Land
Size, shape and altitude
How big is it, really?
Ireland is 7% bigger than Sri Lanka.
Ireland: 70,280 km² (2023) · Sri Lanka: 65,610 km² (2023)
How much coast is there?
Ireland’s coastline is 8% longer than Sri Lanka’s.
Ireland: 1,448 km (2026 edition) · Sri Lanka: 1,340 km (2026 edition)
How high can you climb?
Sri Lanka’s highest peak towers 1,483 m above Ireland’s.
Ireland: 1,041 m (2026 edition) · Sri Lanka: 2,524 m (2026 edition)
People
Who lives there, and how closely
How many people live there?
Sri Lanka has 4 times as many people as Ireland.
Ireland: 5.48 million (2025) · Sri Lanka: 21.8 million (2025)
How crowded is it?
Sri Lanka is 4.4 times as densely populated as Ireland.
Ireland: 80 per km² (2025) · Sri Lanka: 352 per km² (2025)
How tall are the men?
Men in Ireland are 11.0 cm taller than in Sri Lanka.
Ireland: 179 cm (2019) · Sri Lanka: 168.1 cm (2019)
How tall are the women?
Women in Ireland are 8.6 cm taller than in Sri Lanka.
Ireland: 164.5 cm (2019) · Sri Lanka: 155.9 cm (2019)
How old is the typical person?
The typical person in Ireland is 5.6 years older than in Sri Lanka.
Ireland: 38.4 years (2023) · Sri Lanka: 32.8 years (2023)
How many children per woman?
Women in Sri Lanka have 0.5 more children on average than in Ireland.
Ireland: 1.47 children per woman (2024) · Sri Lanka: 1.95 children per woman (2024)
How many people are 65 or older?
16% of people in Ireland are 65 or older, versus 12% in Sri Lanka.
Ireland: 16.2% (2025) · Sri Lanka: 12.5% (2025)
How many Nobel laureates were born there?
Ireland has produced 9.1 Nobel laureates per 10 million people, Sri Lanka none.
Ireland: 9.1 (2025) · Sri Lanka: 0 (2025)
How many official languages?
Ireland and Sri Lanka are practically level.
Ireland: 2 (2026) · Sri Lanka: 2 (2026)
Money
What an economy looks like per person
How big is the economy?
Ireland’s economy is 6.6 times the size of Sri Lanka’s.
Ireland: $722 billion (2025) · Sri Lanka: $109 billion (2025)
How much is produced per person?
Ireland produces 9.1 times as much per person as Sri Lanka.
Ireland: Int$155,089 (2025) · Sri Lanka: Int$17,065 (2025)
How evenly is income shared?
Income is more unequally shared in Sri Lanka than in Ireland (Gini 8.7 points higher).
Ireland: 29 (2023) · Sri Lanka: 37.7 (2019)
How many people are looking for work?
Unemployment is 4.6% in Ireland, versus 4.0% in Sri Lanka.
Ireland: 4.6% (2025) · Sri Lanka: 4% (2025)
How much goes to the military?
Sri Lanka spends 1.4% of its GDP on the military, Ireland 0.2%.
Ireland: 0.2% (2024) · Sri Lanka: 1.4% (2024)
How expensive is it?
Ireland’s price level (US = 100) is 2.9× Sri Lanka’s.
Ireland: 85% (2025) · Sri Lanka: 29% (2025)
Health
Long lives, small beginnings
How much is spent on health?
Ireland spends 55 times as much on health per person as Sri Lanka.
Ireland: $7,395 (2024) · Sri Lanka: $134 (2023)
How long do people live?
People in Ireland live 5.3 years longer than in Sri Lanka.
Ireland: 83 years (2024) · Sri Lanka: 77.7 years (2024)
How many babies don’t reach their first birthday?
A baby in Sri Lanka is 53% more likely to die before turning one than in Ireland.
Ireland: 3.4 per 1,000 (2024) · Sri Lanka: 5.2 per 1,000 (2024)
How many doctors are there?
Ireland has 3.4 times as many doctors per person as Sri Lanka.
Ireland: 3.9 per 1,000 (2023) · Sri Lanka: 1.1 per 1,000 (2023)
How common is obesity?
31% of adults in Ireland are obese, versus 11% in Sri Lanka.
Ireland: 30.6% (2024) · Sri Lanka: 11.2% (2024)
How many adults smoke?
21% of adults in Sri Lanka smoke, versus 18% in Ireland.
Ireland: 18.2% (2024) · Sri Lanka: 20.7% (2024)
Everyday life
Plates, glasses and happiness
How do people rate their lives?
People in Ireland rate their lives 2.92 points higher than in Sri Lanka.
Ireland: 6.93 (2025) · Sri Lanka: 4.01 (2025)
How much do people drink?
Adults in Ireland drink 4.1 times as much alcohol as in Sri Lanka.
Ireland: 10.3 litres (2023) · Sri Lanka: 2.5 litres (2023)
How much meat is on the menu?
Ireland has 8.5 times as much meat per person as Sri Lanka.
Ireland: 98.4 kg (2023) · Sri Lanka: 11.6 kg (2023)
How much food is there per day?
Ireland has 1,246 kcal more food per person per day than Sri Lanka.
Ireland: 3,921 kcal (2023) · Sri Lanka: 2,675 kcal (2023)
How long do people work?
Workers in Sri Lanka put in 399 more hours a year than in Ireland.
Ireland: 1,654 hours (2023) · Sri Lanka: 2,053 hours (2023)
How long do people go to school?
Adults in Ireland went to school 0.96 year longer than in Sri Lanka.
Ireland: 11.7 years (2023) · Sri Lanka: 10.8 years (2023)
How many tourists visit?
Ireland welcomed 68 times as many tourists per resident as Sri Lanka (2019).
Ireland: 2.2 (2019) · Sri Lanka: 0.03 (2022)
Connected
Online, electrified, urban
How many people are online?
97% of people in Ireland are online, versus 55% in Sri Lanka.
Ireland: 97% (2024) · Sri Lanka: 55% (2024)
Who has electricity at home?
Ireland and Sri Lanka are practically level.
Ireland: 100% (2024) · Sri Lanka: 100% (2024)
How many live in cities?
65% of people in Ireland live in cities, versus 20% in Sri Lanka.
Ireland: 65% (2025) · Sri Lanka: 20% (2025)
How many phones per person?
Sri Lanka has 133 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, Ireland 113.
Ireland: 113 (2024) · Sri Lanka: 133 (2024)
How much railway is there?
Ireland’s railway network is 6% longer than Sri Lanka’s.
Ireland: 1,650 km (2021) · Sri Lanka: 1,562 km (2019)
How much do they fly?
Airlines from Ireland fly 198 times as many passengers per resident as those from Sri Lanka.
Ireland: 35.11 (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 12% of Ireland.
Ireland: 11.5% (2023) · Sri Lanka: 34% (2023)
How much CO₂ does each person emit?
The average person in Ireland emits 7 times as much CO₂ as someone in Sri Lanka.
Ireland: 6.3 t (2024) · Sri Lanka: 0.9 t (2024)
How green is the power grid?
62% of Sri Lanka’s electricity is renewable, versus 48% in Ireland.
Ireland: 48.1% (2025) · Sri Lanka: 61.6% (2025)
How clean is the air?
The air in Sri Lanka carries 2.8 times as much fine dust as in Ireland.
Ireland: 7.4 µg/m³ (2024) · Sri Lanka: 20.7 µg/m³ (2024)
Safety
Measured risk, not vibes
How common is murder?
You are 5.1 times as likely to be murdered in Sri Lanka as in Ireland.
Ireland: 0.7 per 100k (2023) · Sri Lanka: 3.3 per 100k (2019)
How dangerous are the roads?
Roads in Sri Lanka are 4.1 times as deadly as in Ireland.
Ireland: 2.8 per 100k (2021) · Sri Lanka: 11.5 per 100k (2021)
Climate
What the year feels like
How warm is it?
Sri Lanka is on average 16.6 °C warmer than Ireland.
Ireland: 10.3°C (2016–2025 avg) · Sri Lanka: 26.8°C (2016–2025 avg)
How much rain falls?
Sri Lanka gets 61% more rain than Ireland.
Ireland: 1,139 mm (2016–2025 avg) · Sri Lanka: 1,839 mm (2016–2025 avg)
Quick answers
Is Ireland bigger than Sri Lanka?
Ireland is larger. Ireland is 7% bigger than Sri Lanka.
Which has more people, Ireland or Sri Lanka?
Sri Lanka has 4 times as many people as Ireland (2025 estimates).
Where do people live longer, Ireland or Sri Lanka?
People in Ireland live 5.3 years longer than in Sri Lanka. Life expectancy at birth is 83.0 years in Ireland and 77.7 in Sri Lanka.
Are people taller in Ireland or Sri Lanka?
Men in Ireland are 11.0 cm taller than in Sri Lanka (NCD-RisC, cohort born 2019).
