Land
Size, shape and altitude
How big is it, really?
Sri Lanka fits inside Saudi Arabia 33 times.
Saudi Arabia: 2,149,690 km² (2023) · Sri Lanka: 65,610 km² (2023)
How much coast is there?
Saudi Arabia’s coastline is 2 times as long as Sri Lanka’s.
Saudi Arabia: 2,640 km (2026 edition) · Sri Lanka: 1,340 km (2026 edition)
How high can you climb?
Saudi Arabia’s highest peak towers 476 m above Sri Lanka’s.
Saudi Arabia: 3,000 m (2026 edition) · Sri Lanka: 2,524 m (2026 edition)
People
Who lives there, and how closely
How many people live there?
Saudi Arabia has 70% more people than Sri Lanka.
Saudi Arabia: 37 million (2025) · Sri Lanka: 21.8 million (2025)
How crowded is it?
Sri Lanka is 20 times as densely populated as Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia: 17 per km² (2025) · Sri Lanka: 352 per km² (2025)
How tall are the men?
Men in Saudi Arabia are 2.6 cm taller than in Sri Lanka.
Saudi Arabia: 170.7 cm (2019) · Sri Lanka: 168.1 cm (2019)
How tall are the women?
Women in Saudi Arabia are 3.0 cm taller than in Sri Lanka.
Saudi Arabia: 158.8 cm (2019) · Sri Lanka: 155.9 cm (2019)
How old is the typical person?
The typical person in Sri Lanka is 3.6 years older than in Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia: 29.2 years (2023) · Sri Lanka: 32.8 years (2023)
How many children per woman?
Women in Saudi Arabia have 0.4 more children on average than in Sri Lanka.
Saudi Arabia: 2.31 children per woman (2024) · Sri Lanka: 1.95 children per woman (2024)
How many people are 65 or older?
12% of people in Sri Lanka are 65 or older, versus 3.1% in Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia: 3.1% (2025) · Sri Lanka: 12.5% (2025)
How many Nobel laureates were born there?
Saudi Arabia and Sri Lanka are practically level.
Saudi Arabia: 0 (2025) · Sri Lanka: 0 (2025)
How many official languages?
Sri Lanka has 2 official languages, Saudi Arabia 1.
Saudi Arabia: 1 (2026) · Sri Lanka: 2 (2026)
Money
What an economy looks like per person
How big is the economy?
Saudi Arabia’s economy is 12 times the size of Sri Lanka’s.
Saudi Arabia: $1.28 trillion (2025) · Sri Lanka: $109 billion (2025)
How much is produced per person?
Saudi Arabia produces 4.3 times as much per person as Sri Lanka.
Saudi Arabia: Int$73,784 (2025) · Sri Lanka: Int$17,065 (2025)
How evenly is income shared?
Saudi Arabia: no data · Sri Lanka: 37.7 (2019)
How many people are looking for work?
Unemployment is 4.0% in Sri Lanka, versus 3.0% in Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia: 3% (2025) · Sri Lanka: 4% (2025)
How much goes to the military?
Saudi Arabia spends 7.3% of its GDP on the military, Sri Lanka 1.4%.
Saudi Arabia: 7.3% (2024) · Sri Lanka: 1.4% (2024)
How expensive is it?
Saudi Arabia’s price level (US = 100) is 1.6× Sri Lanka’s.
Saudi Arabia: 47% (2025) · Sri Lanka: 29% (2025)
Health
Long lives, small beginnings
How much is spent on health?
Saudi Arabia spends 14 times as much on health per person as Sri Lanka.
Saudi Arabia: $1,825 (2023) · Sri Lanka: $134 (2023)
How long do people live?
People in Saudi Arabia live 1.3 years longer than in Sri Lanka.
Saudi Arabia: 79 years (2024) · Sri Lanka: 77.7 years (2024)
How many babies don’t reach their first birthday?
A baby in Sri Lanka is 11% more likely to die before turning one than in Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia: 4.7 per 1,000 (2024) · Sri Lanka: 5.2 per 1,000 (2024)
How many doctors are there?
Saudi Arabia has 3 times as many doctors per person as Sri Lanka.
Saudi Arabia: 3.4 per 1,000 (2023) · Sri Lanka: 1.1 per 1,000 (2023)
How common is obesity?
39% of adults in Saudi Arabia are obese, versus 11% in Sri Lanka.
Saudi Arabia: 39.2% (2024) · Sri Lanka: 11.2% (2024)
How many adults smoke?
21% of adults in Sri Lanka smoke, versus 15% in Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia: 14.7% (2024) · Sri Lanka: 20.7% (2024)
Everyday life
Plates, glasses and happiness
How do people rate their lives?
People in Saudi Arabia rate their lives 2.80 points higher than in Sri Lanka.
Saudi Arabia: 6.82 (2025) · Sri Lanka: 4.01 (2025)
How much do people drink?
Saudi Arabia: no data · Sri Lanka: 2.5 litres (2023)
How much meat is on the menu?
Saudi Arabia has 5 times as much meat per person as Sri Lanka.
Saudi Arabia: 58.1 kg (2023) · Sri Lanka: 11.6 kg (2023)
How much food is there per day?
Saudi Arabia has 985 kcal more food per person per day than Sri Lanka.
Saudi Arabia: 3,660 kcal (2023) · Sri Lanka: 2,675 kcal (2023)
How long do people work?
Workers in Saudi Arabia put in 71 more hours a year than in Sri Lanka.
Saudi Arabia: 2,125 hours (2023) · Sri Lanka: 2,053 hours (2023)
How long do people go to school?
Adults in Saudi Arabia went to school 0.84 years longer than in Sri Lanka.
Saudi Arabia: 11.6 years (2023) · Sri Lanka: 10.8 years (2023)
How many tourists visit?
Saudi Arabia welcomed 26 times as many tourists per resident as Sri Lanka (2019).
Saudi Arabia: 0.84 (2024) · Sri Lanka: 0.03 (2022)
Connected
Online, electrified, urban
How many people are online?
100% of people in Saudi Arabia are online, versus 55% in Sri Lanka.
Saudi Arabia: 100% (2024) · Sri Lanka: 55% (2024)
Who has electricity at home?
Saudi Arabia and Sri Lanka are practically level.
Saudi Arabia: 100% (2024) · Sri Lanka: 100% (2024)
How many live in cities?
85% of people in Saudi Arabia live in cities, versus 20% in Sri Lanka.
Saudi Arabia: 85% (2025) · Sri Lanka: 20% (2025)
How many phones per person?
Saudi Arabia has 160 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, Sri Lanka 133.
Saudi Arabia: 160 (2024) · Sri Lanka: 133 (2024)
How much railway is there?
Saudi Arabia’s railway network is 88% longer than Sri Lanka’s.
Saudi Arabia: 2,939 km (2018) · Sri Lanka: 1,562 km (2019)
How much do they fly?
Airlines from Saudi Arabia fly 7.3 times as many passengers per resident as those from Sri Lanka.
Saudi Arabia: 1.3 (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 0.5% of Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia: 0.5% (2023) · Sri Lanka: 34% (2023)
How much CO₂ does each person emit?
The average person in Saudi Arabia emits 23 times as much CO₂ as someone in Sri Lanka.
Saudi Arabia: 20.4 t (2024) · Sri Lanka: 0.9 t (2024)
How green is the power grid?
62% of Sri Lanka’s electricity is renewable, versus 2.2% in Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia: 2.2% (2024) · Sri Lanka: 61.6% (2025)
How clean is the air?
The air in Saudi Arabia carries 2.4 times as much fine dust as in Sri Lanka.
Saudi Arabia: 50.4 µg/m³ (2024) · Sri Lanka: 20.7 µg/m³ (2024)
Safety
Measured risk, not vibes
How common is murder?
You are 3.5 times as likely to be murdered in Sri Lanka as in Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia: 0.9 per 100k (2019) · Sri Lanka: 3.3 per 100k (2019)
How dangerous are the roads?
Roads in Saudi Arabia are 61% deadlier than in Sri Lanka.
Saudi Arabia: 18.5 per 100k (2021) · Sri Lanka: 11.5 per 100k (2021)
Climate
What the year feels like
How warm is it?
Sri Lanka and Saudi Arabia are practically level.
Saudi Arabia: 26.8°C (2016–2025 avg) · Sri Lanka: 26.8°C (2016–2025 avg)
How much rain falls?
Sri Lanka gets 30 times as much rain as Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia: 61 mm (2016–2025 avg) · Sri Lanka: 1,839 mm (2016–2025 avg)
Quick answers
Is Saudi Arabia bigger than Sri Lanka?
Saudi Arabia is larger. Sri Lanka fits inside Saudi Arabia 33 times.
Which has more people, Saudi Arabia or Sri Lanka?
Saudi Arabia has 70% more people than Sri Lanka (2025 estimates).
Where do people live longer, Saudi Arabia or Sri Lanka?
People in Saudi Arabia live 1.3 years longer than in Sri Lanka. Life expectancy at birth is 79.0 years in Saudi Arabia and 77.7 in Sri Lanka.
Are people taller in Saudi Arabia or Sri Lanka?
Men in Saudi Arabia are 2.6 cm taller than in Sri Lanka (NCD-RisC, cohort born 2019).
