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El Salvador's area vs Sierra Leone's: size comparison by land type

Updated on by Georank team

Sierra Leone is 3.41 times bigger by total area compared to El Salvador: 27,699 sq mi vs 8,124 sq mi. Without inland water, the land area of Sierra Leone is 27,869 sq mi vs 8,000 sq mi for El Salvador — a 3.48 times difference in territory size.

  • El Salvador ranks 149/197 by total surface area vs 117/197 for Sierra Leone.
  • El Salvador occupies 0.01% of the land mass of all countries, compared with 0.05% for Sierra Leone.
  • 57.7% of El Salvador's area is agricultural land vs 54.7% in Sierra Leone.
  • El Salvador has 0.03% of the world's agricultural land area — Sierra Leone has 0.08%.
  • 27.5% of El Salvador is covered by forests, compared to 34.3% in Sierra Leone.
  • 0.01% of the world's forests are in El Salvador, and 0.06% are in Sierra Leone.

True size map comparison: El Salvador vs Sierra Leone

See how El Salvador and Sierra Leone compare in true size on the map. Drag the outlines to different latitudes to see how the Mercator projection affects their apparent size.

Total size and land area comparison

El Salvador Sierra Leone
Total area 8,124
sq mi
27,699
sq mi
Size difference ratio 1 3.41
Total area rank 149/197 117/197
Share of all countries' surface area 0.004% 0.01%
Land area 8,000
sq mi
27,869
sq mi
Land area difference ratio 1 3.48
Land area rank 150/197 116/197
Share of all countries' land area 0.01% 0.05%
Population 6,338,193 8,642,022
Population density 799 ppl/mi² 323 ppl/mi²

Surface area by type

El Salvador Sierra Leone
Forest area 2,202
sq mi
9,559
sq mi
Forest area as share of land 27.5% 34.3%
Forest area rank 136/196 98/196
World's forests share 0.01% 0.06%
Agricultural land area 4,617
sq mi
15,247
sq mi
Agricultural land share 57.7% 54.7%
Agricultural land area rank 135/194 96/194
Share of global agricultural land 0.03% 0.08%
Arable land 2,784
sq mi
6,116
sq mi
Arable land share 34.8% 21.9%
Arable land area rank 117/191 89/191
Permanent cropland 618
sq mi
637
sq mi
Permanent cropland share 7.72% 2.29%
Permanent cropland area rank 92/192 90/192
Water area 123.9
sq mi
0
sq mi
Water as share of total area 1.53% 0%
Water area rank 123/197 191/197
Roads length 5,600
mi
7,270
mi
Land borders length 367
mi
679
mi
Coastline length 190.8
mi
249.8
mi
Share of marine protected waters 0.8% 1.7%

El Salvador vs Sierra Leone size on the map

Data sources: World Bank | Agriculture & Rural Development (2026, retrieved 2026-04-06).

GeoRank.org/size/el-salvador/sierra-leone | CC BY

The map above outlines the borders of El Salvador and Sierra Leone but is not accurate for size comparison because it's a 2d map with Mercator projection that distorts territories near the poles. The farther a country is from the equator, the more magnified it appears. More about country size projections.

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Data sources:

  1. World Bank | Agriculture & Rural Development (2023–2026, retrieved 2026-04-06)
  2. Wikidata (2026, retrieved 2026-02-08)
  3. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) (2025, retrieved 2026-02-20)
  4. United Nations | World Population Prospects (2026, retrieved 2026-03-10)

Total agricultural land encompasses all areas used for agriculture: territories under permanent and temporary crops and pastures. It includes land under flowering shrubs, fruit and nut trees, and vineyards, but excludes sites utilized for timber production.

Arable land encompasses fields utilized for temporary crop production, pastures, market or kitchen gardens, and temporarily fallowed land. Land abandoned due to shifting cultivation practices is not included.

Permanent cropland refers to farmland for the long-term cultivation of crops, such as coffee, cocoa, and rubber, which do not require replanting after each harvest. This category encompasses land with permanent crops like flowering shrubs, fruit and nut trees, and vines, but does not include land under trees for timber production.

Inland areas under water, such as large rivers, lakes, and some coastal waterways.

Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) — you’re free to copy, share, remix, adapt, and use even commercially as long as you give appropriate credit and clearly indicate if you made changes. Other sources may be subject to different license terms.