2.6 times more likely to live below the poverty line

In Rhode Island, 10.3% live below the poverty line as of 2023. In El Salvador, however, that number is 27.2% as of 2023.

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make 89.9% less money

Rhode Island has a GDP per capita of $56,938 as of 2024, while in El Salvador, the GDP per capita is $5,767 as of 2025.

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Basic Needs

be 26.8% less likely to have internet access

In Rhode Island, approximately 90.8% of the population has internet access as of 2023. In El Salvador, about 66.5% do as of 2024.

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Sources: World Bank (2023–2025), US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) (2023), Bureau of Labor Statistics (2025), Bureau of Economic Analysis (2024). How we calculate this

El Salvador: At a glance

El Salvador is a sovereign country in Central America/Caribbean, with a total land area of approximately 20,721 sq km. El Salvador achieved independence from Spain in 1821 and from the Central American Federation in 1839. A 12-year civil war, which cost about 75,000 lives, was brought to a close in 1992 when the government and leftist rebels signed a treaty that provided for military and political reforms.
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How big is El Salvador compared to Rhode Island? See an in-depth size comparison.

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