World Factbook
El Salvador
República de El Salvador
Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)
Literacy
male
91.6% (2024 est.)
female
88.2% (2024 est.)
total population
89.8% (2024 est.)
Languages
Languages
Spanish (official), Nawat (among some indigenous)
major-language sample(s)
La Libreta Informativa del Mundo, la fuente indispensable de información básica. (Spanish) The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Religions
Roman Catholic 43.9%, Protestant 39.6% (Evangelical - unspecified 38.2%, Evangelical - Methodist 1.3%, Evangelical - Baptist 0.1%), none 16.3%, unspecified 0.2% (2023 est.)
Sex ratio
at birth
1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years
1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years
0.9 male(s)/female
total population
0.92 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
65 years and over
0.74 male(s)/female
Birth rate
12.46 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Death rate
5.93 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Median age
male
28.2 years
total
31.2 years (2025 est.)
female
31.2 years
Population
male
3,026,645
total
6,334,723 (2025 est.)
female
3,308,078
Nationality
noun
Salvadoran(s)
adjective
Salvadoran
Tobacco use
male
14.7% (2025 est.)
total
7.8% (2025 est.)
female
1.7% (2025 est.)
Urbanization
urban population
75.4% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization
1.33% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Age structure
0-14 years
25.3% (male 855,841/female 818,642)
15-64 years
66.3% (male 2,077,745/female 2,317,416)
65 years and over
8.4% (2024 est.) (male 238,658/female 320,400)
Ethnic groups
Mestizo 86.3%, White 12.7%, Indigenous 0.2% (includes Lenca, Kakawira, Nahua-Pipil), Black 0.1%, other 0.6% (2007 est.)
Child marriage
women married by age 15
4.3% (2021)
women married by age 18
19.7% (2021)
Dependency ratios
total dependency ratio
43 (2025 est.)
youth dependency ratio
29.9 (2025 est.)
potential support ratio
7.6 (2025 est.)
elderly dependency ratio
13.1 (2025 est.)
Physician density
1.62 physicians/1,000 population (2023)
Health expenditure
Health expenditure (as % of GDP)
9.7% of GDP (2021)
Health expenditure (as % of national budget)
21.2% of national budget (2022 est.)
Net migration rate
-3.16 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Hospital bed density
1.2 beds/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Total fertility rate
1.4 children born/woman (2025 est.)
Drinking water source
improved: rural
rural: 94.4% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total
total: 98.6% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: 100% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural
rural: 5.6% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 1.4% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 0% of population (2022 est.)
Education expenditure
Education expenditure (% GDP)
3.2% of GDP (2023 est.)
Education expenditure (% national budget)
15.9% national budget (2025 est.)
Infant mortality rate
male
13.3 deaths/1,000 live births
total
10 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)
female
10 deaths/1,000 live births
Population growth rate
0.34% (2025 est.)
Gross reproduction rate
0.68 (2025 est.)
Population distribution
high population density country-wide, with particular concentration around the capital of San Salvador
Life expectancy at birth
male
72.4 years
female
79.5 years
total population
75.9 years (2024 est.)
Maternal mortality ratio
39 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)
Sanitation facility access
improved: rural
rural: 98.3% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total
total: 99.6% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: 100% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural
rural: 1.7% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 0.4% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 0% of population (2022 est.)
Alcohol consumption per capita
beer
1.5 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine
0.06 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
total
2.94 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits
1.37 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols
0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Major urban areas - population
1.116 million SAN SALVADOR (capital) (2023)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate
24.6% (2016)
Mother's mean age at first birth
20.8 years (2008 est.)
note: data represents median age at first birth among women 25-29
Currently married women (ages 15-49)
50.7% (2021 est.)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight
5% (2021 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)
male
11 years (2023 est.)
total
11 years (2023 est.)
female
12 years (2023 est.)