The duel
Land
Size, shape and altitude
How big is it, really?
The United Kingdom is 65% bigger than Bangladesh.
Bangladesh: 147,570 km² (2023) · United Kingdom: 243,610 km² (2023)
How much coast is there?
The United Kingdom’s coastline is 21 times as long as Bangladesh’s.
Bangladesh: 580 km (2026 edition) · United Kingdom: 12,429 km (2026 edition)
How high can you climb?
The United Kingdom’s highest peak towers 285 m above Bangladesh’s.
Bangladesh: 1,060 m (2026 edition) · United Kingdom: 1,345 m (2026 edition)
People
Who lives there, and how closely
How many people live there?
Bangladesh has 2.5 times as many people as the United Kingdom.
Bangladesh: 176 million (2025) · United Kingdom: 69.5 million (2025)
How crowded is it?
Bangladesh is 4.7 times as densely populated as the United Kingdom.
Bangladesh: 1,352 per km² (2025) · United Kingdom: 287 per km² (2025)
How tall are the men?
Men in the United Kingdom are 13.1 cm taller than in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh: 165.1 cm (2019) · United Kingdom: 178.2 cm (2019)
How tall are the women?
Women in the United Kingdom are 11.6 cm taller than in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh: 152.4 cm (2019) · United Kingdom: 163.9 cm (2019)
How old is the typical person?
The typical person in the United Kingdom is 14 years older than in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh: 25.3 years (2023) · United Kingdom: 39.8 years (2023)
How many children per woman?
Women in Bangladesh have 0.6 more children on average than in the United Kingdom.
Bangladesh: 2.14 children per woman (2024) · United Kingdom: 1.55 children per woman (2024)
How many people are 65 or older?
20% of people in the United Kingdom are 65 or older, versus 6.7% in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh: 6.7% (2025) · United Kingdom: 19.7% (2025)
How many Nobel laureates were born there?
The United Kingdom has produced 15.8 Nobel laureates per 10 million people, Bangladesh 0.1.
Bangladesh: 0.1 (2025) · United Kingdom: 15.8 (2025)
How many official languages?
Bangladesh and the United Kingdom are practically level.
Bangladesh: 1 (2026) · United Kingdom: 1 (2026)
Money
What an economy looks like per person
How big is the economy?
The United Kingdom’s economy is 8.8 times the size of Bangladesh’s.
Bangladesh: $456 billion (2025) · United Kingdom: $4 trillion (2025)
How much is produced per person?
The United Kingdom produces 6.4 times as much per person as Bangladesh.
Bangladesh: Int$10,154 (2025) · United Kingdom: Int$64,607 (2025)
How evenly is income shared?
Income is more unequally shared in the United Kingdom than in Bangladesh (Gini 1.5 points higher).
Bangladesh: 30.9 (2022) · United Kingdom: 32.4 (2021)
How many people are looking for work?
Unemployment is 4.7% in the United Kingdom, versus 3.8% in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh: 3.8% (2025) · United Kingdom: 4.7% (2025)
How much goes to the military?
The United Kingdom spends 2.3% of its GDP on the military, Bangladesh 0.9%.
Bangladesh: 0.9% (2024) · United Kingdom: 2.3% (2024)
How expensive is it?
The United Kingdom’s price level (US = 100) is 3.5× Bangladesh’s.
Bangladesh: 26% (2025) · United Kingdom: 89% (2025)
Health
Long lives, small beginnings
How much is spent on health?
The United Kingdom spends 110 times as much on health per person as Bangladesh.
Bangladesh: $53 (2023) · United Kingdom: $5,860 (2024)
How long do people live?
People in the United Kingdom live 6.5 years longer than in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh: 74.9 years (2024) · United Kingdom: 81.4 years (2024)
How many babies don’t reach their first birthday?
A baby in Bangladesh is 6 times as likely to die before turning one as in the United Kingdom.
Bangladesh: 24.4 per 1,000 (2024) · United Kingdom: 4.1 per 1,000 (2024)
How many doctors are there?
The United Kingdom has 4.6 times as many doctors per person as Bangladesh.
Bangladesh: 0.7 per 1,000 (2023) · United Kingdom: 3.3 per 1,000 (2023)
How common is obesity?
29% of adults in the United Kingdom are obese, versus 5.7% in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh: 5.7% (2024) · United Kingdom: 29.2% (2024)
How many adults smoke?
32% of adults in Bangladesh smoke, versus 13% in the United Kingdom.
Bangladesh: 32% (2024) · United Kingdom: 12.8% (2024)
Everyday life
Plates, glasses and happiness
How do people rate their lives?
People in the United Kingdom rate their lives 2.38 points higher than in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh: 4.32 (2025) · United Kingdom: 6.69 (2025)
How much do people drink?
Adults in the United Kingdom drink 3,584 times as much alcohol as in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh: 0.0029 litres (2023) · United Kingdom: 10.4 litres (2023)
How much meat is on the menu?
The United Kingdom has 19 times as much meat per person as Bangladesh.
Bangladesh: 4.5 kg (2023) · United Kingdom: 84.4 kg (2023)
How much food is there per day?
The United Kingdom has 847 kcal more food per person per day than Bangladesh.
Bangladesh: 2,588 kcal (2023) · United Kingdom: 3,435 kcal (2023)
How long do people work?
Workers in Bangladesh put in 860 more hours a year than in the United Kingdom.
Bangladesh: 2,383 hours (2023) · United Kingdom: 1,523 hours (2023)
How long do people go to school?
Adults in the United Kingdom went to school 6.7 years longer than in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh: 6.8 years (2023) · United Kingdom: 13.5 years (2023)
How many tourists visit?
The United Kingdom welcomed 282 times as many tourists per resident as Bangladesh (2019).
Bangladesh: 0 (2019) · United Kingdom: 0.55 (2024)
Connected
Online, electrified, urban
How many people are online?
95% of people in the United Kingdom are online, versus 53% in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh: 53% (2024) · United Kingdom: 95% (2024)
Who has electricity at home?
100% of people in the United Kingdom have electricity, versus 100% in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh: 99.5% (2024) · United Kingdom: 100% (2024)
How many live in cities?
83% of people in the United Kingdom live in cities, versus 33% in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh: 33% (2025) · United Kingdom: 83% (2025)
How many phones per person?
The United Kingdom has 122 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, Bangladesh 108.
Bangladesh: 108 (2024) · United Kingdom: 122 (2024)
How much railway is there?
The United Kingdom’s railway network is 5.6 times as long as Bangladesh’s.
Bangladesh: 2,877 km (2019) · United Kingdom: 16,179 km (2021)
How much do they fly?
Airlines from the United Kingdom fly 45 times as many passengers per resident as those from Bangladesh.
Bangladesh: 0.04 (2023) · United Kingdom: 1.71 (2023)
Planet
Air, forests and energy
How much of the land is forest?
Forest covers 14% of Bangladesh, but only 13% of the United Kingdom.
Bangladesh: 14.5% (2023) · United Kingdom: 13.3% (2023)
How much CO₂ does each person emit?
The average person in the United Kingdom emits 7.3 times as much CO₂ as someone in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh: 0.6 t (2024) · United Kingdom: 4.5 t (2024)
How green is the power grid?
52% of the United Kingdom’s electricity is renewable, versus 2.1% in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh: 2.1% (2025) · United Kingdom: 52% (2025)
How clean is the air?
The air in Bangladesh carries 7.4 times as much fine dust as in the United Kingdom.
Bangladesh: 65 µg/m³ (2024) · United Kingdom: 8.8 µg/m³ (2024)
Safety
Measured risk, not vibes
How common is murder?
You are 2.1 times as likely to be murdered in Bangladesh as in the United Kingdom.
Bangladesh: 2.3 per 100k (2018) · United Kingdom: 1.1 per 100k (2021)
How dangerous are the roads?
Roads in Bangladesh are 7.8 times as deadly as in the United Kingdom.
Bangladesh: 18.6 per 100k (2021) · United Kingdom: 2.4 per 100k (2021)
Climate
What the year feels like
How warm is it?
Bangladesh is on average 15.8 °C warmer than the United Kingdom.
Bangladesh: 25.8°C (2016–2025 avg) · United Kingdom: 9.9°C (2016–2025 avg)
How much rain falls?
Bangladesh gets 2 times as much rain as the United Kingdom.
Bangladesh: 2,096 mm (2016–2025 avg) · United Kingdom: 1,070 mm (2016–2025 avg)
Quick answers
Is Bangladesh bigger than the United Kingdom?
The United Kingdom is larger. The United Kingdom is 65% bigger than Bangladesh.
Which has more people, Bangladesh or the United Kingdom?
Bangladesh has 2.5 times as many people as the United Kingdom (2025 estimates).
Where do people live longer, Bangladesh or the United Kingdom?
People in the United Kingdom live 6.5 years longer than in Bangladesh. Life expectancy at birth is 74.9 years in Bangladesh and 81.4 in the United Kingdom.
Are people taller in Bangladesh or the United Kingdom?
Men in the United Kingdom are 13.1 cm taller than in Bangladesh (NCD-RisC, cohort born 2019).
