Land
Size, shape and altitude
How big is it, really?
Israel fits inside Sri Lanka 3 times.
Israel: 22,070 km² (2023) · Sri Lanka: 65,610 km² (2023)
How much coast is there?
Sri Lanka’s coastline is 4.9 times as long as Israel’s.
Israel: 273 km (2026 edition) · Sri Lanka: 1,340 km (2026 edition)
How high can you climb?
Sri Lanka’s highest peak towers 288 m above Israel’s.
Israel: 2,236 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 2.1 times as many people as Israel.
Israel: 10.1 million (2025) · Sri Lanka: 21.8 million (2025)
How crowded is it?
Israel is 33% more densely populated than Sri Lanka.
Israel: 468 per km² (2025) · Sri Lanka: 352 per km² (2025)
How tall are the men?
Men in Israel are 7.9 cm taller than in Sri Lanka.
Israel: 176 cm (2019) · Sri Lanka: 168.1 cm (2019)
How tall are the women?
Women in Israel are 6.3 cm taller than in Sri Lanka.
Israel: 162.2 cm (2019) · Sri Lanka: 155.9 cm (2019)
How old is the typical person?
The typical person in Sri Lanka is 3.7 years older than in Israel.
Israel: 29.2 years (2023) · Sri Lanka: 32.8 years (2023)
How many children per woman?
Women in Israel have 0.9 more children on average than in Sri Lanka.
Israel: 2.87 children per woman (2024) · Sri Lanka: 1.95 children per woman (2024)
How many people are 65 or older?
Israel and Sri Lanka are practically level.
Israel: 12.7% (2025) · Sri Lanka: 12.5% (2025)
How many Nobel laureates were born there?
Israel has produced 5.9 Nobel laureates per 10 million people, Sri Lanka 0.0.
Israel: 5.9 (2025) · Sri Lanka: 0 (2025)
How many official languages?
Israel and Sri Lanka are practically level.
Israel: 2 (2026) · Sri Lanka: 2 (2026)
Money
What an economy looks like per person
How big is the economy?
Israel’s economy is 5.6 times the size of Sri Lanka’s.
Israel: $611 billion (2025) · Sri Lanka: $109 billion (2025)
How much is produced per person?
Israel produces 3.5 times as much per person as Sri Lanka.
Israel: Int$59,717 (2025) · Sri Lanka: Int$17,065 (2025)
How evenly is income shared?
Income is more unequally shared in Israel than in Sri Lanka (Gini 0.6 points higher).
Israel: 38.3 (2022) · Sri Lanka: 37.7 (2019)
How many people are looking for work?
Unemployment is 4.0% in Sri Lanka, versus 3.5% in Israel.
Israel: 3.5% (2025) · Sri Lanka: 4% (2025)
How much goes to the military?
Israel spends 8.8% of its GDP on the military, Sri Lanka 1.4%.
Israel: 8.8% (2024) · Sri Lanka: 1.4% (2024)
How expensive is it?
Israel’s price level (US = 100) is 3.4× Sri Lanka’s.
Israel: 101% (2025) · Sri Lanka: 29% (2025)
Health
Long lives, small beginnings
How much is spent on health?
Israel spends 29 times as much on health per person as Sri Lanka.
Israel: $3,928 (2023) · Sri Lanka: $134 (2023)
How long do people live?
People in Israel live 5.5 years longer than in Sri Lanka.
Israel: 83.2 years (2024) · Sri Lanka: 77.7 years (2024)
How many babies don’t reach their first birthday?
A baby in Sri Lanka is 93% more likely to die before turning one than in Israel.
Israel: 2.7 per 1,000 (2024) · Sri Lanka: 5.2 per 1,000 (2024)
How many doctors are there?
Israel has 3.3 times as many doctors per person as Sri Lanka.
Israel: 3.8 per 1,000 (2023) · Sri Lanka: 1.1 per 1,000 (2023)
How common is obesity?
23% of adults in Israel are obese, versus 11% in Sri Lanka.
Israel: 23.3% (2024) · Sri Lanka: 11.2% (2024)
How many adults smoke?
21% of adults in Israel smoke, versus 21% in Sri Lanka.
Israel: 21.2% (2024) · Sri Lanka: 20.7% (2024)
Everyday life
Plates, glasses and happiness
How do people rate their lives?
People in Israel rate their lives 3.17 points higher than in Sri Lanka.
Israel: 7.19 (2025) · Sri Lanka: 4.01 (2025)
How much do people drink?
Adults in Israel drink 68% more alcohol than in Sri Lanka.
Israel: 4.2 litres (2023) · Sri Lanka: 2.5 litres (2023)
How much meat is on the menu?
Israel has 9.4 times as much meat per person as Sri Lanka.
Israel: 108.7 kg (2023) · Sri Lanka: 11.6 kg (2023)
How much food is there per day?
Israel has 1,079 kcal more food per person per day than Sri Lanka.
Israel: 3,754 kcal (2023) · Sri Lanka: 2,675 kcal (2023)
How long do people work?
Workers in Sri Lanka put in 163 more hours a year than in Israel.
Israel: 1,890 hours (2023) · Sri Lanka: 2,053 hours (2023)
How long do people go to school?
Adults in Israel went to school 2.8 years longer than in Sri Lanka.
Israel: 13.5 years (2023) · Sri Lanka: 10.8 years (2023)
How many tourists visit?
Israel welcomed 3 times as many tourists per resident as Sri Lanka (2019).
Israel: 0.1 (2024) · Sri Lanka: 0.03 (2022)
Connected
Online, electrified, urban
How many people are online?
88% of people in Israel are online, versus 55% in Sri Lanka.
Israel: 88% (2024) · Sri Lanka: 55% (2024)
Who has electricity at home?
Israel and Sri Lanka are practically level.
Israel: 100% (2024) · Sri Lanka: 100% (2024)
How many live in cities?
92% of people in Israel live in cities, versus 20% in Sri Lanka.
Israel: 92% (2025) · Sri Lanka: 20% (2025)
How many phones per person?
Israel has 177 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, Sri Lanka 133.
Israel: 177 (2024) · Sri Lanka: 133 (2024)
How much railway is there?
Israel’s railway network is 10% longer than Sri Lanka’s.
Israel: 1,720 km (2021) · Sri Lanka: 1,562 km (2019)
How much do they fly?
Airlines from Israel fly 4.1 times as many passengers per resident as those from Sri Lanka.
Israel: 0.73 (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 6.5% of Israel.
Israel: 6.5% (2023) · Sri Lanka: 34% (2023)
How much CO₂ does each person emit?
The average person in Israel emits 6.2 times as much CO₂ as someone in Sri Lanka.
Israel: 5.6 t (2024) · Sri Lanka: 0.9 t (2024)
How green is the power grid?
62% of Sri Lanka’s electricity is renewable, versus 17% in Israel.
Israel: 16.9% (2025) · Sri Lanka: 61.6% (2025)
How clean is the air?
The air in Sri Lanka carries 1% more fine dust than in Israel.
Israel: 20.4 µg/m³ (2024) · Sri Lanka: 20.7 µg/m³ (2024)
Safety
Measured risk, not vibes
How common is murder?
You are 2 times as likely to be murdered in Sri Lanka as in Israel.
Israel: 1.6 per 100k (2022) · Sri Lanka: 3.3 per 100k (2019)
How dangerous are the roads?
Roads in Sri Lanka are 2.7 times as deadly as in Israel.
Israel: 4.2 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 5.7 °C warmer than Israel.
Israel: 21.1°C (2016–2025 avg) · Sri Lanka: 26.8°C (2016–2025 avg)
How much rain falls?
Sri Lanka gets 9 times as much rain as Israel.
Israel: 205 mm (2016–2025 avg) · Sri Lanka: 1,839 mm (2016–2025 avg)
Quick answers
Is Israel bigger than Sri Lanka?
Sri Lanka is larger. Israel fits inside Sri Lanka 3 times.
Which has more people, Israel or Sri Lanka?
Sri Lanka has 2.1 times as many people as Israel (2025 estimates).
Where do people live longer, Israel or Sri Lanka?
People in Israel live 5.5 years longer than in Sri Lanka. Life expectancy at birth is 83.2 years in Israel and 77.7 in Sri Lanka.
Are people taller in Israel or Sri Lanka?
Men in Israel are 7.9 cm taller than in Sri Lanka (NCD-RisC, cohort born 2019).
