Land
Size, shape and altitude
How big is it, really?
Sri Lanka fits inside Bangladesh 2.2 times
Bangladesh: 147,570 km² (2024) · Sri Lanka: 65,610 km² (2024)
How much coast is there?
Sri Lanka’s coastline is 2.3 times as long as Bangladesh’s
Bangladesh: 580 km (2026 edition) · Sri Lanka: 1,340 km (2026 edition)
How high can you climb?
Sri Lanka’s highest peak towers 1,464 m above Bangladesh’s
Bangladesh: 1,060 m (2026 edition) · Sri Lanka: 2,524 m (2026 edition)
How much of the land is farmed?
Farmland covers 72% of Bangladesh, versus 49% of Sri Lanka
Bangladesh: 72.2% (2024) · Sri Lanka: 48.8% (2024)
People
Who lives there, and how closely
How many people live there?
Bangladesh has 8.1 times as many people as Sri Lanka
Bangladesh: 176 million (2025) · Sri Lanka: 21.8 million (2025)
How crowded is it?
Bangladesh is 3.8 times as densely populated as Sri Lanka
Bangladesh: 1,350 per km² (2025) · Sri Lanka: 352 per km² (2025)
How tall are the men?
Men in Sri Lanka are 3.0 cm taller than in Bangladesh
Bangladesh: 165.1 cm (2019) · Sri Lanka: 168.1 cm (2019)
How tall are the women?
Women in Sri Lanka are 3.5 cm taller than in Bangladesh
Bangladesh: 152.4 cm (2019) · Sri Lanka: 155.9 cm (2019)
How old is the typical person?
The typical person in Sri Lanka is 7.5 years older than in Bangladesh
Bangladesh: 25.3 years (2023) · Sri Lanka: 32.8 years (2023)
How many children per woman?
Women in Bangladesh have 0.2 more children on average than in Sri Lanka
Bangladesh: 2.14 children per woman (2024) · Sri Lanka: 1.95 children per woman (2024)
How many people are 65 or older?
12% of people in Sri Lanka are 65 or older, versus 6.7% in Bangladesh
Bangladesh: 6.7% (2025) · Sri Lanka: 12.5% (2025)
How many refugees does it host?
Bangladesh hosts 685 times as many refugees per resident as Sri Lanka
Bangladesh: 6.7 per 1,000 (2025) · Sri Lanka: 0.0098 per 1,000 (2025)
How many Nobel laureates were born there?
Bangladesh has produced 0.1 Nobel laureates per 10 million people, Sri Lanka none
Bangladesh: 0.1 (2026) · Sri Lanka: 0 (2026)
How many official languages?
Sri Lanka has 2 official languages, Bangladesh 1
Bangladesh: 1 (2026) · Sri Lanka: 2 (2026)
Money
What an economy looks like per person
How big is the economy?
Bangladesh’s economy is 4.2 times the size of Sri Lanka’s
Bangladesh: $456 billion (2025) · Sri Lanka: $109 billion (2025)
How much is produced per person?
Sri Lanka produces 68% more per person than Bangladesh
Bangladesh: Int$10,154 (2025) · Sri Lanka: Int$17,065 (2025)
How evenly is income shared?
Income is more unequally shared in Sri Lanka than in Bangladesh (Gini 6.8 points higher)
Bangladesh: 30.9 (2022) · Sri Lanka: 37.7 (2019)
How many live on less than $3 a day?
5.9% of people in Bangladesh live on less than $3 a day, versus 2.7% in Sri Lanka
Bangladesh: 5.9% (2022) · Sri Lanka: 2.7% (2019)
How many people are looking for work?
Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are practically level
Bangladesh: 3.8% (2025) · Sri Lanka: 4% (2025)
How much goes to the military?
Sri Lanka spends 1.3% of its GDP on the military, Bangladesh 0.8%
Bangladesh: 0.8% (2025) · Sri Lanka: 1.3% (2025)
How much does the central government collect in tax?
Sri Lanka’s central government collects 9.9% of GDP in tax, Bangladesh’s 7.6%
Bangladesh: 7.6% (2021) · Sri Lanka: 9.9% (2023)
How expensive is it?
Sri Lanka’s price level (US = 100) is 1.1× Bangladesh’s
Bangladesh: 26% (2025) · Sri Lanka: 29% (2025)
Health
Long lives, small beginnings
How much is spent on health?
Sri Lanka spends 2.5 times as much on health per person as Bangladesh
Bangladesh: $53 (2023) · Sri Lanka: $134 (2023)
How long do people live?
People in Sri Lanka live 2.7 years longer than in Bangladesh
Bangladesh: 74.9 years (2024) · Sri Lanka: 77.7 years (2024)
How many babies don’t reach their first birthday?
A baby in Bangladesh is 4.7 times as likely to die before turning one as in Sri Lanka
Bangladesh: 24.4 per 1,000 (2024) · Sri Lanka: 5.2 per 1,000 (2024)
How many doctors are there?
Sri Lanka has 57% more doctors per person than Bangladesh
Bangladesh: 0.7 per 1,000 (2023) · Sri Lanka: 1.1 per 1,000 (2023)
How many hospital beds are there?
Sri Lanka has 4.3 times as many hospital beds per person as Bangladesh
Bangladesh: 0.9 per 1,000 (2023) · Sri Lanka: 3.9 per 1,000 (2023)
How common is suicide?
The suicide rate in Sri Lanka is 3.1 times that in Bangladesh
Bangladesh: 4.5 per 100k (2023) · Sri Lanka: 14 per 100k (2023)
How common is obesity?
11% of adults in Sri Lanka are obese, versus 5.7% in Bangladesh
Bangladesh: 5.7% (2024) · Sri Lanka: 11.2% (2024)
How many adults smoke?
32% of adults in Bangladesh smoke, versus 21% in Sri Lanka
Bangladesh: 32% (2024) · Sri Lanka: 20.7% (2024)
Everyday life
Plates, glasses and happiness
How do people rate their lives?
People in Bangladesh rate their lives 0.31 points higher than in Sri Lanka
Bangladesh: 4.32 (2025) · Sri Lanka: 4.01 (2025)
How much do people drink?
Adults in Sri Lanka drink 856 times as much alcohol as in Bangladesh
Bangladesh: 0.0029 litres (2023) · Sri Lanka: 2.5 litres (2023)
How much meat is on the menu?
Sri Lanka has 2.6 times as much meat per person as Bangladesh
Bangladesh: 4.5 kg (2023) · Sri Lanka: 11.6 kg (2023)
How much food is there per day?
Sri Lanka has 87 kcal more food per person per day than Bangladesh
Bangladesh: 2,588 kcal (2023) · Sri Lanka: 2,675 kcal (2023)
How long do people work?
Workers in Bangladesh put in 330 more hours a year than in Sri Lanka
Bangladesh: 2,383 hours (2023) · Sri Lanka: 2,053 hours (2023)
How long do people go to school?
Adults in Sri Lanka went to school 4 years longer than in Bangladesh
Bangladesh: 6.8 years (2023) · Sri Lanka: 10.8 years (2023)
How many tourists visit?
Sri Lanka welcomed 17 times as many tourists per resident as Bangladesh (2019)
Bangladesh: 0.002 (2019) · Sri Lanka: 0.03 (2022)
How many World Heritage sites?
Sri Lanka has 5 more World Heritage sites than Bangladesh (8 against 3)
Bangladesh: 3 (2026) · Sri Lanka: 8 (2026)
How many Olympic medals has it won?
Sri Lanka has won 2 Olympic medals, Bangladesh none
Bangladesh: 0 (2026 edition) · Sri Lanka: 2 (2026 edition)
Connected
Online, electrified, urban
How many people are online?
55% of people in Sri Lanka are online, versus 53% in Bangladesh
Bangladesh: 53% (2024) · Sri Lanka: 55% (2024)
How fast is home internet?
Home internet in Bangladesh is 38% faster than in Sri Lanka
Bangladesh: 86 Mbps (2026) · Sri Lanka: 63 Mbps (2026)
Who has electricity at home?
100% of people in Sri Lanka have electricity, versus 100% in Bangladesh
Bangladesh: 99.5% (2024) · Sri Lanka: 100% (2024)
How many live in cities?
33% of people in Bangladesh live in cities, versus 20% in Sri Lanka
Bangladesh: 33% (2025) · Sri Lanka: 20% (2025)
How many phones per person?
Sri Lanka has 133 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, Bangladesh 108
Bangladesh: 108 (2024) · Sri Lanka: 133 (2024)
How much railway is there?
Bangladesh’s railway network is 84% longer than Sri Lanka’s
Bangladesh: 2,877 km (2019) · Sri Lanka: 1,562 km (2019)
How much do they fly?
Airlines from Sri Lanka fly 4.7 times as many passengers per resident as those from Bangladesh
Bangladesh: 0.04 (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 14% of Bangladesh
Bangladesh: 14.4% (2024) · Sri Lanka: 34.4% (2024)
How much CO₂ does each person emit?
The average person in Sri Lanka emits 44% more CO₂ than someone in Bangladesh
Bangladesh: 0.6 t (2024) · Sri Lanka: 0.9 t (2024)
How green is the power grid?
62% of Sri Lanka’s electricity is renewable, versus 2.1% in Bangladesh
Bangladesh: 2.1% (2025) · Sri Lanka: 61.6% (2025)
How clean is the air?
The air in Bangladesh carries 3.1 times as much fine dust as in Sri Lanka
Bangladesh: 65 µg/m³ (2024) · Sri Lanka: 20.7 µg/m³ (2024)
Safety
Measured risk, not vibes
How common is murder?
You are 41% more likely to be murdered in Sri Lanka than in Bangladesh
Bangladesh: 2.3 per 100k (2018) · Sri Lanka: 3.3 per 100k (2019)
How dangerous are the roads?
Roads in Bangladesh are 64% deadlier than in Sri Lanka
Bangladesh: 34.5 per 100k (2023) · Sri Lanka: 21.1 per 100k (2023)
Climate
What the year feels like
How warm is it?
Sri Lanka is on average 1.1 °C warmer than Bangladesh
Bangladesh: 25.8°C (2016–2025 avg) · Sri Lanka: 26.8°C (2016–2025 avg)
How much rain falls?
Bangladesh gets 14% more rain than Sri Lanka
Bangladesh: 2,096 mm (2016–2025 avg) · Sri Lanka: 1,839 mm (2016–2025 avg)
Between them
People, goods and passports that cross from one to the other
Quick answers
Is Bangladesh bigger than Sri Lanka?
Bangladesh is larger. Sri Lanka fits inside Bangladesh 2.2 times.
Which has more people, Bangladesh or Sri Lanka?
Bangladesh has 8.1 times as many people as Sri Lanka (2025 estimates).
Where do people live longer, Bangladesh or Sri Lanka?
People in Sri Lanka live 2.7 years longer than in Bangladesh. Life expectancy at birth is 74.9 years in Bangladesh and 77.7 in Sri Lanka.
Are people taller in Bangladesh or Sri Lanka?
Men in Sri Lanka are 3.0 cm taller than in Bangladesh (NCD-RisC, cohort born 2019).
