Land
Size, shape and altitude
How big is it, really?
Portugal fits inside Ethiopia 12 times.
Ethiopia: 1,136,240 km² (2023) · Portugal: 92,230 km² (2023)
How much coast is there?
Ethiopia: 0 km (2026 edition) · Portugal: 1,793 km (2026 edition)
How high can you climb?
Ethiopia’s highest peak towers 2,199 m above Portugal’s.
Ethiopia: 4,550 m (2026 edition) · Portugal: 2,351 m (2026 edition)
People
Who lives there, and how closely
How many people live there?
Ethiopia has 13 times as many people as Portugal.
Ethiopia: 135 million (2025) · Portugal: 10.8 million (2025)
How crowded is it?
Ethiopia is 2% more densely populated than Portugal.
Ethiopia: 120 per km² (2025) · Portugal: 118 per km² (2025)
How tall are the men?
Men in Portugal are 5.5 cm taller than in Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: 168.8 cm (2019) · Portugal: 174.4 cm (2019)
How tall are the women?
Women in Portugal are 4.1 cm taller than in Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: 157.2 cm (2019) · Portugal: 161.2 cm (2019)
How old is the typical person?
The typical person in Portugal is 27 years older than in Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: 18.7 years (2023) · Portugal: 46.2 years (2023)
How many children per woman?
Women in Ethiopia have 2.5 more children on average than in Portugal.
Ethiopia: 3.91 children per woman (2024) · Portugal: 1.41 children per woman (2024)
How many people are 65 or older?
25% of people in Portugal are 65 or older, versus 3.3% in Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: 3.3% (2025) · Portugal: 24.9% (2025)
How many Nobel laureates were born there?
Portugal has produced 1.9 Nobel laureates per 10 million people, Ethiopia 0.1.
Ethiopia: 0.1 (2025) · Portugal: 1.9 (2025)
How many official languages?
Ethiopia and Portugal are practically level.
Ethiopia: 1 (2026) · Portugal: 1 (2026)
Money
What an economy looks like per person
How big is the economy?
Portugal’s economy is 2.7 times the size of Ethiopia’s.
Ethiopia: $126 billion (2025) · Portugal: $347 billion (2025)
How much is produced per person?
Portugal produces 15 times as much per person as Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: Int$3,622 (2025) · Portugal: Int$53,146 (2025)
How evenly is income shared?
Income is more unequally shared in Portugal than in Ethiopia (Gini 2.8 points higher).
Ethiopia: 31.1 (2021) · Portugal: 33.9 (2023)
How many people are looking for work?
Unemployment is 6.2% in Portugal, versus 3.3% in Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: 3.3% (2025) · Portugal: 6.2% (2025)
How much goes to the military?
Portugal spends 1.5% of its GDP on the military, Ethiopia 0.7%.
Ethiopia: 0.7% (2024) · Portugal: 1.5% (2024)
How expensive is it?
Portugal’s price level (US = 100) is 2.3× Ethiopia’s.
Ethiopia: 26% (2025) · Portugal: 60% (2025)
Health
Long lives, small beginnings
How much is spent on health?
Portugal spends 85 times as much on health per person as Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: $35 (2023) · Portugal: $2,971 (2024)
How long do people live?
People in Portugal live 15 years longer than in Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: 67.6 years (2024) · Portugal: 82.4 years (2024)
How many babies don’t reach their first birthday?
A baby in Ethiopia is 13 times as likely to die before turning one as in Portugal.
Ethiopia: 34.5 per 1,000 (2024) · Portugal: 2.7 per 1,000 (2024)
How many doctors are there?
Portugal has 41 times as many doctors per person as Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: 0.1 per 1,000 (2023) · Portugal: 5.9 per 1,000 (2022)
How common is obesity?
23% of adults in Portugal are obese, versus 2.5% in Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: 2.5% (2024) · Portugal: 23% (2024)
How many adults smoke?
29% of adults in Portugal smoke, versus 5.2% in Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: 5.2% (2024) · Portugal: 28.6% (2024)
Everyday life
Plates, glasses and happiness
How do people rate their lives?
People in Portugal rate their lives 2.04 points higher than in Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: 3.99 (2025) · Portugal: 6.03 (2025)
How much do people drink?
Adults in Portugal drink 6.1 times as much alcohol as in Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: 2.3 litres (2023) · Portugal: 13.7 litres (2023)
How much meat is on the menu?
Portugal has 14 times as much meat per person as Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: 6.9 kg (2023) · Portugal: 99.3 kg (2023)
How much food is there per day?
Portugal has 995 kcal more food per person per day than Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: 2,558 kcal (2023) · Portugal: 3,553 kcal (2023)
How long do people work?
Workers in Portugal put in 136 more hours a year than in Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: 1,599 hours (2023) · Portugal: 1,735 hours (2023)
How long do people go to school?
Adults in Portugal went to school 7.3 years longer than in Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: 2.4 years (2023) · Portugal: 9.7 years (2023)
How many tourists visit?
Portugal welcomed 667 times as many tourists per resident as Ethiopia (2019).
Ethiopia: 0 (2024) · Portugal: 2.71 (2024)
Connected
Online, electrified, urban
How many people are online?
88% of people in Portugal are online, versus 22% in Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: 22% (2024) · Portugal: 88% (2024)
Who has electricity at home?
100% of people in Portugal have electricity, versus 57% in Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: 56.6% (2024) · Portugal: 100% (2024)
How many live in cities?
61% of people in Portugal live in cities, versus 24% in Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: 24% (2025) · Portugal: 61% (2025)
How many phones per person?
Portugal has 124 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, Ethiopia 65.
Ethiopia: 65 (2024) · Portugal: 124 (2024)
How much railway is there?
Portugal’s railway network is 3.4 times as long as Ethiopia’s.
Ethiopia: 754 km (2018) · Portugal: 2,527 km (2021)
How much do they fly?
Airlines from Portugal fly 15 times as many passengers per resident as those from Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: 0.11 (2023) · Portugal: 1.69 (2023)
Planet
Air, forests and energy
How much of the land is forest?
Forest covers 36% of Portugal, but only 15% of Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: 14.9% (2023) · Portugal: 36.2% (2023)
How much CO₂ does each person emit?
The average person in Portugal emits 25 times as much CO₂ as someone in Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: 0.1 t (2024) · Portugal: 3.4 t (2024)
How green is the power grid?
100% of Ethiopia’s electricity is renewable, versus 81% in Portugal.
Ethiopia: 100% (2025) · Portugal: 81% (2025)
How clean is the air?
The air in Ethiopia carries 92% more fine dust than in Portugal.
Ethiopia: 20.2 µg/m³ (2024) · Portugal: 10.5 µg/m³ (2024)
Safety
Measured risk, not vibes
How common is murder?
Ethiopia: no data · Portugal: 0.7 per 100k (2022)
How dangerous are the roads?
Roads in Ethiopia are 2.5 times as deadly as in Portugal.
Ethiopia: 17.7 per 100k (2021) · Portugal: 7.2 per 100k (2021)
Climate
What the year feels like
How warm is it?
Ethiopia is on average 8.0 °C warmer than Portugal.
Ethiopia: 23.9°C (2016–2025 avg) · Portugal: 15.9°C (2016–2025 avg)
How much rain falls?
Ethiopia gets 24% more rain than Portugal.
Ethiopia: 962 mm (2016–2025 avg) · Portugal: 777 mm (2016–2025 avg)
Quick answers
Is Ethiopia bigger than Portugal?
Ethiopia is larger. Portugal fits inside Ethiopia 12 times.
Which has more people, Ethiopia or Portugal?
Ethiopia has 13 times as many people as Portugal (2025 estimates).
Where do people live longer, Ethiopia or Portugal?
People in Portugal live 15 years longer than in Ethiopia. Life expectancy at birth is 67.6 years in Ethiopia and 82.4 in Portugal.
Are people taller in Ethiopia or Portugal?
Men in Portugal are 5.5 cm taller than in Ethiopia (NCD-RisC, cohort born 2019).
