Country page · Latin America & Caribbean
If you were born in El Salvador
1 in 1,351 babies · 0.07% of births · about 99,283 a year
Right now, about 0.07% of the world's babies are born in El Salvador — 1 in 1,351, or roughly 99,283 a year and 272 a day. Life expectancy there is 72.3 years.
How the 1 in 1,351 is calculated
This number is not based on population. It uses births: El Salvador has about 99,283 births a year, and the world has about 134,147,481. Divide one by the other and you get 0.07% — 1 in 1,351. Using population instead would understate young countries and overstate ageing ones, so every draw is weighted by births.
Life in El Salvador, in numbers
| Indicator | Value | World rank |
|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy women 76.5 · men 67.8 | 72.3 years | 101st highest of 172 countries |
| Chance of dying before 5 10.0 / 1,000 | 1.0% | 65th lowest of 170 countries |
| Chance of dying before 1 8.8 / 1,000 | 0.9% | 66th lowest of 170 countries |
| Mothers who die giving birth per 100,000 births | 39 | 80th lowest of 170 countries |
| Children per woman | 1.77 | 70th lowest of 172 countries |
| Expected years of schooling | 11.6 years | 108th highest of 168 countries |
| Tertiary enrollment | 32.8% | 96th highest of 168 countries |
| Income per person (PPP) GDP per capita, PPP | $14,101 | 100th highest of 170 countries |
| Income inequality closer to 0 = more equal | 39.80 | 46th highest of 157 countries |
| People living in cities | 75.5% | 50th highest of 172 countries |
| People working in farming | 13.9% | 76th lowest of 171 countries |
| People using the internet | 66.5% | 109th highest of 172 countries |
| Homicide per 100,000 people | 7.9 | 123rd lowest of 155 countries |
| Health costs paid out of pocket share of health spending | 32.5% | 98th lowest of 168 countries |
| Adults living with HIV | 0.40% | 71st highest of 142 countries |
| People who smoke | 8.2% | — |
How to read these numbers
Income is shown in purchasing-power-parity dollars, so it compares what money buys locally rather than market exchange rates. The under-5 rate is the share of babies who die before their fifth birthday; the maternal mortality ratio is per 100,000 live births. A Gini index closer to 0 means a more equal income distribution, and a higher number means a more unequal one.
Each indicator uses the most recent year with a non-empty value, which can differ by country; the rank compares this country with the other 171 in the dataset, not with every country on Earth. Where a value is missing, the page shows a dash rather than an estimate.
El Salvador compared with Latin America & Caribbean
Life expectancy in El Salvador is 72.3 years, against a Latin America & Caribbean average of 75.1. The under-5 death rate is 1.0%, versus 1.6% across the region. Income per person is $14,101, against $26,587 regionally; expected schooling is 11.6 years against 13.2. 75.5% of people live in cities, against 71.1% in the region.
| Indicator | El Salvador | Latin America & Caribbean | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy | 72.3 years old | 75.1 years old | 73.3 years old |
| Under-5 deaths | 1.0% | 1.6% | 2.6% |
| Income per person (PPP) | $14,101 | $26,587 | $30,311 |
| Expected schooling | 11.6 years | 13.2 years | 13.0 years |
| People in cities | 75.5% | 71.1% | 61.6% |
What a life there looks like
Put those numbers together and you get a life: about 72.3 years on average, with roughly 10.0 of every 1,000 babies dying before their fifth birthday. A child can expect 11.6 years of school, and income per person is around $14,101. These are averages — every life still lands somewhere on the distribution.
If you play as someone born in El Salvador
The game draws El Salvador in about 1 of every 1,351 births. From there the life runs year by year: 72.3 years of life expectancy on average, a 1.0% chance of dying before five, and an income of about $14,101 per person. Choices move the odds; the starting statistics do not.
Nearby and similar countries
- Chance of being born in Cuba — 1 in 1,423
- Chance of being born in Nicaragua — 1 in 1,000
- Chance of being born in Paraguay — 1 in 970
- All 172 countries
Frequently asked questions
What are the odds of being born in El Salvador?
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Source: World Bank World Development Indicators, with UN World Population Prospects 2024 and UN IGME for births and mortality. Values are the most recent non-empty year for each indicator; the year is noted where it differs. Page updated Oct 24, 2026.