Land
Size, shape and altitude
How big is it, really?
Sri Lanka fits inside Italy 4.6 times.
Italy: 302,070 km² (2023) · Sri Lanka: 65,610 km² (2023)
How much coast is there?
Italy’s coastline is 5.7 times as long as Sri Lanka’s.
Italy: 7,600 km (2026 edition) · Sri Lanka: 1,340 km (2026 edition)
How high can you climb?
Italy’s highest peak towers 2,224 m above Sri Lanka’s.
Italy: 4,748 m (2026 edition) · Sri Lanka: 2,524 m (2026 edition)
People
Who lives there, and how closely
How many people live there?
Italy has 2.7 times as many people as Sri Lanka.
Italy: 58.9 million (2025) · Sri Lanka: 21.8 million (2025)
How crowded is it?
Sri Lanka is 77% more densely populated than Italy.
Italy: 199 per km² (2025) · Sri Lanka: 352 per km² (2025)
How tall are the men?
Men in Italy are 6.3 cm taller than in Sri Lanka.
Italy: 174.4 cm (2019) · Sri Lanka: 168.1 cm (2019)
How tall are the women?
Women in Italy are 5.9 cm taller than in Sri Lanka.
Italy: 161.8 cm (2019) · Sri Lanka: 155.9 cm (2019)
How old is the typical person?
The typical person in Italy is 15 years older than in Sri Lanka.
Italy: 47.5 years (2023) · Sri Lanka: 32.8 years (2023)
How many children per woman?
Women in Sri Lanka have 0.8 more children on average than in Italy.
Italy: 1.18 children per woman (2024) · Sri Lanka: 1.95 children per woman (2024)
How many people are 65 or older?
25% of people in Italy are 65 or older, versus 12% in Sri Lanka.
Italy: 25.1% (2025) · Sri Lanka: 12.5% (2025)
How many Nobel laureates were born there?
Italy has produced 3.4 Nobel laureates per 10 million people, Sri Lanka 0.0.
Italy: 3.4 (2025) · Sri Lanka: 0 (2025)
How many official languages?
Sri Lanka has 2 official languages, Italy 1.
Italy: 1 (2026) · Sri Lanka: 2 (2026)
Money
What an economy looks like per person
How big is the economy?
Italy’s economy is 23 times the size of Sri Lanka’s.
Italy: $2.55 trillion (2025) · Sri Lanka: $109 billion (2025)
How much is produced per person?
Italy produces 3.7 times as much per person as Sri Lanka.
Italy: Int$62,803 (2025) · Sri Lanka: Int$17,065 (2025)
How evenly is income shared?
Income is more unequally shared in Sri Lanka than in Italy (Gini 3.4 points higher).
Italy: 34.3 (2023) · Sri Lanka: 37.7 (2019)
How many people are looking for work?
Unemployment is 6.4% in Italy, versus 4.0% in Sri Lanka.
Italy: 6.4% (2025) · Sri Lanka: 4% (2025)
How much goes to the military?
Italy and Sri Lanka are practically level.
Italy: 1.6% (2024) · Sri Lanka: 1.4% (2024)
How expensive is it?
Italy’s price level (US = 100) is 2.4× Sri Lanka’s.
Italy: 69% (2025) · Sri Lanka: 29% (2025)
Health
Long lives, small beginnings
How much is spent on health?
Italy spends 25 times as much on health per person as Sri Lanka.
Italy: $3,398 (2024) · Sri Lanka: $134 (2023)
How long do people live?
People in Italy live 6.3 years longer than in Sri Lanka.
Italy: 84 years (2024) · Sri Lanka: 77.7 years (2024)
How many babies don’t reach their first birthday?
A baby in Sri Lanka is 2.3 times as likely to die before turning one as in Italy.
Italy: 2.3 per 1,000 (2024) · Sri Lanka: 5.2 per 1,000 (2024)
How many doctors are there?
Italy has 3.7 times as many doctors per person as Sri Lanka.
Italy: 4.2 per 1,000 (2022) · Sri Lanka: 1.1 per 1,000 (2023)
How common is obesity?
18% of adults in Italy are obese, versus 11% in Sri Lanka.
Italy: 17.9% (2024) · Sri Lanka: 11.2% (2024)
How many adults smoke?
22% of adults in Italy smoke, versus 21% in Sri Lanka.
Italy: 22.4% (2024) · Sri Lanka: 20.7% (2024)
Everyday life
Plates, glasses and happiness
How do people rate their lives?
People in Italy rate their lives 2.56 points higher than in Sri Lanka.
Italy: 6.57 (2025) · Sri Lanka: 4.01 (2025)
How much do people drink?
Adults in Italy drink 3.4 times as much alcohol as in Sri Lanka.
Italy: 8.4 litres (2023) · Sri Lanka: 2.5 litres (2023)
How much meat is on the menu?
Italy has 6.2 times as much meat per person as Sri Lanka.
Italy: 71.2 kg (2023) · Sri Lanka: 11.6 kg (2023)
How much food is there per day?
Italy has 1,078 kcal more food per person per day than Sri Lanka.
Italy: 3,753 kcal (2023) · Sri Lanka: 2,675 kcal (2023)
How long do people work?
Workers in Sri Lanka put in 352 more hours a year than in Italy.
Italy: 1,701 hours (2023) · Sri Lanka: 2,053 hours (2023)
How long do people go to school?
Adults in Italy went to school 0.06 years longer than in Sri Lanka.
Italy: 10.8 years (2023) · Sri Lanka: 10.8 years (2023)
How many tourists visit?
Italy welcomed 30 times as many tourists per resident as Sri Lanka (2019).
Italy: 0.98 (2024) · Sri Lanka: 0.03 (2022)
Connected
Online, electrified, urban
How many people are online?
89% of people in Italy are online, versus 55% in Sri Lanka.
Italy: 89% (2024) · Sri Lanka: 55% (2024)
Who has electricity at home?
Italy and Sri Lanka are practically level.
Italy: 100% (2024) · Sri Lanka: 100% (2024)
How many live in cities?
70% of people in Italy live in cities, versus 20% in Sri Lanka.
Italy: 70% (2025) · Sri Lanka: 20% (2025)
How many phones per person?
Italy and Sri Lanka are practically level.
Italy: 133 (2024) · Sri Lanka: 133 (2024)
How much railway is there?
Italy’s railway network is 11 times as long as Sri Lanka’s.
Italy: 17,305 km (2021) · Sri Lanka: 1,562 km (2019)
How much do they fly?
Airlines from Italy fly 94% more passengers per resident than those from Sri Lanka.
Italy: 0.34 (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 33% of Italy.
Italy: 32.9% (2023) · Sri Lanka: 34% (2023)
How much CO₂ does each person emit?
The average person in Italy emits 5.6 times as much CO₂ as someone in Sri Lanka.
Italy: 5.1 t (2024) · Sri Lanka: 0.9 t (2024)
How green is the power grid?
62% of Sri Lanka’s electricity is renewable, versus 49% in Italy.
Italy: 48.8% (2025) · Sri Lanka: 61.6% (2025)
How clean is the air?
The air in Sri Lanka carries 36% more fine dust than in Italy.
Italy: 15.2 µg/m³ (2024) · Sri Lanka: 20.7 µg/m³ (2024)
Safety
Measured risk, not vibes
How common is murder?
You are 5.8 times as likely to be murdered in Sri Lanka as in Italy.
Italy: 0.6 per 100k (2023) · Sri Lanka: 3.3 per 100k (2019)
How dangerous are the roads?
Roads in Sri Lanka are 2.3 times as deadly as in Italy.
Italy: 5 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 12.9 °C warmer than Italy.
Italy: 13.9°C (2016–2025 avg) · Sri Lanka: 26.8°C (2016–2025 avg)
How much rain falls?
Sri Lanka gets 79% more rain than Italy.
Italy: 1,030 mm (2016–2025 avg) · Sri Lanka: 1,839 mm (2016–2025 avg)
Quick answers
Is Italy bigger than Sri Lanka?
Italy is larger. Sri Lanka fits inside Italy 4.6 times.
Which has more people, Italy or Sri Lanka?
Italy has 2.7 times as many people as Sri Lanka (2025 estimates).
Where do people live longer, Italy or Sri Lanka?
People in Italy live 6.3 years longer than in Sri Lanka. Life expectancy at birth is 84.0 years in Italy and 77.7 in Sri Lanka.
Are people taller in Italy or Sri Lanka?
Men in Italy are 6.3 cm taller than in Sri Lanka (NCD-RisC, cohort born 2019).
