El Salvador vs Kuwait
El Salvador is 18% larger than Kuwait.
El SalvadorKuwaitEl Salvador moved onto Kuwait · Equal-area projection
1.18×
El Salvador is 1.18× the area of Kuwait.
 El Salvador |  Kuwait | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaEl Salvador: 1.18× the area | 21,041 km²#149 of 194 | 17,818 km²#153 of 194 |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 2 | 2 |
| People | ||
| PopulationEl Salvador: 1.31× the population | 6,365,503#112 of 194 · 2025 | 4,865,298#126 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityEl Salvador: 1.11× the density | 303 / km²#28 of 194 | 273 / km²#32 of 194 |
| Urban populationKuwait: 1.32× the urban share | 76%#56 of 192 · 2025 | 100%#1 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateEl Salvador: 1.13× the births per woman | 1.77 per woman#111 of 192 · 2024 | 1.56 per woman#127 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthEl Salvador: 1.08 points higher | +0.43%#135 of 192 · 2025 | −0.65%#184 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateEl Salvador: 1.56× the birth rate | 15.6 per 1,000#98 of 192 · 2024 | 10.0 per 1,000#140 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateEl Salvador: 5.0× the death rate | 7.5 per 1,000#86 of 192 · 2024 | 1.5 per 1,000#190 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15El Salvador: 6.4 points higher | 24.4%#94 of 192 · 2025 | 18.0%#128 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65El Salvador: 5.1 points higher | 8.3%#92 of 192 · 2025 | 3.2%#161 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationKuwait: 12.6 per 1,000 higher | −3.8 per 1,000#167 of 192 · 2025 | +8.8 per 1,000#10 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadEl Salvador: 15.5× the refugees for its size | 10.71 per 1,000#17 of 190 · 2025 | 0.69 per 1,000#68 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyKuwait: 12.3 years longer | 72.3 years#113 of 192 · 2024 | 84.6 years#3 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityEl Salvador: 1.26× the infant mortality | 8.8 per 1,000 births#117 of 191 · 2024 | 7.0 per 1,000 births#132 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsKuwait: 1.4× the doctors per person | 1.62 per 1,000#92 of 178 · 2023 | 2.27 per 1,000#79 of 178 · 2020 |
| University enrolmentKuwait: 1.58× the university enrolment | 32.8%#100 of 145 · 2024 | 51.9%#74 of 145 · 2021 |
| Human Development IndexKuwait: 0.174 higher | 0.678#130 of 190 · 2023 | 0.852#51 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaKuwait: 7.6× the income per person | $5,410#111 of 185 · 2025 | $41,110#27 of 185 · 2024 |
| GDPKuwait: 4.28× the economy | $36.71B2025 | $157.21B2025 |
| Income group | Upper-middle income | High income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)Kuwait: 4.0× the output per person | $14,101#113 of 184 · 2025 | $56,468#37 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthEl Salvador: 1.2 points higher | +3.9%#73 of 187 · 2025 | +2.7%#111 of 187 · 2025 |
| InflationKuwait: 2.1 points higher | +0.3%#156 of 176 · 2025 | +2.4%#103 of 176 · 2025 |
| UnemploymentEl Salvador: 1.5× the unemployment | 3.3%#127 of 178 · 2025 | 2.2%#158 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme poverty | 4.6%#57 of 149 · 2023 | — |
| Income inequality (Gini) | 39.8#40 of 149 · 2023 | — |
| Jobs in agricultureEl Salvador: 12.0 points higher | 13.9% of jobs#97 of 178 · 2025 | 1.9% of jobs#159 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industryKuwait: 1.5 points higher | 23.1% of jobs#54 of 178 · 2025 | 24.6% of jobs#44 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesKuwait: 10.5 points higher | 63.0% of jobs#78 of 178 · 2025 | 73.5% of jobs#36 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentEl Salvador: 1.8 points higher | 2.1% of GDP#89 of 184 · 2025 | 0.3% of GDP#154 of 184 · 2025 |
| ExportsKuwait: 23.8 points higher | 32.0% of GDP#93 of 168 · 2025 | 55.8% of GDP#35 of 168 · 2024 |
| Military spendingKuwait: 3.5× the military spending | 1.3% of GDP#95 of 155 · 2025 | 4.7% of GDP#11 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersKuwait: 1.5× the share online | 67%#126 of 184 · 2024 | 100%#1 of 184 · 2025 |
| Mobile subscriptionsEl Salvador: 1.05× the mobile subscriptions | 177 per 100#9 of 191 · 2024 | 168 per 100#16 of 191 · 2023 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaEl Salvador: 82.5× the forest share | 33% of land#95 of 192 · 2024 | 0% of land#185 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personKuwait: 15.7× the CO₂ per person | 1.51 t a year#114 of 185 · 2024 | 23.7 t a year#4 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyEl Salvador: 21.8 points higher | 21.9%#99 of 190 · 2021 | 0.1%#183 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricityKuwait: 1.3 points higher | 98.7%#115 of 192 · 2024 | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)Kuwait: 2.1× the air pollution | 29.6 µg/m³#51 of 191 · 2023 | 62.3 µg/m³#6 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landKuwait: 8.8 points higher | 8.3% of land#151 of 191 · 2025 | 17.1% of land#98 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landEl Salvador: 34.4 points higher | 34.8% of land#20 of 190 · 2024 | 0.4% of land#183 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressKuwait: 318× the water stress | 12.1%#84 of 176 · 2022 | 3,850.5%#1 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationEl Salvador: 14.7× the rain and snow | 1,784 mm#41 of 180 · 2022 | 121 mm#171 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityKuwait: 0.31 higher | +0.11#96 of 193 · 2025 | +0.42#75 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionKuwait: 0.83 higher | −0.55#124 of 193 · 2025 | +0.28#69 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rateEl Salvador: 39.5× the homicide rate | 7.9 per 100,000#35 of 146 · 2022 | 0.2 per 100,000#141 of 146 · 2020 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Presidential republic | Constitutional monarchyconstitutional monarchy (emirate) |
| Member of | — | OPEC |
| Capital | San Salvador | Kuwait City |
| Currency | United States dollar (USD) | Kuwaiti dinar (KWD) |
| Official languages | Spanish | Arabic |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC−6 | UTC+3 |
| Calling code | +503 | +965 |
| Region | Central America, North America | Western Asia, Asia |
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; Kuwait at 29° N is stretched to 1.32×. 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 Kuwait?
- Yes. El Salvador is 18% larger than Kuwait. El Salvador covers 21,041 km² and Kuwait covers 17,818 km².
- How many times does Kuwait fit into El Salvador?
- About 1.2 times: El Salvador has 1.18× the area of Kuwait.
- Why do El Salvador and Kuwait 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 Kuwait about 1.32×. 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 Kuwait?
- El Salvador: 6,365,503 people against 4,865,298. Density: El Salvador 303 per km², Kuwait 273 per km².
- Which is richer, El Salvador or Kuwait?
- By gross national income per person, Kuwait: $41,110 against $5,410 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 7.6× as much.
- Where do people live longer, El Salvador or Kuwait?
- In Kuwait: life expectancy at birth is 84.6 years, against 72.3 — 12.3 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do El Salvador and Kuwait have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — El Salvador: presidential republic; Kuwait: constitutional monarchy.