# Guatemala and El Salvador compared Guatemala and El Salvador side by side: 42 shared sourced indicators across 9 domains, and the 3 events their chronicles record of each other. Canonical: https://terralore.co/compare/gtm-vs-slv Updated: 2026-08-10 (latest of the two dossiers' refreshes and the two chronicles' verification dates) Two sourced records set beside each other — nothing on this page was written for the pair. Every figure is the same observation, with the same source, as on the two national dossiers; every event is the same record, with the same sources, as on its own chronicle. Figures are compared, never graded. A "—" is an absence in the source data, never a zero; each value shows its own observation year — vintages differ by indicator and nation. ## Formation - Guatemala: 15 September 1821 — The Act of Independence of Central America is enacted at Guatemala City - El Salvador: 1821 — El Salvador declares independence from Spain with the Central American provinces ## Economy | Metric | Guatemala | Observed | El Salvador | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | GDP | $113 B | 2024 | $35 B | 2024 | | GDP per capita | $6,150 | 2024 | $5,580 | 2024 | | GDP growth | 3.7% | 2024 | 2.6% | 2024 | | Inflation | 2.9% | 2024 | 0.9% | 2024 | | Trade openness | 47.3% | 2024 | 84.7% | 2024 | ## Society | Metric | Guatemala | Observed | El Salvador | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Population | 18 m | 2024 | 6.3 m | 2024 | | Life expectancy | 72.7 yrs | 2024 | 72.3 yrs | 2024 | | Urban population | 56.0% | 2024 | 75.1% | 2024 | | Fertility rate | 2.3 | 2024 | 1.8 | 2024 | ## Governance | Metric | Guatemala | Observed | El Salvador | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Voice & accountability | 48.6 | 2024 | 43.0 | 2024 | | Political stability | 62.3 | 2024 | 66.0 | 2024 | | Government effectiveness | 33.7 | 2024 | 47.8 | 2024 | | Regulatory quality | 50.0 | 2024 | 52.1 | 2024 | | Rule of law | 40.4 | 2024 | 44.7 | 2024 | | Control of corruption | 28.7 | 2024 | 36.2 | 2024 | ## Health | Metric | Guatemala | Observed | El Salvador | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Health spending | 6.8% | 2023 | 9.3% | 2023 | | Physicians | 1.28 | 2020 | 1.62 | 2023 | | Under-5 mortality | 20.5 | 2024 | 10.0 | 2024 | | Measles immunisation | 90.0% | 2024 | 96.0% | 2024 | | Safe drinking water | 48.8% | 2024 | — | — | ## Education | Metric | Guatemala | Observed | El Salvador | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Adult literacy | 82.1% | 2024 | 89.8% | 2024 | | Education spending | 3.1% | 2024 | 3.3% | 2024 | | Primary enrolment | 101.5% | 2024 | 89.9% | 2024 | | Secondary enrolment | 49.6% | 2024 | 62.1% | 2024 | | Tertiary enrolment | 27.3% | 2023 | 32.8% | 2024 | ## Technology | Metric | Guatemala | Observed | El Salvador | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | R&D spending | 0.0% | 2023 | 0.1% | 2023 | | Researchers (per million) | 1 | 2023 | 55 | 2023 | | Internet users | 60.2% | 2024 | 66.5% | 2024 | | Mobile subscriptions | 113 | 2024 | 177 | 2024 | | High-tech exports | 5.4% | 2024 | 5.5% | 2024 | ## Geography | Metric | Guatemala | Observed | El Salvador | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Land area | 107,160 km² | 2023 | 20,720 km² | 2023 | | Forest area | 32.6% | 2023 | 27.5% | 2023 | | Agricultural land | 43.0% | 2023 | 57.7% | 2023 | | CO₂ per capita (t) | 1.1 | 2024 | 1.5 | 2024 | | Renewable energy | 62.1% | 2021 | 21.9% | 2021 | ## Resources | Metric | Guatemala | Observed | El Salvador | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Resource rents | 1.9% | 2021 | 0.5% | 2021 | | Oil rents | 0.1% | 2021 | 0.0% | 2021 | | Mineral rents | 1.1% | 2021 | 0.0% | 2021 | | Forest rents | 0.7% | 2021 | 0.5% | 2021 | | Electricity access | 100.0% | 2023 | 98.3% | 2023 | ## Military | Metric | Guatemala | Observed | El Salvador | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Military burden | 0.4% | 2024 | 1.2% | 2024 | | Defense spending | $415 M | 2024 | $425 M | 2024 | | Armed forces | 43,000 | 2020 | 42,000 | 2020 | Each metric is also ranked across all nations: https://terralore.co/rankings (markdown twins at /rankings/.md). Full dossiers: https://terralore.co/country/GTM.md and https://terralore.co/country/SLV.md. ## Entangled histories (3 events) Events in which either nation's sourced chronicle names the other — including under earlier names of the same state. Each is the record exactly as its own chronicle carries it, with that chronicle's sources. - 1524: **Alvarado's conquest begins** — An expedition from Guatemala under Pedro de Alvarado enters the region, meeting fierce Pipil resistance west of the Lempa River as the Spanish conquest of the territory begins. (from the El Salvador chronicle; sources: History of El Salvador; El Salvador: The colonial period) - 15 September 1821: **Independence from Spain declared** — The Act of Independence of Central America, signed in Guatemala City, frees the region including the province of San Salvador from Spanish rule. (from the El Salvador chronicle; sources: Acta de Independencia de Centro America; Central American Federation; Central America: Independence, 1808-23) - 1824: **Federal Republic of Central America** — The provinces adopt the constitution of the Federal Republic of Central America, a union of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica in which the Salvadoran Francisco Morazan becomes a leading figure. (from the El Salvador chronicle; sources: United Provinces of Central America; Central American Federation) ## Sources - World Development Indicators — World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://data.worldbank.org - Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) — Worldwide Governance Indicators / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators - Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) — WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.who.int/data/gho - Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) — UNICEF and WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://childmortality.org - R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) — UNESCO Institute for Statistics / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://uis.unesco.org - ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) — ITU / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics - Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) — SIPRI / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://www.sipri.org/databases/milex Chronicle references are cited inline above and resolve in full at https://terralore.co/country/GTM/chronicle.md and https://terralore.co/country/SLV/chronicle.md. Citation template: Terralore, "Guatemala and El Salvador compared", terralore.co/compare/gtm-vs-slv, retrieved .