The Model Index
World/North America
AI access, cost and use · Central America · North America · data read 1 Oct 2026

El Salvador

In El Salvador, a $20-a-month AI plan costs 9.9% of the median living standard, 13 times the share it takes in the United States; for 50% of people it is over a tenth of what they live on. Claude, OpenAI's API and Gemini are all officially offered. 66% of people use the internet, and Claude use per working-age person is 0.59 times the world average.

9.9%of the median living standard for a $20 planNorth America median 6.4% · United States 0.79%
50%of people for whom the plan is over a tenth of their living standardabout 3.2 m people
3of 3leading services officially offeredClaude · OpenAI · Gemini
66%of people use the internetworld 74% · 6.4 m people

The figuresEl Salvador

People6.4 m
Median living standard$2,417a year per person · income
A $20 plan takes9.9%of that · 13× the US share
For whom it is over a tenth50%of people
Survey2023revalued at 2025 prices
GNI per person$5,410plan is 4.4% of it
Claude use per person0.59×world average = 1
Notable AI models built here0

Officially offered here3 of 3

Run it yourself →
Claude · claude.ai appYes
OpenAI · APIYes
Gemini · web appYes

From each lab's own published list: Anthropic's Claude.ai countries, OpenAI's API countries and Google's Gemini web app countries. Not listed means not officially served; open-weight models can be run anywhere.

Against North America and the worldregional figures are medians or population-weighted

MeasureEl SalvadorNorth AmericaWorld
A $20 plan ÷ median living standard9.9%6.4%9.9%
People for whom it is over a tenth50%12%63%
Plan price ÷ GNI per person4.4%1.3%2.9%
People using the internet66%88%74%
Claude use per working-age person0.59×3.32×1.00×
Notable AI models built07521,256

What it is used forEl Salvador against the world

Report ↗
El Salvador
Work 43%
Personal 29%
Coursework 28%
The world
Work 42%
Personal 41%
Coursework 17%
Share of the world's Claude use0.06%0.08% of the world's people
Work43%world 42%
Personal29%world 41%
Coursework28%world 17%
Handed over to the model (automation)52%world 48%

Anthropic Economic Index, May 2026: Claude.ai conversations by country. One product from one lab, so read it as a signal of who is using frontier models, not a census.

What people make with itshare of conversations

Document or report17%
Explanation or answer14%
Advice or recommendation8%
App or website6%

The most common things people in El Salvador ask Claude to produce.

NeighboursCentral America · lightest burden first

CountryPeopleOnline$20 plan ÷ median living standardOver a tenthClaude use per personOfficial lists
Costa Rica5.2 m87%3.6%10%1.57×3 of 3
Panama4.6 m73%6.0%29%1.28×3 of 3
Mexico132 m83%6.6%27%0.63×3 of 3
Belize423k80%6.8%29%not reported3 of 3
El Salvador6.4 m66%9.9%50%0.59×3 of 3
Honduras11 m59%14%64%0.26×3 of 3
Guatemala19 m60%14%67%0.37×3 of 3
Nicaragua7.0 m61%no estimate–not reported3 of 3
All countries →

The foundationsEl Salvador against the world

World Bank ↗
People using the internet
66%world 74%
People with electricity
99%world 92%
Mobile subscriptions per 100 people
177world 112
Fixed broadband lines per 100 people
12.5world 20.1
Enrolled in university-level education
33%world 44%
Research spending, share of GDP
0.1%world 2.6%
Researchers per million people
55world 1,652
Secure internet servers per million people
191world 16,381

The latest World Bank figure for each measure. The tick marks the world figure.

A $20-a-month plan ($240 a year, US list price) against the median household living standard per person in each country. The median is from the latest national household survey (World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform), revalued from 2021 purchasing-power dollars into US dollars at recent prices and official exchange rates, assuming real living standards have not changed since the survey. Some surveys measure income and others consumption, which includes food people grow and housing they own, so this is a living standard, not cash to spare. Countries with no survey since 2015 or no defensible exchange rate are left blank.

World Bank household surveys ↗Anthropic countries ↗OpenAI countries ↗Gemini countries ↗Anthropic Economic Index ↗Epoch AI notable models ↗