El Salvador vs Guatemala
Guatemala is 5.18 times larger than El Salvador. El Salvador would fit into Guatemala about 5.2 times.
El SalvadorGuatemalaEl Salvador moved onto Guatemala · Equal-area projection
0.19×
El Salvador is 0.19× the area of Guatemala. Put the other way, Guatemala is 5.18× the size of El Salvador.
 El Salvador |  Guatemala | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaGuatemala: 5.18× the area | 21,041 km²#149 of 194 | 108,889 km²#105 of 194 |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 2 | 4 |
| People | ||
| PopulationGuatemala: 2.94× the population | 6,365,503#112 of 194 · 2025 | 18,687,881#70 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityEl Salvador: 1.76× the density | 303 / km²#28 of 194 | 172 / km²#55 of 194 |
| Urban populationEl Salvador: 1.34× the urban share | 76%#56 of 192 · 2025 | 56%#116 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateGuatemala: 1.29× the births per woman | 1.77 per woman#111 of 192 · 2024 | 2.29 per woman#81 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthGuatemala: 1.09 points higher | +0.43%#135 of 192 · 2025 | +1.52%#67 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateGuatemala: 1.32× the birth rate | 15.6 per 1,000#98 of 192 · 2024 | 20.6 per 1,000#68 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateEl Salvador: 1.53× the death rate | 7.5 per 1,000#86 of 192 · 2024 | 4.9 per 1,000#173 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Guatemala: 6.6 points higher | 24.4%#94 of 192 · 2025 | 31.0%#65 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65El Salvador: 3.3 points higher | 8.3%#92 of 192 · 2025 | 5.0%#123 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationGuatemala: 3.4 per 1,000 higher | −3.8 per 1,000#167 of 192 · 2025 | −0.4 per 1,000#95 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadEl Salvador: 5.73× the refugees for its size | 10.71 per 1,000#17 of 190 · 2025 | 1.87 per 1,000#46 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyGuatemala: 0.4 years longer | 72.3 years#113 of 192 · 2024 | 72.7 years#106 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityGuatemala: 1.95× the infant mortality | 8.8 per 1,000 births#117 of 191 · 2024 | 17.2 per 1,000 births#73 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsEl Salvador: 1.27× the doctors per person | 1.62 per 1,000#92 of 178 · 2023 | 1.28 per 1,000#100 of 178 · 2020 |
| University enrolmentEl Salvador: 1.2× the university enrolment | 32.8%#100 of 145 · 2024 | 27.3%#103 of 145 · 2023 |
| Human Development IndexEl Salvador: 0.016 higher | 0.678#130 of 190 · 2023 | 0.662#134 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaGuatemala: 1.18× the income per person | $5,410#111 of 185 · 2025 | $6,360#99 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPGuatemala: 3.36× the economy | $36.71B2025 | $123.31B2025 |
| Income group | Upper-middle income | Upper-middle income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)Guatemala: 1.08× the output per person | $14,101#113 of 184 · 2025 | $15,197#109 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthGuatemala: 0.4 points higher | +3.9%#73 of 187 · 2025 | +4.3%#64 of 187 · 2025 |
| InflationGuatemala: 1.2 points higher | +0.3%#156 of 176 · 2025 | +1.5%#128 of 176 · 2025 |
| UnemploymentEl Salvador: 1.27× the unemployment | 3.3%#127 of 178 · 2025 | 2.6%#154 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme povertyGuatemala: 2.11× the share in extreme poverty | 4.6%#57 of 149 · 2023 | 9.7%#46 of 149 · 2023 |
| Income inequality (Gini)Guatemala: 5.4 higher | 39.8#40 of 149 · 2023 | 45.2#15 of 149 · 2023 |
| Jobs in agricultureGuatemala: 15.2 points higher | 13.9% of jobs#97 of 178 · 2025 | 29.1% of jobs#62 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industryEl Salvador: 0.4 points higher | 23.1% of jobs#54 of 178 · 2025 | 22.7% of jobs#58 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesEl Salvador: 14.8 points higher | 63.0% of jobs#78 of 178 · 2025 | 48.2% of jobs#127 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentEl Salvador: 0.7 points higher | 2.1% of GDP#89 of 184 · 2025 | 1.4% of GDP#112 of 184 · 2025 |
| ExportsEl Salvador: 16.4 points higher | 32.0% of GDP#93 of 168 · 2025 | 15.6% of GDP#147 of 168 · 2025 |
| Military spendingEl Salvador: 2.58× the military spending | 1.3% of GDP#95 of 155 · 2025 | 0.5% of GDP#143 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersEl Salvador: 1.1× the share online | 67%#126 of 184 · 2024 | 60%#134 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsEl Salvador: 1.57× the mobile subscriptions | 177 per 100#9 of 191 · 2024 | 113 per 100#102 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaAbout the same forest share | 33% of land#95 of 192 · 2024 | 33% of land#94 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personEl Salvador: 1.36× the CO₂ per person | 1.51 t a year#114 of 185 · 2024 | 1.11 t a year#126 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyGuatemala: 40.2 points higher | 21.9%#99 of 190 · 2021 | 62.1%#35 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricityEl Salvador: 7.8 points higher | 98.7%#115 of 192 · 2024 | 90.9%#137 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)About the same air pollution | 29.6 µg/m³#51 of 191 · 2023 | 29.7 µg/m³#50 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landGuatemala: 11.8 points higher | 8.3% of land#151 of 191 · 2025 | 20.1% of land#82 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landEl Salvador: 17.3 points higher | 34.8% of land#20 of 190 · 2024 | 17.5% of land#61 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressEl Salvador: 2.12× the water stress | 12.1%#84 of 176 · 2022 | 5.7%#115 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationGuatemala: 1.12× the rain and snow | 1,784 mm#41 of 180 · 2022 | 1,996 mm#33 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityEl Salvador: 0.32 higher | +0.11#96 of 193 · 2025 | −0.21#120 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionEl Salvador: 0.37 higher | −0.55#124 of 193 · 2025 | −0.92#147 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rateGuatemala: 2.96× the homicide rate | 7.9 per 100,000#35 of 146 · 2022 | 23.4 per 100,000#15 of 146 · 2023 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Presidential republic | Presidential republic |
| Capital | San Salvador | Guatemala City |
| Currency | United States dollar (USD) | Quetzal (GTQ) |
| Official languages | Spanish | Spanish |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC−6 | UTC−6 |
| Calling code | +503 | +502 |
| Region | Central America, North America | Central America, North America |
Area: Wikidata. Population, income, health, economy, environment and governance: World Bank. Human Development Index: UNDP. Government: CIA World Factbook. Ranks among the 194 independent states. All sources
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. El Salvador sits at about 14° N and is stretched to 1.06× its true area; Guatemala at 16° N is stretched to 1.08×. Here the two are distorted about the same amount, so Mercator gets this pair roughly right. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is El Salvador bigger than Guatemala?
- No. El Salvador is 5.18 times smaller than Guatemala. El Salvador covers 21,041 km² and Guatemala covers 108,889 km².
- How many times does El Salvador fit into Guatemala?
- About 5.2 times: Guatemala has 5.18× the area of El Salvador.
- Why do El Salvador and Guatemala look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. El Salvador is drawn about 1.06× its true area there and Guatemala about 1.08×. For this pair the distortion is similar, so Mercator gets the comparison roughly right. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, El Salvador or Guatemala?
- Guatemala: 18,687,881 people against 6,365,503. Density: El Salvador 303 per km², Guatemala 172 per km².
- Which is richer, El Salvador or Guatemala?
- By gross national income per person, Guatemala: $6,360 against $5,410 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 1.18× as much.
- Where do people live longer, El Salvador or Guatemala?
- In Guatemala: life expectancy at birth is 72.7 years, against 72.3 — 0.4 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do El Salvador and Guatemala have?
- The same form of government, by constitution: presidential republic (CIA World Factbook).