Land
Size, shape and altitude
How big is it, really?
Sri Lanka fits inside Sweden 8.1 times.
Sri Lanka: 65,610 km² (2023) · Sweden: 528,660 km² (2023)
How much coast is there?
Sweden’s coastline is 2.4 times as long as Sri Lanka’s.
Sri Lanka: 1,340 km (2026 edition) · Sweden: 3,218 km (2026 edition)
How high can you climb?
Sri Lanka’s highest peak towers 424 m above Sweden’s.
Sri Lanka: 2,524 m (2026 edition) · Sweden: 2,100 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 Sweden.
Sri Lanka: 21.8 million (2025) · Sweden: 10.6 million (2025)
How crowded is it?
Sri Lanka is 14 times as densely populated as Sweden.
Sri Lanka: 352 per km² (2025) · Sweden: 26 per km² (2025)
How tall are the men?
Men in Sweden are 12.4 cm taller than in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka: 168.1 cm (2019) · Sweden: 180.5 cm (2019)
How tall are the women?
Women in Sweden are 10.8 cm taller than in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka: 155.9 cm (2019) · Sweden: 166.7 cm (2019)
How old is the typical person?
The typical person in Sweden is 7.1 years older than in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka: 32.8 years (2023) · Sweden: 39.9 years (2023)
How many children per woman?
Women in Sri Lanka have 0.5 more children on average than in Sweden.
Sri Lanka: 1.95 children per woman (2024) · Sweden: 1.43 children per woman (2024)
How many people are 65 or older?
21% of people in Sweden are 65 or older, versus 12% in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka: 12.5% (2025) · Sweden: 20.9% (2025)
How many Nobel laureates were born there?
Sweden has produced 28.3 Nobel laureates per 10 million people, Sri Lanka none.
Sri Lanka: 0 (2025) · Sweden: 28.3 (2025)
How many official languages?
Sri Lanka has 2 official languages, Sweden 1.
Sri Lanka: 2 (2026) · Sweden: 1 (2026)
Money
What an economy looks like per person
How big is the economy?
Sweden’s economy is 6.1 times the size of Sri Lanka’s.
Sri Lanka: $109 billion (2025) · Sweden: $669 billion (2025)
How much is produced per person?
Sweden produces 4.3 times as much per person as Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka: Int$17,065 (2025) · Sweden: Int$72,529 (2025)
How evenly is income shared?
Income is more unequally shared in Sri Lanka than in Sweden (Gini 8.4 points higher).
Sri Lanka: 37.7 (2019) · Sweden: 29.3 (2023)
How many people are looking for work?
Unemployment is 8.7% in Sweden, versus 4.0% in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka: 4% (2025) · Sweden: 8.7% (2025)
How much goes to the military?
Sweden spends 2.0% of its GDP on the military, Sri Lanka 1.4%.
Sri Lanka: 1.4% (2024) · Sweden: 2% (2024)
How expensive is it?
Sweden’s price level (US = 100) is 3× Sri Lanka’s.
Sri Lanka: 29% (2025) · Sweden: 87% (2025)
Health
Long lives, small beginnings
How much is spent on health?
Sweden spends 48 times as much on health per person as Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka: $134 (2023) · Sweden: $6,485 (2024)
How long do people live?
People in Sweden live 6.4 years longer than in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka: 77.7 years (2024) · Sweden: 84.1 years (2024)
How many babies don’t reach their first birthday?
A baby in Sri Lanka is 2.6 times as likely to die before turning one as in Sweden.
Sri Lanka: 5.2 per 1,000 (2024) · Sweden: 2 per 1,000 (2024)
How many doctors are there?
Sweden has 3.9 times as many doctors per person as Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka: 1.1 per 1,000 (2023) · Sweden: 4.4 per 1,000 (2021)
How common is obesity?
19% of adults in Sweden are obese, versus 11% in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka: 11.2% (2024) · Sweden: 18.7% (2024)
How many adults smoke?
Sri Lanka and Sweden are practically level.
Sri Lanka: 20.7% (2024) · Sweden: 20.3% (2024)
Everyday life
Plates, glasses and happiness
How do people rate their lives?
People in Sweden rate their lives 3.24 points higher than in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka: 4.01 (2025) · Sweden: 7.26 (2025)
How much do people drink?
Adults in Sweden drink 3.5 times as much alcohol as in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka: 2.5 litres (2023) · Sweden: 8.7 litres (2023)
How much meat is on the menu?
Sweden has 5.9 times as much meat per person as Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka: 11.6 kg (2023) · Sweden: 68.4 kg (2023)
How much food is there per day?
Sweden has 692 kcal more food per person per day than Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka: 2,675 kcal (2023) · Sweden: 3,367 kcal (2023)
How long do people work?
Workers in Sri Lanka put in 622 more hours a year than in Sweden.
Sri Lanka: 2,053 hours (2023) · Sweden: 1,432 hours (2023)
How long do people go to school?
Adults in Sweden went to school 2 years longer than in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka: 10.8 years (2023) · Sweden: 12.7 years (2023)
How many tourists visit?
Sweden welcomed 19 times as many tourists per resident as Sri Lanka (2019).
Sri Lanka: 0.03 (2022) · Sweden: 0.63 (2022)
Connected
Online, electrified, urban
How many people are online?
96% of people in Sweden are online, versus 55% in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka: 55% (2024) · Sweden: 96% (2025)
Who has electricity at home?
Sri Lanka and Sweden are practically level.
Sri Lanka: 100% (2024) · Sweden: 100% (2024)
How many live in cities?
89% of people in Sweden live in cities, versus 20% in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka: 20% (2025) · Sweden: 89% (2025)
How many phones per person?
Sweden has 141 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, Sri Lanka 133.
Sri Lanka: 133 (2024) · Sweden: 141 (2024)
How much railway is there?
Sweden’s railway network is 6.2 times as long as Sri Lanka’s.
Sri Lanka: 1,562 km (2019) · Sweden: 9,714 km (2021)
How much do they fly?
Airlines from Sweden fly 10 times as many passengers per resident as those from Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka: 0.18 (2023) · Sweden: 1.85 (2023)
Planet
Air, forests and energy
How much of the land is forest?
Forest covers 69% of Sweden, but only 34% of Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka: 34% (2023) · Sweden: 68.7% (2023)
How much CO₂ does each person emit?
The average person in Sweden emits 4 times as much CO₂ as someone in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka: 0.9 t (2024) · Sweden: 3.6 t (2024)
How green is the power grid?
71% of Sweden’s electricity is renewable, versus 62% in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka: 61.6% (2025) · Sweden: 71.2% (2025)
How clean is the air?
The air in Sri Lanka carries 3.6 times as much fine dust as in Sweden.
Sri Lanka: 20.7 µg/m³ (2024) · Sweden: 5.7 µg/m³ (2024)
Safety
Measured risk, not vibes
How common is murder?
You are 2.9 times as likely to be murdered in Sri Lanka as in Sweden.
Sri Lanka: 3.3 per 100k (2019) · Sweden: 1.1 per 100k (2023)
How dangerous are the roads?
Roads in Sri Lanka are 5.5 times as deadly as in Sweden.
Sri Lanka: 11.5 per 100k (2021) · Sweden: 2.1 per 100k (2021)
Climate
What the year feels like
How warm is it?
Sri Lanka is on average 22.5 °C warmer than Sweden.
Sri Lanka: 26.8°C (2016–2025 avg) · Sweden: 4.3°C (2016–2025 avg)
How much rain falls?
Sri Lanka gets 2.3 times as much rain as Sweden.
Sri Lanka: 1,839 mm (2016–2025 avg) · Sweden: 801 mm (2016–2025 avg)
Quick answers
Is Sri Lanka bigger than Sweden?
Sweden is larger. Sri Lanka fits inside Sweden 8.1 times.
Which has more people, Sri Lanka or Sweden?
Sri Lanka has 2.1 times as many people as Sweden (2025 estimates).
Where do people live longer, Sri Lanka or Sweden?
People in Sweden live 6.4 years longer than in Sri Lanka. Life expectancy at birth is 77.7 years in Sri Lanka and 84.1 in Sweden.
Are people taller in Sri Lanka or Sweden?
Men in Sweden are 12.4 cm taller than in Sri Lanka (NCD-RisC, cohort born 2019).
