Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Sri Lanka instead of Guinea-Bissau, you would:
Health
be 95.5% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Guinea-Bissau, 2.2% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Sri Lanka, that number is 0.1% of people as of 2024.
live 13.4 years longer
In Guinea-Bissau, the average life expectancy is 64 years (62 years for men, 67 years for women) as of 2024. In Sri Lanka, that number is 78 years (74 years for men, 81 years for women) as of 2024.
be 11.7% less likely to be obese
In Guinea-Bissau, 12.7% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Sri Lanka, that number is 11.2% of people as of 2024.
see 2.1 times more spent on your healthcare
Guinea-Bissau spends $247 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Sri Lanka spends $507 as of 2023.
have 4.5 times more doctors per person
Guinea-Bissau has 2.5 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Sri Lanka has 11.4 as of 2023.
have 81.1% more access to essential health services
Guinea-Bissau scores 37 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Sri Lanka scores 67 as of 2021.
be 92.2% more likely to die by suicide
Guinea-Bissau has a suicide rate of 7.7 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Sri Lanka, it is 14.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 71.7% less likely to live below the poverty line
In Guinea-Bissau, 50.5% live below the poverty line as of 2021. In Sri Lanka, however, that number is 14.3% as of 2019.
make 4.5 times more money
Guinea-Bissau has a GDP per capita of $1,124 as of 2025, while in Sri Lanka, the GDP per capita is $5,002 as of 2025.
be 49.8% more likely to be unemployed
In Guinea-Bissau, 2.7% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Sri Lanka, that number is 4.0% as of 2025.
Life
be 96.4% less likely to die during childbirth
In Guinea-Bissau, approximately 505.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Sri Lanka, 18.0 women do as of 2023.
be 45.1% more likely to be literate
In Guinea-Bissau, the literacy rate is 63.9% as of 2022. In Sri Lanka, it is 92.7% as of 2024.
be 87.6% less likely to die during infancy
In Guinea-Bissau, approximately 42.1 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Sri Lanka, on the other hand, 5.2 children do as of 2024.
have 65.8% fewer children
In Guinea-Bissau, there are approximately 29.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Sri Lanka, there are 10.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 2.5 times more likely to have access to electricity
In Guinea-Bissau, approximately 40% of people have electricity access (64% in urban areas, and 21% in rural areas) as of 2023. In Sri Lanka, that number is 100% of people on average (100% in urban areas, and 100% in rural areas) as of 2023.
be 83.3% more likely to have internet access
In Guinea-Bissau, approximately 29.8% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Sri Lanka, about 54.6% do as of 2024.
be 45.9% more likely to have access to drinking water
In Guinea-Bissau, approximately 62% of people have access to drinking water (73% in urban areas, and 53% in rural areas) as of 2024. In Sri Lanka, that number is 90% of people on average (98% in urban areas, and 88% in rural areas) as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 32.2% less on education
Guinea-Bissau spends 2.7% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Sri Lanka spends 1.8% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
spend 58.3% less on healthcare
Guinea-Bissau spends 8.8% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Sri Lanka, that number is 3.7% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 3.8 times more coastline
Guinea-Bissau has a total of 350 km of coastline. In Sri Lanka, that number is 1,340 km.
Safety
be 62.3% less likely to die in a road accident
In Guinea-Bissau, road accidents kill 30.5 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Sri Lanka, they kill 11.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
be 3.0 times more likely to be murdered
Guinea-Bissau has a homicide rate of 1.1 per 100,000 people as of 2017. In Sri Lanka, that number is 3.3 per 100,000 as of 2019.
Infrastructure
find 21.7 times more home broadband
Guinea-Bissau has 0.4 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Sri Lanka has 8.5 as of 2024.
live with 60.5 times more strain on fresh water
Guinea-Bissau withdraws 2% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Sri Lanka withdraws 91% as of 2022.
Environment
be 58.4% less likely to die from air pollution
In Guinea-Bissau, air pollution causes 89.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Sri Lanka, it causes 37.0 as of 2019.
emit 6.6 times more CO2
Guinea-Bissau emits 0.2 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Sri Lanka emits 1.1 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2017–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), The World Factbook (2020), World Health Organization (2024). How we calculate this
Compare further: Guinea-Bissau vs. Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: At a glance
How big is Sri Lanka compared to Guinea-Bissau? See an in-depth size comparison.