Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Mexico instead of El Salvador, you would:

Health

live 3.1 years less

In El Salvador, the average life expectancy is 75 years (72 years for men, 79 years for women) as of 2022. In Mexico, that number is 72 years (69 years for men, 76 years for women) as of 2022.

be 17.5% more likely to be obese

In El Salvador, 24.6% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Mexico, that number is 28.9% of people as of 2016.

Economy

make 98.2% more money

El Salvador has a GDP per capita of $11,300 as of 2023, while in Mexico, the GDP per capita is $22,400 as of 2023.

be 36.5% more likely to live below the poverty line

In El Salvador, 26.6% live below the poverty line as of 2022. In Mexico, however, that number is 36.3% as of 2022.

pay a 16.7% higher top tax rate

El Salvador has a top tax rate of 30.0% as of 2016. In Mexico, the top tax rate is 35.0% as of 2016.

Life

be 37.2% more likely to die during childbirth

In El Salvador, approximately 43.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Mexico, 59.0 women do as of 2020.

have 16.4% fewer children

In El Salvador, there are approximately 17.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Mexico, there are 14.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

Basic Needs

be 20.6% more likely to have internet access

In El Salvador, approximately 63.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Mexico, about 76.0% do as of 2021.

Expenditures

spend 37.4% less on healthcare

El Salvador spends 9.9% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Mexico, that number is 6.2% of GDP as of 2020.

Geography

see 30.4 times more coastline

El Salvador has a total of 307 km of coastline. In Mexico, that number is 9,330 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, Ministry of Finance, Servicio de Administración Tributaria, SHCP.

Mexico: At a glance

Mexico is a sovereign country in North America, with a total land area of approximately 1,943,945 sq km. The site of several advanced Amerindian civilizations - including the Olmec, Toltec, Teotihuacan, Zapotec, Maya, and Aztec - Mexico was conquered and colonized by Spain in the early 16th century. Administered as the Viceroyalty of New Spain for three centuries, it achieved its independence early in the 19th century. The global financial crisis beginning in late 2008 caused a massive economic downturn the following year, although growth returned quickly in 2010. Ongoing economic and social concerns include low real wages, underemployment for a large segment of the population, inequitable income distribution, and few advancement opportunities for the largely indigenous population in the impoverished southern states. The elections held in 2000 marked the first time since the 1910 Mexican Revolution that an opposition candidate - Vicente FOX of the National Action Party (PAN) - defeated the party in government, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). He was succeeded in 2006 by another PAN candidate Felipe CALDERON, but Enrique PENA NIETO regained the presidency for the PRI in 2012. Since 2007, Mexico's powerful drug-trafficking organizations have engaged in bloody feuding, resulting in tens of thousands of drug-related homicides.
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How big is Mexico compared to El Salvador? See an in-depth size comparison.

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