Land
Size, shape and altitude
How big is it, really?
El Salvador fits inside Guatemala 5.2 times
El Salvador: 21,040 km² (2024) · Guatemala: 108,889 km² (2024)
How much coast is there?
Guatemala’s coastline is 30% longer than El Salvador’s
El Salvador: 307 km (2026 edition) · Guatemala: 400 km (2026 edition)
How high can you climb?
Guatemala’s highest peak towers 1,490 m above El Salvador’s
El Salvador: 2,730 m (2026 edition) · Guatemala: 4,220 m (2026 edition)
How much of the land is farmed?
Farmland covers 57% of El Salvador, versus 46% of Guatemala
El Salvador: 57.3% (2024) · Guatemala: 46% (2024)
People
Who lives there, and how closely
How many people live there?
Guatemala has 2.9 times as many people as El Salvador
El Salvador: 6.37 million (2025) · Guatemala: 18.7 million (2025)
How crowded is it?
El Salvador is 76% more densely populated than Guatemala
El Salvador: 307 per km² (2025) · Guatemala: 174 per km² (2025)
How tall are the men?
Men in El Salvador are 6.3 cm taller than in Guatemala
El Salvador: 170.7 cm (2019) · Guatemala: 164.4 cm (2019)
How tall are the women?
Women in El Salvador are 5.5 cm taller than in Guatemala
El Salvador: 156.4 cm (2019) · Guatemala: 150.9 cm (2019)
How old is the typical person?
The typical person in El Salvador is 4.3 years older than in Guatemala
El Salvador: 27 years (2023) · Guatemala: 22.6 years (2023)
How many children per woman?
Women in Guatemala have 0.5 more children on average than in El Salvador
El Salvador: 1.77 children per woman (2024) · Guatemala: 2.29 children per woman (2024)
How many people are 65 or older?
8.3% of people in El Salvador are 65 or older, versus 5.0% in Guatemala
El Salvador: 8.3% (2025) · Guatemala: 5% (2025)
How many refugees does it host?
Guatemala hosts 3 times as many refugees per resident as El Salvador
El Salvador: 0.029 per 1,000 (2025) · Guatemala: 0.1 per 1,000 (2025)
How many Nobel laureates were born there?
Guatemala has produced 1.1 Nobel laureates per 10 million people, El Salvador none
El Salvador: 0 (2026) · Guatemala: 1.1 (2026)
How many official languages?
El Salvador and Guatemala are practically level
El Salvador: 1 (2026) · Guatemala: 1 (2026)
Money
What an economy looks like per person
How big is the economy?
Guatemala’s economy is 3.4 times the size of El Salvador’s
El Salvador: $36.7 billion (2025) · Guatemala: $123 billion (2025)
How much is produced per person?
Guatemala produces 8% more per person than El Salvador
El Salvador: Int$14,101 (2025) · Guatemala: Int$15,197 (2025)
How evenly is income shared?
Income is more unequally shared in Guatemala than in El Salvador (Gini 5.4 points higher)
El Salvador: 39.8 (2023) · Guatemala: 45.2 (2023)
How many live on less than $3 a day?
9.7% of people in Guatemala live on less than $3 a day, versus 4.6% in El Salvador
El Salvador: 4.6% (2023) · Guatemala: 9.7% (2023)
How many people are looking for work?
Unemployment is 3.3% in El Salvador, versus 2.6% in Guatemala
El Salvador: 3.3% (2025) · Guatemala: 2.6% (2025)
How much goes to the military?
El Salvador spends 1.3% of its GDP on the military, Guatemala 0.5%
El Salvador: 1.3% (2025) · Guatemala: 0.5% (2025)
How much does the central government collect in tax?
El Salvador’s central government collects 22% of GDP in tax, Guatemala’s 12%
El Salvador: 21.8% (2024) · Guatemala: 11.6% (2024)
How expensive is it?
Guatemala’s price level (US = 100) is 1.1× El Salvador’s
El Salvador: 41% (2025) · Guatemala: 43% (2025)
Health
Long lives, small beginnings
How much is spent on health?
El Salvador spends 28% more on health per person than Guatemala
El Salvador: $501 (2023) · Guatemala: $392 (2023)
How long do people live?
People in Guatemala live 0.44 years longer than in El Salvador
El Salvador: 72.3 years (2024) · Guatemala: 72.7 years (2024)
How many babies don’t reach their first birthday?
A baby in Guatemala is 2 times as likely to die before turning one as in El Salvador
El Salvador: 8.8 per 1,000 (2024) · Guatemala: 17.2 per 1,000 (2024)
How many doctors are there?
El Salvador has 26% more doctors per person than Guatemala
El Salvador: 1.6 per 1,000 (2023) · Guatemala: 1.3 per 1,000 (2020)
How many hospital beds are there?
El Salvador has 2.7 times as many hospital beds per person as Guatemala
El Salvador: 1.2 per 1,000 (2023) · Guatemala: 0.5 per 1,000 (2023)
How common is suicide?
The suicide rate in El Salvador is 75% higher than in Guatemala
El Salvador: 9.6 per 100k (2023) · Guatemala: 5.5 per 100k (2023)
How common is obesity?
31% of adults in El Salvador are obese, versus 27% in Guatemala
El Salvador: 31.4% (2024) · Guatemala: 26.7% (2024)
How many adults smoke?
11% of adults in Guatemala smoke, versus 8.2% in El Salvador
El Salvador: 8.2% (2024) · Guatemala: 11.2% (2024)
Everyday life
Plates, glasses and happiness
How do people rate their lives?
People in El Salvador rate their lives 0.04 points higher than in Guatemala
El Salvador: 6.58 (2025) · Guatemala: 6.53 (2025)
How much do people drink?
Adults in El Salvador drink 19% more alcohol than in Guatemala
El Salvador: 3.6 litres (2023) · Guatemala: 3.1 litres (2023)
How much meat is on the menu?
Guatemala has 19% more meat per person than El Salvador
El Salvador: 45.6 kg (2023) · Guatemala: 54.3 kg (2023)
How much food is there per day?
El Salvador has 73 kcal more food per person per day than Guatemala
El Salvador: 2,896 kcal (2023) · Guatemala: 2,823 kcal (2023)
How long do people work?
El Salvador: no data · Guatemala: 2,151 hours (2023)
How long do people go to school?
Adults in El Salvador went to school 1.5 years longer than in Guatemala
El Salvador: 7.3 years (2023) · Guatemala: 5.8 years (2023)
How many tourists visit?
El Salvador welcomed 6 times as many tourists per resident as Guatemala (2019)
El Salvador: 0.5 (2024) · Guatemala: 0.08 (2022)
How many World Heritage sites?
Guatemala has 3 more World Heritage sites than El Salvador (4 against 1)
El Salvador: 1 (2026) · Guatemala: 4 (2026)
How many Olympic medals has it won?
Guatemala has won 3 Olympic medals, El Salvador none
El Salvador: 0 (2026 edition) · Guatemala: 3 (2026 edition)
Connected
Online, electrified, urban
How many people are online?
66% of people in El Salvador are online, versus 60% in Guatemala
El Salvador: 66% (2024) · Guatemala: 60% (2024)
How fast is home internet?
Home internet in El Salvador is 14% faster than in Guatemala
El Salvador: 169 Mbps (2026) · Guatemala: 149 Mbps (2026)
Who has electricity at home?
99% of people in El Salvador have electricity, versus 91% in Guatemala
El Salvador: 98.7% (2024) · Guatemala: 90.9% (2024)
How many live in cities?
76% of people in El Salvador live in cities, versus 56% in Guatemala
El Salvador: 76% (2025) · Guatemala: 56% (2025)
How many phones per person?
El Salvador has 177 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, Guatemala 113
El Salvador: 177 (2024) · Guatemala: 113 (2024)
How much railway is there?
Guatemala’s railway network is 64 times as long as El Salvador’s
El Salvador: 13 km (2014) · Guatemala: 800 km (2018)
How much do they fly?
Airlines from El Salvador fly 43 times as many passengers per resident as those from Guatemala
El Salvador: 0.51 (2023) · Guatemala: 0.01 (2023)
Planet
Air, forests and energy
How much of the land is forest?
Guatemala and El Salvador are practically level
El Salvador: 33% (2024) · Guatemala: 33.1% (2024)
How much CO₂ does each person emit?
The average person in El Salvador emits 31% more CO₂ than someone in Guatemala
El Salvador: 1.4 t (2024) · Guatemala: 1.1 t (2024)
How green is the power grid?
87% of El Salvador’s electricity is renewable, versus 68% in Guatemala
El Salvador: 86.5% (2025) · Guatemala: 68.3% (2024)
How clean is the air?
The air in El Salvador carries 11% more fine dust than in Guatemala
El Salvador: 30.7 µg/m³ (2024) · Guatemala: 27.7 µg/m³ (2024)
Safety
Measured risk, not vibes
How common is murder?
You are 3 times as likely to be murdered in Guatemala as in El Salvador
El Salvador: 7.9 per 100k (2022) · Guatemala: 23.4 per 100k (2023)
How dangerous are the roads?
Roads in El Salvador are 60% deadlier than in Guatemala
El Salvador: 33.8 per 100k (2023) · Guatemala: 21.1 per 100k (2023)
Climate
What the year feels like
How warm is it?
El Salvador is on average 3.0 °C warmer than Guatemala
El Salvador: 26.7°C (2016–2025 avg) · Guatemala: 23.7°C (2016–2025 avg)
How much rain falls?
Guatemala gets 14% more rain than El Salvador
El Salvador: 1,593 mm (2016–2025 avg) · Guatemala: 1,811 mm (2016–2025 avg)
Between them
People, goods and passports that cross from one to the other
Quick answers
Is El Salvador bigger than Guatemala?
Guatemala is larger. El Salvador fits inside Guatemala 5.2 times.
Which has more people, El Salvador or Guatemala?
Guatemala has 2.9 times as many people as El Salvador (2025 estimates).
Where do people live longer, El Salvador or Guatemala?
People in Guatemala live 0.44 years longer than in El Salvador. Life expectancy at birth is 72.3 years in El Salvador and 72.7 in Guatemala.
Are people taller in El Salvador or Guatemala?
Men in El Salvador are 6.3 cm taller than in Guatemala (NCD-RisC, cohort born 2019).
