Land
Size, shape and altitude
How big is it, really?
Sri Lanka fits inside Australia 118 times.
Australia: 7,741,220 km² (2023) · Sri Lanka: 65,610 km² (2023)
How much coast is there?
Australia’s coastline is 19 times as long as Sri Lanka’s.
Australia: 25,760 km (2026 edition) · Sri Lanka: 1,340 km (2026 edition)
How high can you climb?
Sri Lanka’s highest peak towers 296 m above Australia’s.
Australia: 2,228 m (2026 edition) · Sri Lanka: 2,524 m (2026 edition)
People
Who lives there, and how closely
How many people live there?
Australia has 27% more people than Sri Lanka.
Australia: 27.6 million (2025) · Sri Lanka: 21.8 million (2025)
How crowded is it?
Sri Lanka is 98 times as densely populated as Australia.
Australia: 4 per km² (2025) · Sri Lanka: 352 per km² (2025)
How tall are the men?
Men in Australia are 10.7 cm taller than in Sri Lanka.
Australia: 178.8 cm (2019) · Sri Lanka: 168.1 cm (2019)
How tall are the women?
Women in Australia are 8.8 cm taller than in Sri Lanka.
Australia: 164.7 cm (2019) · Sri Lanka: 155.9 cm (2019)
How old is the typical person?
The typical person in Australia is 4.9 years older than in Sri Lanka.
Australia: 37.8 years (2023) · Sri Lanka: 32.8 years (2023)
How many children per woman?
Women in Sri Lanka have 0.5 more children on average than in Australia.
Australia: 1.48 children per woman (2024) · Sri Lanka: 1.95 children per woman (2024)
How many people are 65 or older?
18% of people in Australia are 65 or older, versus 12% in Sri Lanka.
Australia: 18.1% (2025) · Sri Lanka: 12.5% (2025)
How many Nobel laureates were born there?
Australia has produced 3.6 Nobel laureates per 10 million people, Sri Lanka 0.0.
Australia: 3.6 (2025) · Sri Lanka: 0 (2025)
How many official languages?
Sri Lanka has 2 official languages, Australia 1.
Australia: 1 (2026) · Sri Lanka: 2 (2026)
Money
What an economy looks like per person
How big is the economy?
Australia’s economy is 17 times the size of Sri Lanka’s.
Australia: $1.8 trillion (2025) · Sri Lanka: $109 billion (2025)
How much is produced per person?
Australia produces 4.2 times as much per person as Sri Lanka.
Australia: Int$71,934 (2025) · Sri Lanka: Int$17,065 (2025)
How evenly is income shared?
Income is more unequally shared in Sri Lanka than in Australia (Gini 3.9 points higher).
Australia: 33.8 (2020) · Sri Lanka: 37.7 (2019)
How many people are looking for work?
Australia and Sri Lanka are practically level.
Australia: 4.1% (2025) · Sri Lanka: 4% (2025)
How much goes to the military?
Australia and Sri Lanka are practically level.
Australia: 1.9% (2024) · Sri Lanka: 1.4% (2024)
How expensive is it?
Australia’s price level (US = 100) is 3.1× Sri Lanka’s.
Australia: 91% (2025) · Sri Lanka: 29% (2025)
Health
Long lives, small beginnings
How much is spent on health?
Australia spends 52 times as much on health per person as Sri Lanka.
Australia: $6,980 (2023) · Sri Lanka: $134 (2023)
How long do people live?
People in Australia live 5.4 years longer than in Sri Lanka.
Australia: 83.1 years (2024) · Sri Lanka: 77.7 years (2024)
How many babies don’t reach their first birthday?
A baby in Sri Lanka is 68% more likely to die before turning one than in Australia.
Australia: 3.1 per 1,000 (2024) · Sri Lanka: 5.2 per 1,000 (2024)
How many doctors are there?
Australia has 3.6 times as many doctors per person as Sri Lanka.
Australia: 4.1 per 1,000 (2022) · Sri Lanka: 1.1 per 1,000 (2023)
How common is obesity?
32% of adults in Australia are obese, versus 11% in Sri Lanka.
Australia: 32.4% (2024) · Sri Lanka: 11.2% (2024)
How many adults smoke?
21% of adults in Sri Lanka smoke, versus 12% in Australia.
Australia: 11.6% (2024) · Sri Lanka: 20.7% (2024)
Everyday life
Plates, glasses and happiness
How do people rate their lives?
People in Australia rate their lives 2.90 points higher than in Sri Lanka.
Australia: 6.92 (2025) · Sri Lanka: 4.01 (2025)
How much do people drink?
Adults in Australia drink 4.2 times as much alcohol as in Sri Lanka.
Australia: 10.5 litres (2023) · Sri Lanka: 2.5 litres (2023)
How much meat is on the menu?
Australia has 10 times as much meat per person as Sri Lanka.
Australia: 116.8 kg (2023) · Sri Lanka: 11.6 kg (2023)
How much food is there per day?
Australia has 887 kcal more food per person per day than Sri Lanka.
Australia: 3,562 kcal (2023) · Sri Lanka: 2,675 kcal (2023)
How long do people work?
Workers in Sri Lanka put in 442 more hours a year than in Australia.
Australia: 1,611 hours (2023) · Sri Lanka: 2,053 hours (2023)
How long do people go to school?
Adults in Australia went to school 2.1 years longer than in Sri Lanka.
Australia: 12.9 years (2023) · Sri Lanka: 10.8 years (2023)
How many tourists visit?
Australia: no data · Sri Lanka: 0.03 (2022)
Connected
Online, electrified, urban
How many people are online?
96% of people in Australia are online, versus 55% in Sri Lanka.
Australia: 96% (2024) · Sri Lanka: 55% (2024)
Who has electricity at home?
Australia and Sri Lanka are practically level.
Australia: 100% (2024) · Sri Lanka: 100% (2024)
How many live in cities?
88% of people in Australia live in cities, versus 20% in Sri Lanka.
Australia: 88% (2025) · Sri Lanka: 20% (2025)
How many phones per person?
Sri Lanka has 133 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, Australia 113.
Australia: 113 (2024) · Sri Lanka: 133 (2024)
How much railway is there?
Australia’s railway network is 21 times as long as Sri Lanka’s.
Australia: 32,606 km (2022) · Sri Lanka: 1,562 km (2019)
How much do they fly?
Airlines from Australia fly 14 times as many passengers per resident as those from Sri Lanka.
Australia: 2.5 (2023) · Sri Lanka: 0.18 (2023)
Planet
Air, forests and energy
How much of the land is forest?
Forest covers 34% of Sri Lanka, but only 17% of Australia.
Australia: 17.4% (2023) · Sri Lanka: 34% (2023)
How much CO₂ does each person emit?
The average person in Australia emits 16 times as much CO₂ as someone in Sri Lanka.
Australia: 14.5 t (2024) · Sri Lanka: 0.9 t (2024)
How green is the power grid?
62% of Sri Lanka’s electricity is renewable, versus 39% in Australia.
Australia: 38.6% (2025) · Sri Lanka: 61.6% (2025)
How clean is the air?
The air in Sri Lanka carries 3.8 times as much fine dust as in Australia.
Australia: 5.4 µg/m³ (2024) · Sri Lanka: 20.7 µg/m³ (2024)
Safety
Measured risk, not vibes
How common is murder?
You are 3.9 times as likely to be murdered in Sri Lanka as in Australia.
Australia: 0.9 per 100k (2023) · Sri Lanka: 3.3 per 100k (2019)
How dangerous are the roads?
Roads in Sri Lanka are 2.6 times as deadly as in Australia.
Australia: 4.5 per 100k (2021) · Sri Lanka: 11.5 per 100k (2021)
Climate
What the year feels like
How warm is it?
Sri Lanka is on average 4.3 °C warmer than Australia.
Australia: 22.5°C (2016–2025 avg) · Sri Lanka: 26.8°C (2016–2025 avg)
How much rain falls?
Sri Lanka gets 4.1 times as much rain as Australia.
Australia: 447 mm (2016–2025 avg) · Sri Lanka: 1,839 mm (2016–2025 avg)
Quick answers
Is Australia bigger than Sri Lanka?
Australia is larger. Sri Lanka fits inside Australia 118 times.
Which has more people, Australia or Sri Lanka?
Australia has 27% more people than Sri Lanka (2025 estimates).
Where do people live longer, Australia or Sri Lanka?
People in Australia live 5.4 years longer than in Sri Lanka. Life expectancy at birth is 83.1 years in Australia and 77.7 in Sri Lanka.
Are people taller in Australia or Sri Lanka?
Men in Australia are 10.7 cm taller than in Sri Lanka (NCD-RisC, cohort born 2019).
