Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Bangladesh instead of Sri Lanka, you would:
Health
be 48.8% less likely to be obese
In Sri Lanka, 11.2% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Bangladesh, that number is 5.8% of people as of 2024.
be 80.9% less likely to die by suicide
Sri Lanka has a suicide rate of 14.7 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Bangladesh, it is 2.8 per 100,000 as of 2021.
live 2.7 years less
In Sri Lanka, the average life expectancy is 78 years (74 years for men, 81 years for women) as of 2024. In Bangladesh, that number is 75 years (73 years for men, 77 years for women) as of 2024.
see 60.8% less spent on your healthcare
Sri Lanka spends $507 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Bangladesh spends $199 as of 2023.
have 36.4% fewer doctors per person
Sri Lanka has 11.4 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Bangladesh has 7.2 as of 2023.
have 22.4% less access to essential health services
Sri Lanka scores 67 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Bangladesh scores 52 as of 2021.
Economy
be 30.8% more likely to live below the poverty line
In Sri Lanka, 14.3% live below the poverty line as of 2019. In Bangladesh, however, that number is 18.7% as of 2022.
make 48.1% less money
Sri Lanka has a GDP per capita of $5,002 as of 2025, while in Bangladesh, the GDP per capita is $2,597 as of 2025.
Life
have 97.9% more children
In Sri Lanka, there are approximately 10.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Bangladesh, there are 20.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 6.4 times more likely to die during childbirth
In Sri Lanka, approximately 18.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Bangladesh, 115.0 women do as of 2023.
be 14.8% less likely to be literate
In Sri Lanka, the literacy rate is 92.7% as of 2024. In Bangladesh, it is 79.0% as of 2022.
be 4.7 times more likely to die during infancy
In Sri Lanka, approximately 5.2 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Bangladesh, on the other hand, 24.4 children do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 41.0% less on healthcare
Sri Lanka spends 3.7% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Bangladesh, that number is 2.2% of GDP as of 2023.
spend 10.9% more on education
Sri Lanka spends 1.8% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Bangladesh spends 2.0% of total GDP on education as of 2024.
Geography
see 56.7% less coastline
Sri Lanka has a total of 1,340 km of coastline. In Bangladesh, that number is 580 km.
Safety
be 29.3% less likely to be murdered
Sri Lanka has a homicide rate of 3.3 per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Bangladesh, that number is 2.3 per 100,000 as of 2018.
be 61.7% more likely to die in a road accident
In Sri Lanka, road accidents kill 11.5 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Bangladesh, they kill 18.6 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 93.7% less strain on fresh water
Sri Lanka withdraws 91% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Bangladesh withdraws 6% as of 2022.
Environment
emit 32.1% less CO2
Sri Lanka emits 1.1 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Bangladesh emits 0.7 tonnes as of 2024.
be 78.4% more likely to die from air pollution
In Sri Lanka, air pollution causes 37.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Bangladesh, it causes 66.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2018–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Sri Lanka vs. Bangladesh
Bangladesh: At a glance
How big is Bangladesh compared to Sri Lanka? See an in-depth size comparison.