Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Laos instead of El Salvador, you would:
Health
be 78.5% less likely to be obese
In El Salvador, 24.6% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Laos, that number is 5.3% of people as of 2016.
live 7.2 years less
In El Salvador, the average life expectancy is 75 years (72 years for men, 79 years for women) as of 2022. In Laos, that number is 68 years (66 years for men, 70 years for women) as of 2022.
Economy
be 57.2% less likely to be unemployed
In El Salvador, 2.8% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Laos, that number is 1.2% as of 2023.
be 31.2% less likely to live below the poverty line
In El Salvador, 26.6% live below the poverty line as of 2022. In Laos, however, that number is 18.3% as of 2018.
pay a 20.0% lower top tax rate
El Salvador has a top tax rate of 30.0% as of 2016. In Laos, the top tax rate is 24.0% as of 2016.
make 25.7% less money
El Salvador has a GDP per capita of $11,300 as of 2023, while in Laos, the GDP per capita is $8,400 as of 2023.
Life
have 15.8% more children
In El Salvador, there are approximately 17.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Laos, there are 19.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 2.9 times more likely to die during childbirth
In El Salvador, approximately 43.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Laos, 126.0 women do as of 2020.
be 3.1 times more likely to die during infancy
In El Salvador, approximately 12.1 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Laos, on the other hand, 37.8 children do as of 2022.
Expenditures
spend 43.9% less on education
El Salvador spends 4.1% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Laos spends 2.3% of total GDP on education as of 2020.
spend 72.7% less on healthcare
El Salvador spends 9.9% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Laos, that number is 2.7% of GDP as of 2020.
The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, Ministry of Finance.
Laos: At a glance
How big is Laos compared to El Salvador? See an in-depth size comparison.