What is life expectancy in El Salvador?

Life expectancy in El Salvador was 72.1 years in 2023, according to Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.

What is the highest life expectancy recorded in El Salvador?

The highest recorded value was 72.1 years in 2023.

What is the lowest life expectancy recorded in El Salvador?

The lowest recorded value was 28 years in 1920.

How does El Salvador rank for life expectancy?

El Salvador ranks 151st out of 236 countries with data for 2023.

Is life expectancy rising or falling in El Salvador?

Over the last ten years it is up 1.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.

Where does this El Salvador data come from?

The figures come from Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Life expectancy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Life expectancy in El Salvador

Name: Life expectancy in El Salvador
Creator: Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data
License: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)

El Salvador: Life expectancy was 72.1 years in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)

72.1 years

Change on year

up 0.2%

World rank

151st

of 236 countries

All-time high

72.1 years

in 2023

All-time low

28 years

in 1920

Years of data

1920–2023

Life expectancy in El Salvador, 1920–2023

Source: Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in years.

Analysis

In 2023, life expectancy in El Salvador stood at 72.1 years. That is the highest value across all 77 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.2% on the previous year and up 1.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, life expectancy in El Salvador peaked at 72.1 years in 2023 and was at its lowest, 28 years, in 1920.

El Salvador ranks 151st of 236 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 77 years of available data.

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1920s	28 years	28 years	28 years	1
1930s	29 years	29 years	29 years	1
1940s	36 years	36 years	36 years	1
1950s	45.86 years	43.81 years	47.97 years	10
1960s	49.89 years	48.29 years	51.28 years	10
1970s	53.1 years	51.36 years	54.71 years	10
1980s	56.18 years	48.59 years	61.25 years	10
1990s	64.65 years	61.98 years	67.29 years	10
2000s	69.16 years	67.71 years	70.36 years	10
2010s	71.19 years	70.91 years	71.73 years	10
2020s	71.06 years	69.94 years	72.1 years	4

Countries ranked near El Salvador

148 Iraq 72.32 years compare
149 Saint Kitts and Nevis 72.14 years compare
150 Syria 72.12 years compare
152 India 72 years compare
153 Tajikistan 71.79 years compare
154 Mongolia 71.73 years compare

See the full ranking of 236 places →

More health data for El Salvador

Age population, age 12, male, interpolated 57,489 (2025)
Age population, age 15, female, interpolated 53,871 (2025)
Age population, age 14, male, interpolated 57,891 (2025)
Age population, age 14, female, interpolated 54,053 (2025)
Age population, age 13, male, interpolated 57,818 (2025)
Age population, age 13, female, interpolated 54,084 (2025)
Age population, age 11, female, interpolated 53,859 (2025)
Age population, age 10, female, interpolated 53,418 (2025)
Age population, age 10, male, interpolated 56,536 (2025)
Age population, age 15, male, interpolated 57,783 (2025)

All data for El Salvador →

Frequently asked questions

What is life expectancy in El Salvador?: Life expectancy in El Salvador was 72.1 years in 2023, according to Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest life expectancy recorded in El Salvador?: The highest recorded value was 72.1 years in 2023.
What is the lowest life expectancy recorded in El Salvador?: The lowest recorded value was 28 years in 1920.
How does El Salvador rank for life expectancy?: El Salvador ranks 151st out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
Is life expectancy rising or falling in El Salvador?: Over the last ten years it is up 1.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this El Salvador data come from?: The figures come from Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Life expectancy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 77 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator: Life expectancy
Unit: years
Source: Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 236 places, 19,452 data points, 1543–2023
Last refreshed: 06 August 2026

Period life expectancy is the number of years the average person born in a certain year would live if they experienced the same chances of dying at each age as people did that year.