If you lived in Sri Lanka instead of Saudi Arabia, you would:

Health

be 72.0% less likely to be obese

In Saudi Arabia, 40.1% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Sri Lanka, that number is 11.2% of people as of 2024.

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live 1.3 years less

In Saudi Arabia, the average life expectancy is 79 years (77 years for men, 81 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.

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see 85.4% less spent on your healthcare

Saudi Arabia spends $3,475 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Sri Lanka spends $507 as of 2023.

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have 66.6% fewer doctors per person

Saudi Arabia has 34.1 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Sri Lanka has 11.4 as of 2023.

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be 15.5 times more likely to die by suicide

Saudi Arabia has a suicide rate of 0.9 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Sri Lanka, it is 14.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Economy

be 31.6% more likely to be unemployed

In Saudi Arabia, 3.0% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Sri Lanka, that number is 4.0% as of 2025.

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make 85.5% less money

Saudi Arabia has a GDP per capita of $34,537 as of 2025, while in Sri Lanka, the GDP per capita is $5,002 as of 2025.

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Life

be 2.6 times more likely to die during childbirth

In Saudi Arabia, approximately 7.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Sri Lanka, 18.0 women do as of 2023.

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be 10.6% more likely to die during infancy

In Saudi Arabia, 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.

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have 38.8% fewer children

In Saudi Arabia, there are approximately 16.5 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Sri Lanka, there are 10.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

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Basic Needs

be 45.4% less likely to have internet access

In Saudi Arabia, approximately 100.0% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Sri Lanka, about 54.6% do as of 2024.

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Expenditures

spend 59.2% less on education

Saudi Arabia spends 4.5% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Sri Lanka spends 1.8% of total GDP on education as of 2023.

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spend 35.3% less on healthcare

Saudi Arabia spends 5.7% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Sri Lanka, that number is 3.7% of GDP as of 2023.

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Geography

see 49.2% less coastline

Saudi Arabia has a total of 2,640 km of coastline. In Sri Lanka, that number is 1,340 km.

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Safety

be 37.8% less likely to die in a road accident

In Saudi Arabia, road accidents kill 18.5 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Sri Lanka, they kill 11.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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be 3.5 times more likely to be murdered

Saudi Arabia has a homicide rate of 0.9 per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Sri Lanka, that number is 3.3 per 100,000 as of 2019.

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Infrastructure

live with 90.7% less strain on fresh water

Saudi Arabia withdraws 974% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Sri Lanka withdraws 91% as of 2022.

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find 80.8% less home broadband

Saudi Arabia has 44.1 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Sri Lanka has 8.5 as of 2024.

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use 94.6% less electricity

Saudi Arabia uses 11,911 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Sri Lanka uses 644 kWh as of 2023.

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Environment

be 59.3% less likely to die from air pollution

In Saudi Arabia, air pollution causes 91.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Sri Lanka, it causes 37.0 as of 2019.

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emit 94.3% less CO2

Saudi Arabia emits 18.5 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Sri Lanka emits 1.1 tonnes as of 2024.

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Sources: World Bank (2019–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this

Sri Lanka: At a glance

Sri Lanka is a sovereign country in South Asia, with a total land area of approximately 64,630 sq km. The first Sinhalese arrived in Sri Lanka late in the 6th century B.C., probably from northern India. Buddhism was introduced in about the mid-third century B.C., and a great civilization developed at the cities of Anuradhapura (kingdom from circa 200 B.C. to circa A.D. 1000) and Polonnaruwa (from about 1070 to 1200). In the 14th century, a south Indian dynasty established a Tamil kingdom in northern Sri Lanka. The coastal areas of the island were controlled by the Portuguese in the 16th century and by the Dutch in the 17th century. The island was ceded to the British in 1796, became a crown colony in 1802, and was formally united under British rule by 1815. As Ceylon, it became independent in 1948; its name was changed to Sri Lanka in 1972. Tensions between the Sinhalese majority and Tamil separatists erupted into war in 1983. After two decades of fighting, the government and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) formalized a cease-fire in February 2002 with Norway brokering peace negotiations. Violence between the LTTE and government forces intensified in 2006, but the government regained control of the Eastern Province in 2007. By May 2009, the government announced that its military had defeated the remnants of the LTTE. Since the end of the conflict, the government has enacted an ambitious program of economic development projects, many of which are financed by loans from the Government of China. In addition to efforts to reconstruct its economy, the government has resettled more than 95% of those civilians who were displaced during the final phase of the conflict and released the vast majority of former LTTE combatants captured by Government Security Forces. At the same time, there has been little progress on more contentious and politically difficult issues such as reaching a political settlement with Tamil elected representatives and holding accountable those alleged to have been involved in human rights violations and other abuses during the conflict.
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