El Salvador

Level moderateupdated 54 min ago
What governments advise19 states tracked
9 nothing to report8 increased caution2 advise against non-essential travel
Mira Safe's take

A country you can visit normally, with the usual precautions.

0alerts in progress2 / 19states advise against travel7.9homicides / 100,000 inhab.16events over 12 months
HighCritical

What are the main risks in El Salvador?

Over the last 12 months, our sensors recorded 16 events there, including 2 severe. The most frequent: Earthquake, Flood, Drought.

Is there a government travel advisory for El Salvador?

Yes — of the 19 governments we track, 2 advise against travel and 8 urge extra caution. The detail is in the security section below.

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El Salvador: current alerts and safety news

What was recorded in the country this week, lifted alerts included.

Earthquake M4.5 — Offshore El Salvador

« Temblor de magnitud 5.6 y otro de 4.1 se registran frente a las costas del Pacífico este 7 de octubre »

4 days ago · 2 sources

Moderate

Offshore El Salvador

6 days ago · 2 sources · Ended

Alert lifted

Earthquake M4.2 — Offshore El Salvador

7 days ago · EMSC · Ended

Alert lifted

Last 90 days

  • Calm
  • Moderate / High
  • Critical
  • N/A
July 14October 11

Colour = the country level observed that day (highest of the day). N/A: before our records began.

Is it safe to travel to El Salvador?

El Salvador records little. Five events over the last 12 months, none of them severe, and nothing live right now. Two were floods, one a drought, one an earthquake, one a travel advisory notice. Only two hazards here really follow a season: flood and drought. Too much water when the rains come, too little in the dry stretch. An earthquake follows no season, and one was recorded. With five records spread across a year, the month-by-month counts show no rhythm; a busier month is chance, not a cycle. On everyday safety, the homicide rate is 7.9 per 100,000 people, against a world median of 2.1. That number counts homicides only. It says nothing about theft or scams, where no comparable world data exists.

What it changes for a nomad

For a stay of several weeks, the season matters more than the date. Arrive with the rains and your subject is water: streets that turn into a river for an hour, a road cut, power that drops. Arrive in the dry stretch and it is the opposite, with water running short and some buildings rationing it. Ask about that before you sign, not after. An earthquake can come in any month, so the building you sleep in counts for more than the neighbourhood. Look at the floor you are on, the way out, and the state of the construction. Day to day, 7.9 homicides per 100,000 sits above the world median of 2.1, so keep the habits you would keep in any city you do not know yet. And remember that five records in a year is a quiet picture, not a complete one.

Written with the help of AI from Mira Safe's sourced data on August 24, 2026 · does not replace local guidance How this analysis is produced →

To watch as a rule

  • Floods during the rainy season, above all in low-lying streets and near watercourses.
  • Water running short in the dry season, and the rationing that comes with it.
  • Earthquakes, which come with no season and no notice.
  • Everyday security: 7.9 homicides per 100,000 against a world median of 2.1.

Good reflexes

  • Ask your landlord which streets around the building take on water in heavy rain, before you commit to a month.
  • Keep a few days of drinking water at home, and top it up as soon as the supply turns patchy.
  • Find your way out of the building and the spot you would stand outside, then walk it once.
  • Keep passport, cash and a charged power bank in one bag you can grab in seconds.
  • Read your own foreign ministry's country page before booking a longer stay.

El Salvador: travel advisories and areas to avoid

What the 19 tracked governments officially advise for this country — converging or not. The everyday reference.

  • Advised against by 4+ states
  • Advised against by 1 state
  • Advised against unless essential

El Salvador: quality of life and safety in figures

Everyday living conditions, on the few indicators published for every country in the world. Background for a stay — not what is happening today.

Watch out vs the world median

  • Homicides: 7.9 per 100,000 people (median 2.3)
  • Air quality (PM2.5): 29.6 µg/m³ (median 17.3)
  • Road deaths: 20.9 per 100,000 people (median 15.2)
  • Hospital beds: 1.2 per 1,000 people (median 2.4)
  • Life expectancy at birth: 72.3 years (median 74.7)
  • New displacements, conflict: 10.4 per 1,000 people (median 0.48)
  • New displacements, disasters: 0.83 per 1,000 people (median 0.73)
Air quality (PM2.5)
29.6µg/m³ · 2023

Above the world median (17.3) · lower is better

WHO guideline: 5 µg/m³

Road deaths
20.9per 100,000 people · 2019

Above the world median (15.2) · lower is better

Physicians
1.6per 1,000 people · 2023

Close to the world median (1.7) · higher is better

Hospital beds
1.2per 1,000 people · 2023

Below the world median (2.4) · higher is better

Life expectancy at birth
72.3years · 2024

Below the world median (74.7) · higher is better

New displacements, conflict
10.4per 1,000 people · 2023

Above the world median (0.48) · lower is better

66,000 people in total

New displacements, disasters
0.83per 1,000 people · 2023

Above the world median (0.73) · lower is better

5,300 people in total

Refugees hosted
0.03per 1,000 people · 2025

182 people in total

328 asylum seekers

People living in internal displacement
71,500people · 2025

Security and violence

Structural risk (INFORM) · 2026

4.4/10 — medium

Composite index by the JRC (European Commission): hazards & exposure, vulnerability, coping capacity. Structural background — not today's alerts.

7.9homicides per 100,000 people (2022)

Above the world median (2.3).

Source: UNODC, via the World Bank (CC BY 4.0)

Homicides are the only crime figure that exists worldwide under an open licence. It says nothing about theft or scams — no reliable worldwide data exists for those; official state advisories are the honest day-to-day reference.

National figures, published once a year and often a few years behind: an order of magnitude for daily life, never the situation right now. Sources: World Bank (CC BY 4.0) · UNHCR

El Salvador: natural disasters and risks in figures

Last 30 days · 7 events

Eventsof which severe
  • Earthquake6
  • Flood1

Last 12 months · 16 events

Eventsof which severe
  • Earthquake10
  • Flood3
  • Drought21 1 severe
  • Travel advisory11 1 severe

By month

Eventsof which severe
11
12
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
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What travellers lived

What people who stayed there report. A feeling is not a risk level: these figures complement official data, they don't replace it.

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Only ever published as anonymous aggregates, from 5 responses onward.

Mira informs you. Mira is not an emergency service — in an emergency, call local emergency services. Some of this page's content is generated with the help of AI from sourced, quantified data.

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