Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Sri Lanka instead of Nigeria, you would:
Health
be 91.7% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Nigeria, 1.2% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Sri Lanka, that number is 0.1% of people as of 2024.
live 23.0 years longer
In Nigeria, the average life expectancy is 55 years (54 years for men, 55 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 17.9% less likely to be obese
In Nigeria, 13.7% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Sri Lanka, that number is 11.2% of people as of 2024.
see 94.9% more spent on your healthcare
Nigeria spends $260 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Sri Lanka spends $507 as of 2023.
have 3.0 times more doctors per person
Nigeria has 3.8 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Sri Lanka has 11.4 as of 2023.
have 76.3% more access to essential health services
Nigeria scores 38 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Sri Lanka scores 67 as of 2021.
be 3.0 times more likely to die by suicide
Nigeria has a suicide rate of 5.0 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Sri Lanka, it is 14.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 74.6% less likely to live below the poverty line
In Nigeria, 56.2% live below the poverty line as of 2022. In Sri Lanka, however, that number is 14.3% as of 2019.
make 4.1 times more money
Nigeria has a GDP per capita of $1,224 as of 2025, while in Sri Lanka, the GDP per capita is $5,002 as of 2025.
be 30.7% more likely to be unemployed
In Nigeria, 3.1% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Sri Lanka, that number is 4.0% as of 2025.
Life
be 98.2% less likely to die during childbirth
In Nigeria, approximately 993.0 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 31.7% more likely to be literate
In Nigeria, the literacy rate is 70.4% as of 2024. In Sri Lanka, it is 92.7% as of 2024.
be 92.6% less likely to die during infancy
In Nigeria, approximately 69.8 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 68.9% fewer children
In Nigeria, there are approximately 32.5 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 63.4% more likely to have access to electricity
In Nigeria, approximately 61% of people have electricity access (85% in urban areas, and 33% 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 32.5% more likely to have internet access
In Nigeria, approximately 41.2% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Sri Lanka, about 54.6% do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 12.2% less on healthcare
Nigeria spends 4.2% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Sri Lanka, that number is 3.7% of GDP as of 2023.
spend 5.7 times more on education
Nigeria spends 0.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Sri Lanka spends 1.8% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
Geography
see 57.1% more coastline
Nigeria has a total of 853 km of coastline. In Sri Lanka, that number is 1,340 km.
Safety
be 33.1% less likely to die in a road accident
In Nigeria, road accidents kill 17.2 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Sri Lanka, they kill 11.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 105.9 times more home broadband
Nigeria has 0.1 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Sri Lanka has 8.5 as of 2024.
use 4.5 times more electricity
Nigeria uses 144 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Sri Lanka uses 644 kWh as of 2023.
live with 9.4 times more strain on fresh water
Nigeria withdraws 10% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Sri Lanka withdraws 91% as of 2022.
Environment
be 51.9% less likely to die from air pollution
In Nigeria, air pollution causes 77.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Sri Lanka, it causes 37.0 as of 2019.
emit 86.0% more CO2
Nigeria emits 0.6 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Sri Lanka emits 1.1 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2019–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Nigeria vs. Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: At a glance
How big is Sri Lanka compared to Nigeria? See an in-depth size comparison.