Land
Size, shape and altitude
How big is it, really?
Switzerland fits inside Ethiopia 28 times.
Ethiopia: 1,136,240 km² (2023) · Switzerland: 41,291 km² (2023)
How much coast is there?
Ethiopia: 0 km (2026 edition) · Switzerland: 0 km (2026 edition)
How high can you climb?
Switzerland’s highest peak towers 84 m above Ethiopia’s.
Ethiopia: 4,550 m (2026 edition) · Switzerland: 4,634 m (2026 edition)
People
Who lives there, and how closely
How many people live there?
Ethiopia has 15 times as many people as Switzerland.
Ethiopia: 135 million (2025) · Switzerland: 9.09 million (2025)
How crowded is it?
Switzerland is 92% more densely populated than Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: 120 per km² (2025) · Switzerland: 230 per km² (2025)
How tall are the men?
Men in Switzerland are 9.9 cm taller than in Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: 168.8 cm (2019) · Switzerland: 178.7 cm (2019)
How tall are the women?
Women in Switzerland are 7.2 cm taller than in Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: 157.2 cm (2019) · Switzerland: 164.3 cm (2019)
How old is the typical person?
The typical person in Switzerland is 24 years older than in Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: 18.7 years (2023) · Switzerland: 42.3 years (2023)
How many children per woman?
Women in Ethiopia have 2.6 more children on average than in Switzerland.
Ethiopia: 3.91 children per woman (2024) · Switzerland: 1.29 children per woman (2024)
How many people are 65 or older?
20% of people in Switzerland are 65 or older, versus 3.3% in Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: 3.3% (2025) · Switzerland: 20.4% (2025)
How many Nobel laureates were born there?
Switzerland has produced 20.9 Nobel laureates per 10 million people, Ethiopia 0.1.
Ethiopia: 0.1 (2025) · Switzerland: 20.9 (2025)
How many official languages?
Switzerland has 4 official languages, Ethiopia 1.
Ethiopia: 1 (2026) · Switzerland: 4 (2026)
Money
What an economy looks like per person
How big is the economy?
Switzerland’s economy is 8.3 times the size of Ethiopia’s.
Ethiopia: $126 billion (2025) · Switzerland: $1.04 trillion (2025)
How much is produced per person?
Switzerland produces 28 times as much per person as Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: Int$3,622 (2025) · Switzerland: Int$102,513 (2025)
How evenly is income shared?
Income is more unequally shared in Switzerland than in Ethiopia (Gini 2.7 points higher).
Ethiopia: 31.1 (2021) · Switzerland: 33.8 (2022)
How many people are looking for work?
Unemployment is 4.9% in Switzerland, versus 3.3% in Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: 3.3% (2025) · Switzerland: 4.9% (2025)
How much goes to the military?
Switzerland and Ethiopia are practically level.
Ethiopia: 0.7% (2024) · Switzerland: 0.7% (2024)
How expensive is it?
Switzerland’s price level (US = 100) is 4.3× Ethiopia’s.
Ethiopia: 26% (2025) · Switzerland: 112% (2025)
Health
Long lives, small beginnings
How much is spent on health?
Switzerland spends 339 times as much on health per person as Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: $35 (2023) · Switzerland: $11,784 (2023)
How long do people live?
People in Switzerland live 17 years longer than in Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: 67.6 years (2024) · Switzerland: 84.4 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 Switzerland.
Ethiopia: 34.5 per 1,000 (2024) · Switzerland: 3.4 per 1,000 (2024)
How many doctors are there?
Switzerland has 31 times as many doctors per person as Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: 0.1 per 1,000 (2023) · Switzerland: 4.5 per 1,000 (2022)
How common is obesity?
13% of adults in Switzerland are obese, versus 2.5% in Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: 2.5% (2024) · Switzerland: 12.9% (2024)
How many adults smoke?
23% of adults in Switzerland smoke, versus 5.2% in Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: 5.2% (2024) · Switzerland: 23.1% (2024)
Everyday life
Plates, glasses and happiness
How do people rate their lives?
People in Switzerland rate their lives 3.03 points higher than in Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: 3.99 (2025) · Switzerland: 7.02 (2025)
How much do people drink?
Adults in Switzerland drink 3.9 times as much alcohol as in Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: 2.3 litres (2023) · Switzerland: 8.8 litres (2023)
How much meat is on the menu?
Switzerland has 9.3 times as much meat per person as Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: 6.9 kg (2023) · Switzerland: 64 kg (2023)
How much food is there per day?
Switzerland has 844 kcal more food per person per day than Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: 2,558 kcal (2023) · Switzerland: 3,402 kcal (2023)
How long do people work?
Workers in Ethiopia put in 70 more hours a year than in Switzerland.
Ethiopia: 1,599 hours (2023) · Switzerland: 1,529 hours (2023)
How long do people go to school?
Adults in Switzerland went to school 12 years longer than in Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: 2.4 years (2023) · Switzerland: 13.9 years (2023)
How many tourists visit?
Switzerland welcomed 257 times as many tourists per resident as Ethiopia (2019).
Ethiopia: 0 (2024) · Switzerland: 1.04 (2022)
Connected
Online, electrified, urban
How many people are online?
97% of people in Switzerland are online, versus 22% in Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: 22% (2024) · Switzerland: 97% (2025)
Who has electricity at home?
100% of people in Switzerland have electricity, versus 57% in Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: 56.6% (2024) · Switzerland: 100% (2024)
How many live in cities?
86% of people in Switzerland live in cities, versus 24% in Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: 24% (2025) · Switzerland: 86% (2025)
How many phones per person?
Switzerland has 129 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, Ethiopia 65.
Ethiopia: 65 (2024) · Switzerland: 129 (2024)
How much railway is there?
Switzerland’s railway network is 5.5 times as long as Ethiopia’s.
Ethiopia: 754 km (2018) · Switzerland: 4,122 km (2021)
How much do they fly?
Airlines from Switzerland fly 27 times as many passengers per resident as those from Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: 0.11 (2023) · Switzerland: 3.05 (2023)
Planet
Air, forests and energy
How much of the land is forest?
Forest covers 32% of Switzerland, but only 15% of Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: 14.9% (2023) · Switzerland: 32.4% (2023)
How much CO₂ does each person emit?
The average person in Switzerland emits 27 times as much CO₂ as someone in Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: 0.1 t (2024) · Switzerland: 3.6 t (2024)
How green is the power grid?
100% of Ethiopia’s electricity is renewable, versus 68% in Switzerland.
Ethiopia: 100% (2025) · Switzerland: 67.8% (2025)
How clean is the air?
The air in Ethiopia carries 2.2 times as much fine dust as in Switzerland.
Ethiopia: 20.2 µg/m³ (2024) · Switzerland: 9 µg/m³ (2024)
Safety
Measured risk, not vibes
How common is murder?
Ethiopia: no data · Switzerland: 0.6 per 100k (2023)
How dangerous are the roads?
Roads in Ethiopia are 7.4 times as deadly as in Switzerland.
Ethiopia: 17.7 per 100k (2021) · Switzerland: 2.4 per 100k (2021)
Climate
What the year feels like
How warm is it?
Ethiopia is on average 17.4 °C warmer than Switzerland.
Ethiopia: 23.9°C (2016–2025 avg) · Switzerland: 6.5°C (2016–2025 avg)
How much rain falls?
Switzerland gets 68% more rain than Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: 962 mm (2016–2025 avg) · Switzerland: 1,616 mm (2016–2025 avg)
Quick answers
Is Ethiopia bigger than Switzerland?
Ethiopia is larger. Switzerland fits inside Ethiopia 28 times.
Which has more people, Ethiopia or Switzerland?
Ethiopia has 15 times as many people as Switzerland (2025 estimates).
Where do people live longer, Ethiopia or Switzerland?
People in Switzerland live 17 years longer than in Ethiopia. Life expectancy at birth is 67.6 years in Ethiopia and 84.4 in Switzerland.
Are people taller in Ethiopia or Switzerland?
Men in Switzerland are 9.9 cm taller than in Ethiopia (NCD-RisC, cohort born 2019).
