The duel
Land
Size, shape and altitude
How big is it, really?
The United Arab Emirates is 50% bigger than Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka: 65,610 km² (2023) · United Arab Emirates: 98,648 km² (2023)
How much coast is there?
Sri Lanka’s coastline is 2% longer than the United Arab Emirates’.
Sri Lanka: 1,340 km (2026 edition) · United Arab Emirates: 1,318 km (2026 edition)
How high can you climb?
Sri Lanka’s highest peak towers 619 m above the United Arab Emirates’.
Sri Lanka: 2,524 m (2026 edition) · United Arab Emirates: 1,905 m (2026 edition)
People
Who lives there, and how closely
How many people live there?
Sri Lanka has 89% more people than the United Arab Emirates.
Sri Lanka: 21.8 million (2025) · United Arab Emirates: 11.5 million (2025)
How crowded is it?
Sri Lanka is 2.2 times as densely populated as the United Arab Emirates.
Sri Lanka: 352 per km² (2025) · United Arab Emirates: 162 per km² (2025)
How tall are the men?
Men in the United Arab Emirates are 6.0 cm taller than in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka: 168.1 cm (2019) · United Arab Emirates: 174.1 cm (2019)
How tall are the women?
Women in the United Arab Emirates are 4.7 cm taller than in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka: 155.9 cm (2019) · United Arab Emirates: 160.5 cm (2019)
How old is the typical person?
The typical person in Sri Lanka is 1.6 years older than in the United Arab Emirates.
Sri Lanka: 32.8 years (2023) · United Arab Emirates: 31.2 years (2023)
How many children per woman?
Women in Sri Lanka have 0.7 more children on average than in the United Arab Emirates.
Sri Lanka: 1.95 children per woman (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 1.21 children per woman (2024)
How many people are 65 or older?
12% of people in Sri Lanka are 65 or older, versus 1.8% in the United Arab Emirates.
Sri Lanka: 12.5% (2025) · United Arab Emirates: 1.8% (2025)
How many Nobel laureates were born there?
Sri Lanka and the United Arab Emirates are practically level.
Sri Lanka: 0 (2025) · United Arab Emirates: 0 (2025)
How many official languages?
Sri Lanka has 2 official languages, the United Arab Emirates 1.
Sri Lanka: 2 (2026) · United Arab Emirates: 1 (2026)
Money
What an economy looks like per person
How big is the economy?
The United Arab Emirates’ economy is 5.1 times the size of Sri Lanka’s.
Sri Lanka: $109 billion (2025) · United Arab Emirates: $552 billion (2024)
How much is produced per person?
The United Arab Emirates produces 4.6 times as much per person as Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka: Int$17,065 (2025) · United Arab Emirates: Int$79,344 (2024)
How evenly is income shared?
Income is more unequally shared in Sri Lanka than in the United Arab Emirates (Gini 11.3 points higher).
Sri Lanka: 37.7 (2019) · United Arab Emirates: 26.4 (2018)
How many people are looking for work?
Unemployment is 4.0% in Sri Lanka, versus 2.2% in the United Arab Emirates.
Sri Lanka: 4% (2025) · United Arab Emirates: 2.2% (2025)
How much goes to the military?
The United Arab Emirates spends 5.6% of its GDP on the military, Sri Lanka 1.4%.
Sri Lanka: 1.4% (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 5.6% (2014)
How expensive is it?
The United Arab Emirates’ price level (US = 100) is 2.2× Sri Lanka’s.
Sri Lanka: 29% (2025) · United Arab Emirates: 63% (2024)
Health
Long lives, small beginnings
How much is spent on health?
The United Arab Emirates spends 18 times as much on health per person as Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka: $134 (2023) · United Arab Emirates: $2,402 (2023)
How long do people live?
People in the United Arab Emirates live 5.4 years longer than in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka: 77.7 years (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 83.1 years (2024)
How many babies don’t reach their first birthday?
A baby in Sri Lanka is 37% more likely to die before turning one than in the United Arab Emirates.
Sri Lanka: 5.2 per 1,000 (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 3.8 per 1,000 (2024)
How many doctors are there?
The United Arab Emirates has 2.6 times as many doctors per person as Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka: 1.1 per 1,000 (2023) · United Arab Emirates: 3 per 1,000 (2023)
How common is obesity?
30% of adults in the United Arab Emirates are obese, versus 11% in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka: 11.2% (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 30.3% (2024)
How many adults smoke?
21% of adults in Sri Lanka smoke, versus 9.0% in the United Arab Emirates.
Sri Lanka: 20.7% (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 9% (2024)
Everyday life
Plates, glasses and happiness
How do people rate their lives?
People in the United Arab Emirates rate their lives 2.81 points higher than in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka: 4.01 (2025) · United Arab Emirates: 6.82 (2025)
How much do people drink?
Adults in Sri Lanka drink 3.9 times as much alcohol as in the United Arab Emirates.
Sri Lanka: 2.5 litres (2023) · United Arab Emirates: 0.6 litres (2023)
How much meat is on the menu?
The United Arab Emirates has 5.9 times as much meat per person as Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka: 11.6 kg (2023) · United Arab Emirates: 67.8 kg (2023)
How much food is there per day?
The United Arab Emirates has 450 kcal more food per person per day than Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka: 2,675 kcal (2023) · United Arab Emirates: 3,125 kcal (2023)
How long do people work?
Workers in the United Arab Emirates put in 461 more hours a year than in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka: 2,053 hours (2023) · United Arab Emirates: 2,514 hours (2023)
How long do people go to school?
Adults in the United Arab Emirates went to school 2.2 years longer than in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka: 10.8 years (2023) · United Arab Emirates: 13 years (2023)
How many tourists visit?
The United Arab Emirates welcomed 70 times as many tourists per resident as Sri Lanka (2019).
Sri Lanka: 0.03 (2022) · United Arab Emirates: 2.28 (2019)
Connected
Online, electrified, urban
How many people are online?
100% of people in the United Arab Emirates are online, versus 55% in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka: 55% (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 100% (2024)
Who has electricity at home?
Sri Lanka and the United Arab Emirates are practically level.
Sri Lanka: 100% (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 100% (2024)
How many live in cities?
86% of people in the United Arab Emirates live in cities, versus 20% in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka: 20% (2025) · United Arab Emirates: 86% (2025)
How many phones per person?
The United Arab Emirates has 203 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, Sri Lanka 133.
Sri Lanka: 133 (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 203 (2024)
How much railway is there?
Sri Lanka’s railway network is 5.6 times as long as the United Arab Emirates’.
Sri Lanka: 1,562 km (2019) · United Arab Emirates: 279 km (2021)
How much do they fly?
Airlines from the United Arab Emirates fly 45 times as many passengers per resident as those from Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka: 0.18 (2023) · United Arab Emirates: 7.91 (2023)
Planet
Air, forests and energy
How much of the land is forest?
Forest covers 34% of Sri Lanka, but only 4.5% of the United Arab Emirates.
Sri Lanka: 34% (2023) · United Arab Emirates: 4.5% (2023)
How much CO₂ does each person emit?
The average person in the United Arab Emirates emits 22 times as much CO₂ as someone in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka: 0.9 t (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 20.1 t (2024)
How green is the power grid?
62% of Sri Lanka’s electricity is renewable, versus 8.8% in the United Arab Emirates.
Sri Lanka: 61.6% (2025) · United Arab Emirates: 8.8% (2024)
How clean is the air?
The air in the United Arab Emirates carries 2.7 times as much fine dust as in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka: 20.7 µg/m³ (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 55.7 µg/m³ (2024)
Safety
Measured risk, not vibes
How common is murder?
You are 4.8 times as likely to be murdered in Sri Lanka as in the United Arab Emirates.
Sri Lanka: 3.3 per 100k (2019) · United Arab Emirates: 0.7 per 100k (2022)
How dangerous are the roads?
Roads in Sri Lanka are 95% deadlier than in the United Arab Emirates.
Sri Lanka: 11.5 per 100k (2021) · United Arab Emirates: 5.9 per 100k (2021)
Climate
What the year feels like
How warm is it?
The United Arab Emirates is on average 2.0 °C warmer than Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka: 26.8°C (2016–2025 avg) · United Arab Emirates: 28.8°C (2016–2025 avg)
How much rain falls?
Sri Lanka gets 39 times as much rain as the United Arab Emirates.
Sri Lanka: 1,839 mm (2016–2025 avg) · United Arab Emirates: 47 mm (2016–2025 avg)
Quick answers
Is Sri Lanka bigger than the United Arab Emirates?
The United Arab Emirates is larger. The United Arab Emirates is 50% bigger than Sri Lanka.
Which has more people, Sri Lanka or the United Arab Emirates?
Sri Lanka has 89% more people than the United Arab Emirates (2025 estimates).
Where do people live longer, Sri Lanka or the United Arab Emirates?
People in the United Arab Emirates live 5.4 years longer than in Sri Lanka. Life expectancy at birth is 77.7 years in Sri Lanka and 83.1 in the United Arab Emirates.
Are people taller in Sri Lanka or the United Arab Emirates?
Men in the United Arab Emirates are 6.0 cm taller than in Sri Lanka (NCD-RisC, cohort born 2019).
