Land
Size, shape and altitude
How big is it, really?
Portugal is 41% bigger than Sri Lanka.
Portugal: 92,230 km² (2023) · Sri Lanka: 65,610 km² (2023)
How much coast is there?
Portugal’s coastline is 34% longer than Sri Lanka’s.
Portugal: 1,793 km (2026 edition) · Sri Lanka: 1,340 km (2026 edition)
How high can you climb?
Sri Lanka’s highest peak towers 173 m above Portugal’s.
Portugal: 2,351 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 times as many people as Portugal.
Portugal: 10.8 million (2025) · Sri Lanka: 21.8 million (2025)
How crowded is it?
Sri Lanka is 3 times as densely populated as Portugal.
Portugal: 118 per km² (2025) · Sri Lanka: 352 per km² (2025)
How tall are the men?
Men in Portugal are 6.3 cm taller than in Sri Lanka.
Portugal: 174.4 cm (2019) · Sri Lanka: 168.1 cm (2019)
How tall are the women?
Women in Portugal are 5.3 cm taller than in Sri Lanka.
Portugal: 161.2 cm (2019) · Sri Lanka: 155.9 cm (2019)
How old is the typical person?
The typical person in Portugal is 13 years older than in Sri Lanka.
Portugal: 46.2 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 Portugal.
Portugal: 1.41 children per woman (2024) · Sri Lanka: 1.95 children per woman (2024)
How many people are 65 or older?
25% of people in Portugal are 65 or older, versus 12% in Sri Lanka.
Portugal: 24.9% (2025) · Sri Lanka: 12.5% (2025)
How many Nobel laureates were born there?
Portugal has produced 1.9 Nobel laureates per 10 million people, Sri Lanka 0.0.
Portugal: 1.9 (2025) · Sri Lanka: 0 (2025)
How many official languages?
Sri Lanka has 2 official languages, Portugal 1.
Portugal: 1 (2026) · Sri Lanka: 2 (2026)
Money
What an economy looks like per person
How big is the economy?
Portugal’s economy is 3.2 times the size of Sri Lanka’s.
Portugal: $347 billion (2025) · Sri Lanka: $109 billion (2025)
How much is produced per person?
Portugal produces 3.1 times as much per person as Sri Lanka.
Portugal: Int$53,146 (2025) · Sri Lanka: Int$17,065 (2025)
How evenly is income shared?
Income is more unequally shared in Sri Lanka than in Portugal (Gini 3.8 points higher).
Portugal: 33.9 (2023) · Sri Lanka: 37.7 (2019)
How many people are looking for work?
Unemployment is 6.2% in Portugal, versus 4.0% in Sri Lanka.
Portugal: 6.2% (2025) · Sri Lanka: 4% (2025)
How much goes to the military?
Portugal and Sri Lanka are practically level.
Portugal: 1.5% (2024) · Sri Lanka: 1.4% (2024)
How expensive is it?
Portugal’s price level (US = 100) is 2.1× Sri Lanka’s.
Portugal: 60% (2025) · Sri Lanka: 29% (2025)
Health
Long lives, small beginnings
How much is spent on health?
Portugal spends 22 times as much on health per person as Sri Lanka.
Portugal: $2,971 (2024) · Sri Lanka: $134 (2023)
How long do people live?
People in Portugal live 4.7 years longer than in Sri Lanka.
Portugal: 82.4 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 Portugal.
Portugal: 2.7 per 1,000 (2024) · Sri Lanka: 5.2 per 1,000 (2024)
How many doctors are there?
Portugal has 5.2 times as many doctors per person as Sri Lanka.
Portugal: 5.9 per 1,000 (2022) · Sri Lanka: 1.1 per 1,000 (2023)
How common is obesity?
23% of adults in Portugal are obese, versus 11% in Sri Lanka.
Portugal: 23% (2024) · Sri Lanka: 11.2% (2024)
How many adults smoke?
29% of adults in Portugal smoke, versus 21% in Sri Lanka.
Portugal: 28.6% (2024) · Sri Lanka: 20.7% (2024)
Everyday life
Plates, glasses and happiness
How do people rate their lives?
People in Portugal rate their lives 2.02 points higher than in Sri Lanka.
Portugal: 6.03 (2025) · Sri Lanka: 4.01 (2025)
How much do people drink?
Adults in Portugal drink 5.5 times as much alcohol as in Sri Lanka.
Portugal: 13.7 litres (2023) · Sri Lanka: 2.5 litres (2023)
How much meat is on the menu?
Portugal has 8.6 times as much meat per person as Sri Lanka.
Portugal: 99.3 kg (2023) · Sri Lanka: 11.6 kg (2023)
How much food is there per day?
Portugal has 878 kcal more food per person per day than Sri Lanka.
Portugal: 3,553 kcal (2023) · Sri Lanka: 2,675 kcal (2023)
How long do people work?
Workers in Sri Lanka put in 318 more hours a year than in Portugal.
Portugal: 1,735 hours (2023) · Sri Lanka: 2,053 hours (2023)
How long do people go to school?
Adults in Sri Lanka went to school 1.1 years longer than in Portugal.
Portugal: 9.7 years (2023) · Sri Lanka: 10.8 years (2023)
How many tourists visit?
Portugal welcomed 83 times as many tourists per resident as Sri Lanka (2019).
Portugal: 2.71 (2024) · Sri Lanka: 0.03 (2022)
Connected
Online, electrified, urban
How many people are online?
88% of people in Portugal are online, versus 55% in Sri Lanka.
Portugal: 88% (2024) · Sri Lanka: 55% (2024)
Who has electricity at home?
Portugal and Sri Lanka are practically level.
Portugal: 100% (2024) · Sri Lanka: 100% (2024)
How many live in cities?
61% of people in Portugal live in cities, versus 20% in Sri Lanka.
Portugal: 61% (2025) · Sri Lanka: 20% (2025)
How many phones per person?
Sri Lanka has 133 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, Portugal 124.
Portugal: 124 (2024) · Sri Lanka: 133 (2024)
How much railway is there?
Portugal’s railway network is 62% longer than Sri Lanka’s.
Portugal: 2,527 km (2021) · Sri Lanka: 1,562 km (2019)
How much do they fly?
Airlines from Portugal fly 9.5 times as many passengers per resident as those from Sri Lanka.
Portugal: 1.69 (2023) · Sri Lanka: 0.18 (2023)
Planet
Air, forests and energy
How much of the land is forest?
Forest covers 36% of Portugal, but only 34% of Sri Lanka.
Portugal: 36.2% (2023) · Sri Lanka: 34% (2023)
How much CO₂ does each person emit?
The average person in Portugal emits 3.8 times as much CO₂ as someone in Sri Lanka.
Portugal: 3.4 t (2024) · Sri Lanka: 0.9 t (2024)
How green is the power grid?
81% of Portugal’s electricity is renewable, versus 62% in Sri Lanka.
Portugal: 81% (2025) · Sri Lanka: 61.6% (2025)
How clean is the air?
The air in Sri Lanka carries 2 times as much fine dust as in Portugal.
Portugal: 10.5 µg/m³ (2024) · Sri Lanka: 20.7 µg/m³ (2024)
Safety
Measured risk, not vibes
How common is murder?
You are 4.6 times as likely to be murdered in Sri Lanka as in Portugal.
Portugal: 0.7 per 100k (2022) · Sri Lanka: 3.3 per 100k (2019)
How dangerous are the roads?
Roads in Sri Lanka are 60% deadlier than in Portugal.
Portugal: 7.2 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 11.0 °C warmer than Portugal.
Portugal: 15.9°C (2016–2025 avg) · Sri Lanka: 26.8°C (2016–2025 avg)
How much rain falls?
Sri Lanka gets 2.4 times as much rain as Portugal.
Portugal: 777 mm (2016–2025 avg) · Sri Lanka: 1,839 mm (2016–2025 avg)
Quick answers
Is Portugal bigger than Sri Lanka?
Portugal is larger. Portugal is 41% bigger than Sri Lanka.
Which has more people, Portugal or Sri Lanka?
Sri Lanka has 2 times as many people as Portugal (2025 estimates).
Where do people live longer, Portugal or Sri Lanka?
People in Portugal live 4.7 years longer than in Sri Lanka. Life expectancy at birth is 82.4 years in Portugal and 77.7 in Sri Lanka.
Are people taller in Portugal or Sri Lanka?
Men in Portugal are 6.3 cm taller than in Sri Lanka (NCD-RisC, cohort born 2019).
