Land
Size, shape and altitude
How big is it, really?
The Netherlands fits inside Ethiopia 27 times
Ethiopia: 1,129,820 km² (2024) · Netherlands: 41,540 km² (2024)
How much coast is there?
Ethiopia: 0 km (2026 edition) · Netherlands: 451 km (2026 edition)
How high can you climb?
Ethiopia’s highest peak towers 3,688 m above the Netherlands’
Ethiopia: 4,550 m (2026 edition) · Netherlands: 862 m (2026 edition)
How much of the land is farmed?
Farmland covers 53% of the Netherlands, versus 34% of Ethiopia
Ethiopia: 34.3% (2024) · Netherlands: 53.4% (2024)
People
Who lives there, and how closely
How many people live there?
Ethiopia has 7.5 times as many people as the Netherlands
Ethiopia: 135 million (2025) · Netherlands: 18.1 million (2025)
How crowded is it?
The Netherlands is 4.4 times as densely populated as Ethiopia
Ethiopia: 121 per km² (2025) · Netherlands: 537 per km² (2025)
How tall are the men?
Men in the Netherlands are 14.9 cm taller than in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: 168.8 cm (2019) · Netherlands: 183.8 cm (2019)
How tall are the women?
Women in the Netherlands are 13.2 cm taller than in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: 157.2 cm (2019) · Netherlands: 170.4 cm (2019)
How old is the typical person?
The typical person in the Netherlands is 23 years older than in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: 18.7 years (2023) · Netherlands: 41.4 years (2023)
How many children per woman?
Women in Ethiopia have 2.5 more children on average than in the Netherlands
Ethiopia: 3.91 children per woman (2024) · Netherlands: 1.43 children per woman (2024)
How many people are 65 or older?
21% of people in the Netherlands are 65 or older, versus 3.3% in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: 3.3% (2025) · Netherlands: 20.9% (2025)
How many refugees does it host?
The Netherlands hosts 2.1 times as many refugees per resident as Ethiopia
Ethiopia: 7.5 per 1,000 (2025) · Netherlands: 15.7 per 1,000 (2025)
How many Nobel laureates were born there?
The Netherlands has produced 11.1 Nobel laureates per 10 million people, Ethiopia 0.1
Ethiopia: 0.1 (2026) · Netherlands: 11.1 (2026)
How many official languages?
Ethiopia and the Netherlands are practically level
Ethiopia: 1 (2026) · Netherlands: 1 (2026)
Money
What an economy looks like per person
How big is the economy?
The Netherlands’ economy is 11 times the size of Ethiopia’s
Ethiopia: $126 billion (2025) · Netherlands: $1.33 trillion (2025)
How much is produced per person?
The Netherlands produces 24 times as much per person as Ethiopia
Ethiopia: Int$3,622 (2025) · Netherlands: Int$87,320 (2025)
How evenly is income shared?
Income is more unequally shared in Ethiopia than in the Netherlands (Gini 5.4 points higher)
Ethiopia: 31.1 (2021) · Netherlands: 25.7 (2021)
How many live on less than $3 a day?
39% of people in Ethiopia live on less than $3 a day, versus 0.1% in the Netherlands
Ethiopia: 38.6% (2021) · Netherlands: 0.1% (2021)
How many people are looking for work?
Unemployment is 3.9% in the Netherlands, versus 3.3% in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: 3.3% (2025) · Netherlands: 3.9% (2025)
How much goes to the military?
The Netherlands spends 2.2% of its GDP on the military, Ethiopia 0.5%
Ethiopia: 0.5% (2025) · Netherlands: 2.2% (2025)
How much does the central government collect in tax?
The Netherlands’ central government collects 25% of GDP in tax, Ethiopia’s 3.4%
Ethiopia: 3.4% (2024) · Netherlands: 25.3% (2024)
How expensive is it?
The Netherlands’ price level (US = 100) is 3.3× Ethiopia’s
Ethiopia: 26% (2025) · Netherlands: 84% (2025)
Health
Long lives, small beginnings
How much is spent on health?
The Netherlands spends 197 times as much on health per person as Ethiopia
Ethiopia: $35 (2023) · Netherlands: $6,845 (2024)
How long do people live?
People in the Netherlands live 14 years longer than in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: 67.6 years (2024) · Netherlands: 82 years (2024)
How many babies don’t reach their first birthday?
A baby in Ethiopia is 10 times as likely to die before turning one as in the Netherlands
Ethiopia: 34.5 per 1,000 (2024) · Netherlands: 3.4 per 1,000 (2024)
How many doctors are there?
The Netherlands has 27 times as many doctors per person as Ethiopia
Ethiopia: 0.1 per 1,000 (2023) · Netherlands: 3.9 per 1,000 (2022)
How many hospital beds are there?
The Netherlands has 7.3 times as many hospital beds per person as Ethiopia
Ethiopia: 0.3 per 1,000 (2016) · Netherlands: 2.4 per 1,000 (2022)
How common is suicide?
The suicide rate in Ethiopia is 50% higher than in the Netherlands
Ethiopia: 14.4 per 100k (2023) · Netherlands: 9.6 per 100k (2023)
How common is obesity?
17% of adults in the Netherlands are obese, versus 2.5% in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: 2.5% (2024) · Netherlands: 16.9% (2024)
How many adults smoke?
21% of adults in the Netherlands smoke, versus 5.2% in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: 5.2% (2024) · Netherlands: 20.5% (2024)
Everyday life
Plates, glasses and happiness
How do people rate their lives?
People in the Netherlands rate their lives 3.24 points higher than in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: 3.99 (2025) · Netherlands: 7.22 (2025)
How much do people drink?
Adults in the Netherlands drink 3.8 times as much alcohol as in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: 2.3 litres (2023) · Netherlands: 8.6 litres (2023)
How much meat is on the menu?
The Netherlands has 10 times as much meat per person as Ethiopia
Ethiopia: 6.9 kg (2023) · Netherlands: 71.6 kg (2023)
How much food is there per day?
The Netherlands has 909 kcal more food per person per day than Ethiopia
Ethiopia: 2,558 kcal (2023) · Netherlands: 3,467 kcal (2023)
How long do people work?
Workers in Ethiopia put in 161 more hours a year than in the Netherlands
Ethiopia: 1,599 hours (2023) · Netherlands: 1,439 hours (2023)
How long do people go to school?
Adults in the Netherlands went to school 10 years longer than in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: 2.4 years (2023) · Netherlands: 12.7 years (2023)
How many tourists visit?
The Netherlands welcomed 224 times as many tourists per resident as Ethiopia (2019)
Ethiopia: 0.0041 (2024) · Netherlands: 0.91 (2022)
How many World Heritage sites?
The Netherlands has 1 more World Heritage site than Ethiopia (13 against 12)
Ethiopia: 12 (2026) · Netherlands: 13 (2026)
How many Olympic medals has it won?
The Netherlands has won 524 Olympic medals, Ethiopia 62
Ethiopia: 62 (2026 edition) · Netherlands: 524 (2026 edition)
Connected
Online, electrified, urban
How many people are online?
97% of people in the Netherlands are online, versus 22% in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: 22% (2024) · Netherlands: 97% (2024)
How fast is home internet?
Home internet in the Netherlands is 15 times as fast as in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: 22 Mbps (2026) · Netherlands: 324 Mbps (2026)
Who has electricity at home?
100% of people in the Netherlands have electricity, versus 57% in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: 56.6% (2024) · Netherlands: 100% (2024)
How many live in cities?
96% of people in the Netherlands live in cities, versus 24% in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: 24% (2025) · Netherlands: 96% (2025)
How many phones per person?
The Netherlands has 129 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, Ethiopia 65
Ethiopia: 65 (2024) · Netherlands: 129 (2024)
How much railway is there?
The Netherlands’ railway network is 4 times as long as Ethiopia’s
Ethiopia: 754 km (2018) · Netherlands: 3,041 km (2021)
How much do they fly?
Airlines from the Netherlands fly 20 times as many passengers per resident as those from Ethiopia
Ethiopia: 0.11 (2023) · Netherlands: 2.29 (2023)
Planet
Air, forests and energy
How much of the land is forest?
Forest covers 24% of Ethiopia, but only 11% of the Netherlands
Ethiopia: 23.8% (2024) · Netherlands: 11% (2024)
How much CO₂ does each person emit?
The average person in the Netherlands emits 47 times as much CO₂ as someone in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: 0.1 t (2024) · Netherlands: 6.3 t (2024)
How green is the power grid?
100% of Ethiopia’s electricity is renewable, versus 51% in the Netherlands
Ethiopia: 100% (2025) · Netherlands: 51.2% (2025)
How clean is the air?
The air in Ethiopia carries 2.1 times as much fine dust as in the Netherlands
Ethiopia: 20.2 µg/m³ (2024) · Netherlands: 9.6 µg/m³ (2024)
Safety
Measured risk, not vibes
How common is murder?
Ethiopia: no data · Netherlands: 0.7 per 100k (2023)
How dangerous are the roads?
Roads in Ethiopia are 4.7 times as deadly as in the Netherlands
Ethiopia: 23.9 per 100k (2023) · Netherlands: 5.1 per 100k (2023)
Climate
What the year feels like
How warm is it?
Ethiopia is on average 12.7 °C warmer than the Netherlands
Ethiopia: 23.9°C (2016–2025 avg) · Netherlands: 11.2°C (2016–2025 avg)
How much rain falls?
Ethiopia gets 8% more rain than the Netherlands
Ethiopia: 962 mm (2016–2025 avg) · Netherlands: 887 mm (2016–2025 avg)
Between them
People, goods and passports that cross from one to the other
Quick answers
Is Ethiopia bigger than the Netherlands?
Ethiopia is larger. The Netherlands fits inside Ethiopia 27 times.
Which has more people, Ethiopia or the Netherlands?
Ethiopia has 7.5 times as many people as the Netherlands (2025 estimates).
Where do people live longer, Ethiopia or the Netherlands?
People in the Netherlands live 14 years longer than in Ethiopia. Life expectancy at birth is 67.6 years in Ethiopia and 82.0 in the Netherlands.
Are people taller in Ethiopia or the Netherlands?
Men in the Netherlands are 14.9 cm taller than in Ethiopia (NCD-RisC, cohort born 2019).
