Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Sri Lanka instead of Malawi, you would:
Health
be 98.8% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Malawi, 8.1% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2020. In Sri Lanka, that number is 0.1% of people as of 2020.
live 5.1 years longer
In Malawi, the average life expectancy is 72 years (69 years for men, 76 years for women) as of 2022. In Sri Lanka, that number is 78 years (75 years for men, 82 years for women) as of 2020.
be 10.3% less likely to be obese
In Malawi, 5.8% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Sri Lanka, that number is 5.2% of people as of 2016.
Economy
make 8.3 times more money
Malawi has a GDP per capita of $1,500 as of 2020, while in Sri Lanka, the GDP per capita is $12,500 as of 2020.
be 76.3% less likely to be unemployed
In Malawi, 20.4% of adults are unemployed as of 2013. In Sri Lanka, that number is 4.8% as of 2019.
be 92.0% less likely to live below the poverty line
In Malawi, 51.5% live below the poverty line as of 2016. In Sri Lanka, however, that number is 4.1% as of 2016.
pay a 50.0% lower top tax rate
Malawi has a top tax rate of 30.0% as of 2016. In Sri Lanka, the top tax rate is 15.0% as of 2016.
Life
be 89.7% less likely to die during childbirth
In Malawi, approximately 349.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2017. In Sri Lanka, 36.0 women do as of 2017.
be 48.6% more likely to be literate
In Malawi, the literacy rate is 62.1% as of 2015. In Sri Lanka, it is 92.3% as of 2019.
be 75.5% less likely to die during infancy
In Malawi, approximately 33.4 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Sri Lanka, on the other hand, 8.2 children do as of 2022.
have 50.6% fewer children
In Malawi, there are approximately 27.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022. In Sri Lanka, there are 13.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022.
Basic Needs
be 7.7 times more likely to have access to electricity
In Malawi, approximately 13% of people have electricity access (55% in urban areas, and 5% in rural areas) as of 2019. In Sri Lanka, that number is 100% of people on average (100% in urban areas, and 95% in rural areas) as of 2019.
be 2.5 times more likely to have internet access
In Malawi, approximately 14.0% of the population has internet access as of 2019. In Sri Lanka, about 35.0% do as of 2020.
Expenditures
spend 27.6% less on education
Malawi spends 2.9% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Sri Lanka spends 2.1% of total GDP on education as of 2018.
spend 44.6% less on healthcare
Malawi spends 7.4% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2019. In Sri Lanka, that number is 4.1% of GDP as of 2019.
The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: Malawi Revenue Authority, The World Factbook, Sri Lanka Inland Revenue Department.
Sri Lanka: At a glance
How big is Sri Lanka compared to Malawi? See an in-depth size comparison.