Quality of life comparison
If you lived in El Salvador instead of Suriname, you would:
Health
be 75.0% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Suriname, 1.6% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In El Salvador, that number is 0.4% of people as of 2024.
have 19.3% more doctors per person
Suriname has 13.6 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. El Salvador has 16.2 as of 2023.
have 23.8% more access to essential health services
Suriname scores 63 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. El Salvador scores 78 as of 2021.
be 65.7% less likely to die by suicide
Suriname has a suicide rate of 22.3 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In El Salvador, it is 7.6 per 100,000 as of 2021.
live 1.5 years less
In Suriname, the average life expectancy is 74 years (71 years for men, 77 years for women) as of 2024. In El Salvador, that number is 72 years (68 years for men, 76 years for women) as of 2024.
Economy
be 57.9% less likely to be unemployed
In Suriname, 7.8% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In El Salvador, that number is 3.3% as of 2025.
be 54.5% more likely to live below the poverty line
In Suriname, 17.6% live below the poverty line as of 2022. In El Salvador, however, that number is 27.2% as of 2023.
make 18.4% less money
Suriname has a GDP per capita of $7,070 as of 2025, while in El Salvador, the GDP per capita is $5,767 as of 2025.
Life
be 53.6% less likely to die during childbirth
In Suriname, approximately 84.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In El Salvador, 39.0 women do as of 2023.
be 40.5% less likely to die during infancy
In Suriname, approximately 14.8 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In El Salvador, on the other hand, 8.8 children do as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 23.9% less likely to have internet access
In Suriname, approximately 87.4% of the population has internet access as of 2023. In El Salvador, about 66.5% do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 15.7% more on education
Suriname spends 2.9% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. El Salvador spends 3.3% of total GDP on education as of 2024.
spend 71.7% more on healthcare
Suriname spends 5.4% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In El Salvador, that number is 9.3% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 20.5% less coastline
Suriname has a total of 386 km of coastline. In El Salvador, that number is 307 km.
Safety
be 21.2% more likely to be murdered
Suriname has a homicide rate of 6.5 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In El Salvador, that number is 7.9 per 100,000 as of 2022.
be 32.7% more likely to die in a road accident
In Suriname, road accidents kill 16.2 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In El Salvador, they kill 21.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 33.5% less home broadband
Suriname has 18.8 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. El Salvador has 12.5 as of 2024.
live with 3.1 times more strain on fresh water
Suriname withdraws 4% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. El Salvador withdraws 12% as of 2022.
use 60.8% less electricity
Suriname uses 2,897 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. El Salvador uses 1,137 kWh as of 2023.
Environment
be 20.5% less likely to die from air pollution
In Suriname, air pollution causes 39.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In El Salvador, it causes 31.0 as of 2019.
emit 62.8% less CO2
Suriname emits 4.1 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. El Salvador emits 1.5 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Suriname vs. El Salvador
El Salvador: At a glance
How big is El Salvador compared to Suriname? See an in-depth size comparison.