El Salvador vs Guatemala
El Salvador vs Guatemala: Military spending per person
Military spending per person in 2025: $77 in El Salvador and $34 in Guatemala, by SIPRI estimates. In 2025 the value was higher in El Salvador, by $43, or 2.26 times that in Guatemala.
US dollars per person · SIPRI
What the numbers say
- El Salvador has been higher in every year both have figures for since 1988.
- In 2025, El Salvador ranked 85 and Guatemala ranked 109 of 151 countries, counting from the highest.
Every year
US dollars per person · SIPRI
| Year | El Salvador | Guatemala |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $77 | $34 |
| 2024 | $78 | $25 |
| 2023 | $72 | $24 |
| 2022 | $73 | $25 |
| 2021 | $56 | $19 |
| 2020 | $55 | $20 |
| 2019 | $51 | $20 |
| 2018 | $47 | $16 |
| 2017 | $42 | $17 |
| 2016 | $40 | $18 |
| 2015 | $40 | $16 |
| 2014 | $38 | $16 |
| 2013 | $39 | $16 |
| 2012 | $37 | $15 |
| 2011 | $36 | $13 |
| 2010 | $33 | $12 |
| 2009 | $31 | $10 |
| 2008 | $29 | $12 |
| 2007 | $28 | $10 |
| 2006 | $24 | $10 |
| 2005 | $22 | $8 |
| 2004 | $21 | $9 |
| 2003 | $21 | $14 |
| 2002 | $27 | $13 |
| 2001 | $25 | $17 |
| 2000 | $19 | $14 |
| 1999 | $19 | $11 |
| 1998 | $19 | $13 |
| 1997 | $19 | $12 |
| 1996 | $19 | $14 |
| 1995 | $19 | $16 |
| 1994 | $19 | $15 |
| 1993 | $21 | $15 |
| 1992 | $24 | $16 |
| 1991 | $27 | $13 |
| 1990 | $31 | $15 |
| 1989 | $41 | $18 |
| 1988 | $35 | $17 |
- Estimate
Each country on its own
Good to know
- What the country spends on its armed forces and defence for each person living there, in US dollars of each year, not adjusted for inflation.
- Source: Information from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) Military Expenditure Database, https://doi.org/10.55163/CQGC9685.
- Marked points are SIPRI’s own: a dot where it gives the figure as its estimate, a ring where it calls the figure highly uncertain.
- Ranks count the 151 countries with a value in 2025, highest first.
How the layers work, where their data comes from and what they can’t tell you: Countries through time
El Salvador vs Guatemala
Health
- Life expectancyEl Salvador: 72.1 years in 2023Guatemala: 72.6 years in 2023
- Child mortalityEl Salvador: 1 per 100 live births in 2024Guatemala: 2.1 per 100 live births in 2024
- Infant mortalityEl Salvador: 9.5 per 1,000 live births in 2023Guatemala: 17.6 per 1,000 live births in 2023
- DepressionEl Salvador: 3.03% in 2017Guatemala: 3.22% in 2017
- Suicide rateEl Salvador: 9.8 per 100,000 people in 2017Guatemala: 5.9 per 100,000 people in 2017
People
- PopulationEl Salvador: 6.31 million people in 2023Guatemala: 18.1 million people in 2023
- Population growthEl Salvador: 0.46% a year in 2023Guatemala: 1.55% a year in 2023
- Fertility rateEl Salvador: 1.78 births per woman in 2023Guatemala: 2.31 births per woman in 2023
- Urban populationEl Salvador: 75.5% in 2025Guatemala: 56.3% in 2025
- Median ageEl Salvador: 27 years in 2023Guatemala: 22.6 years in 2023
- People aged 65 and overEl Salvador: 8% in 2023Guatemala: 4.7% in 2023
- Net migration rateEl Salvador: -3.7 per 1,000 people in 2023Guatemala: -0.5 per 1,000 people in 2023
Economy
Education
Politics
Conflict
Military
- Military spendingEl Salvador: 1.34% of GDP in 2025Guatemala: 0.52% of GDP in 2025
- Military spending in US dollarsEl Salvador: $489M in 2025Guatemala: $617M in 2025
- Military share of state spendingEl Salvador: 4.4% of government spending in 2025Guatemala: 3.5% of government spending in 2025
- Armed forces personnelEl Salvador: 42,000 people in 2020Guatemala: 43,000 people in 2020
- National powerEl Salvador: 0.05% of world capability in 2022Guatemala: 0.09% of world capability in 2022
- Armed forces, share of workersEl Salvador: 1.62% of the labour force in 2020Guatemala: 0.64% of the labour force in 2020
- Arms importsEl Salvador: 3 million TIV in 2025Guatemala: 6 million TIV in 2023