Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

be 64.2% less likely to be obese

In El Salvador, 24.6% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Senegal, that number is 8.8% of people as of 2016.

live 5.4 years less

In El Salvador, the average life expectancy is 75 years (72 years for men, 79 years for women) as of 2022. In Senegal, that number is 70 years (68 years for men, 72 years for women) as of 2022.

Economy

make 61.1% less money

El Salvador has a GDP per capita of $11,300 as of 2023, while in Senegal, the GDP per capita is $4,400 as of 2023.

be 75.6% more likely to live below the poverty line

In El Salvador, 26.6% live below the poverty line as of 2022. In Senegal, however, that number is 46.7% as of 2011.

pay a 33.3% higher top tax rate

El Salvador has a top tax rate of 30.0% as of 2016. In Senegal, the top tax rate is 40.0% as of 2016.

Life

have 76.6% more children

In El Salvador, there are approximately 17.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Senegal, there are 30.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

be 6.1 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 Senegal, 261.0 women do as of 2020.

be 36.8% less likely to be literate

In El Salvador, the literacy rate is 89.1% as of 2019. In Senegal, it is 56.3% as of 2021.

be 2.7 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 Senegal, on the other hand, 32.4 children do as of 2022.

Basic Needs

be 32.1% less likely to have access to electricity

In El Salvador, approximately 100% of people have electricity access (99% in urban areas, and 94% in rural areas) as of 2022. In Senegal, that number is 68% of people on average (94% in urban areas, and 43% in rural areas) as of 2022.

be 11.1% less likely to have access to improved drinking water

In El Salvador, approximately 98% of people have improved drinking water access (100% in urban areas, and 94% in rural areas) as of 2020. In Senegal, that number is 87% of people on average (96% in urban areas, and 79% in rural areas) as of 2020.

Expenditures

spend 47.5% less on healthcare

El Salvador spends 9.9% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Senegal, that number is 5.2% of GDP as of 2020.

spend 34.1% more on education

El Salvador spends 4.1% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Senegal spends 5.5% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

Geography

see 73.0% more coastline

El Salvador has a total of 307 km of coastline. In Senegal, that number is 531 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, Ministry of Finance, Direction Generale des Impots et des Domaines.

Senegal: At a glance

Senegal is a sovereign country in Africa, with a total land area of approximately 192,530 sq km. The French colonies of Senegal and the French Sudan were merged in 1959 and granted their independence as the Mali Federation in 1960. The union broke up after only a few months. Senegal joined with The Gambia to form the nominal confederation of Senegambia in 1982. The envisaged integration of the two countries was never carried out, and the union was dissolved in 1989. The Movement of Democratic Forces in the Casamance (MFDC) has led a low-level separatist insurgency in southern Senegal since the 1980s, and several peace deals have failed to resolve the conflict. Nevertheless, Senegal remains one of the most stable democracies in Africa and has a long history of participating in international peacekeeping and regional mediation. Senegal was ruled by a Socialist Party for 40 years until Abdoulaye WADE was elected president in 2000. He was reelected in 2007 and during his two terms amended Senegal's constitution over a dozen times to increase executive power and to weaken the opposition. His decision to run for a third presidential term sparked a large public backlash that led to his defeat in a March 2012 runoff election with Macky SALL.
Read more

How big is Senegal compared to El Salvador? See an in-depth size comparison.

Share this

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Senegal.or El Salvador It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.