Human Development Index in El Salvador
El Salvador: Human Development Index was 0.678 in 2023. ▲ Rising
Human Development Index in El Salvador, 1990–2023
Source: UNDP, Human Development Report (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
Analysis
El Salvador recorded 0.678 for human development index in 2023. That is the highest value across all 34 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.6% on the previous year and up 1.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, human development index in El Salvador peaked at 0.678 in 2023 and was at its lowest, 0.523, in 1990.
That places El Salvador 132nd out of 192 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 0.5617 | 0.523 | 0.598 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.6352 | 0.607 | 0.653 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.6662 | 0.66 | 0.67 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.6688 | 0.66 | 0.678 | 4 |
Countries ranked near El Salvador
- 129 Tuvalu 0.689 compare
- 130 Bangladesh 0.685 compare
- 130 India 0.685 compare
- 133 Equatorial Guinea 0.674 compare
- 133 Palestine 0.674 compare
- 135 Cape Verde 0.668 compare
More reference data data for El Salvador
- Number of child deaths per woman 0.0194 under-five deaths per woman (2024)
- Fertility rate vs. Human Development Index 1.77 live births per woman (2023)
- Fertility rate: births per woman 1.77 live births per woman (2023)
- Fertility rate: births per woman 1.77 live births per woman (2023)
- Rule of Law - Governance estimate -0.7134 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 (2024)
- Rule of Law - Governance score 44.69 0-100 (2024)
- Voice and Accountability - Governance score 43.05 0-100 (2024)
- Voice and Accountability - Governance estimate -0.7884 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 (2024)
- Political Stability - Governance estimate 0.0061 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 (2024)
- Political Stability - Governance score 66 0-100 (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is human development index in El Salvador?
- Human development index in El Salvador was 0.678 in 2023, according to UNDP, Human Development Report (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest human development index recorded in El Salvador?
- The highest recorded value was 0.678 in 2023.
- What is the lowest human development index recorded in El Salvador?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.523 in 1990.
- How does El Salvador rank for human development index?
- El Salvador ranks 132nd out of 192 countries with data for 2023.
- Is human development index rising or falling in El Salvador?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this El Salvador data come from?
- The figures come from UNDP, Human Development Report (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Human Development Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
The Human Development Index (HDI) is a summary measure of key dimensions of human development: a long and healthy life, a good education, and a decent standard of living. Higher values indicate higher human development.