Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Sri Lanka instead of Maldives, you would:
Health
be 37.2% less likely to be obese
In Maldives, 17.9% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Sri Lanka, that number is 11.2% of people as of 2024.
live 3.6 years less
In Maldives, the average life expectancy is 81 years (80 years for men, 83 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.
see 77.8% less spent on your healthcare
Maldives spends $2,288 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Sri Lanka spends $507 as of 2023.
be 10.0 times more likely to die by suicide
Maldives has a suicide rate of 1.5 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Sri Lanka, it is 14.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 11.3% less likely to be unemployed
In Maldives, 4.5% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Sri Lanka, that number is 4.0% as of 2025.
be 2.6 times more likely to live below the poverty line
In Maldives, 5.4% live below the poverty line as of 2019. In Sri Lanka, however, that number is 14.3% as of 2019.
make 65.8% less money
Maldives has a GDP per capita of $14,615 as of 2025, while in Sri Lanka, the GDP per capita is $5,002 as of 2025.
Life
be 43.8% less likely to die during childbirth
In Maldives, approximately 32.0 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 10.6% more likely to die during infancy
In Maldives, approximately 4.7 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.
Basic Needs
be 36.0% less likely to have internet access
In Maldives, approximately 85.2% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Sri Lanka, about 54.6% do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 64.6% less on education
Maldives spends 5.2% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Sri Lanka spends 1.8% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
spend 60.2% less on healthcare
Maldives spends 9.2% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Sri Lanka, that number is 3.7% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 2.1 times more coastline
Maldives has a total of 644 km of coastline. In Sri Lanka, that number is 1,340 km.
Safety
be 5.3 times more likely to be murdered
Maldives has a homicide rate of 0.6 per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Sri Lanka, that number is 3.3 per 100,000 as of 2019.
be 8.8 times more likely to die in a road accident
In Maldives, road accidents kill 1.3 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Sri Lanka, they kill 11.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 56.9% less home broadband
Maldives has 19.6 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Sri Lanka has 8.5 as of 2024.
live with 5.8 times more strain on fresh water
Maldives withdraws 16% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Sri Lanka withdraws 91% as of 2022.
Environment
emit 70.3% less CO2
Maldives emits 3.6 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Sri Lanka emits 1.1 tonnes as of 2024.
be 27.6% more likely to die from air pollution
In Maldives, air pollution causes 29.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Sri Lanka, it causes 37.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2019–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Maldives vs. Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: At a glance
How big is Sri Lanka compared to Maldives? See an in-depth size comparison.