Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Japan instead of Sri Lanka, you would:
Health
live 6.4 years longer
In Sri Lanka, the average life expectancy is 78 years (74 years for men, 81 years for women) as of 2024. In Japan, that number is 84 years (81 years for men, 87 years for women) as of 2024.
be 47.4% less likely to be obese
In Sri Lanka, 11.2% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Japan, that number is 5.9% of people as of 2024.
see 10.6 times more spent on your healthcare
Sri Lanka spends $507 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Japan spends $5,365 as of 2023.
have 2.3 times more doctors per person
Sri Lanka has 11.4 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Japan has 26.5 as of 2022.
have 23.9% more access to essential health services
Sri Lanka scores 67 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Japan scores 83 as of 2021.
be 18.2% more likely to die by suicide
Sri Lanka has a suicide rate of 14.7 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Japan, it is 17.4 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 38.7% less likely to be unemployed
In Sri Lanka, 4.0% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Japan, that number is 2.5% as of 2025.
make 7.2 times more money
Sri Lanka has a GDP per capita of $5,002 as of 2025, while in Japan, the GDP per capita is $35,951 as of 2025.
Life
be 83.3% less 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 Japan, 3.0 women do as of 2023.
be 65.4% less 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 Japan, on the other hand, 1.8 children do as of 2024.
have 43.6% fewer children
In Sri Lanka, there are approximately 10.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Japan, there are 5.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 56.7% more likely to have internet access
In Sri Lanka, approximately 54.6% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Japan, about 85.5% do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 82.5% more on education
Sri Lanka spends 1.8% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Japan spends 3.3% of total GDP on education as of 2021.
spend 2.9 times more on healthcare
Sri Lanka spends 3.7% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Japan, that number is 10.7% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 22.2 times more coastline
Sri Lanka has a total of 1,340 km of coastline. In Japan, that number is 29,751 km.
Safety
be 76.5% less likely to die in a road accident
In Sri Lanka, road accidents kill 11.5 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Japan, they kill 2.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 4.6 times more home broadband
Sri Lanka has 8.5 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Japan has 38.6 as of 2023.
live with 59.6% less strain on fresh water
Sri Lanka withdraws 91% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Japan withdraws 37% as of 2022.
use 11.7 times more electricity
Sri Lanka uses 644 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Japan uses 7,530 kWh as of 2024.
Environment
be 67.6% less likely to die from air pollution
In Sri Lanka, air pollution causes 37.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Japan, it causes 12.0 as of 2019.
emit 7.4 times more CO2
Sri Lanka emits 1.1 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Japan emits 7.8 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Sri Lanka vs. Japan
Japan: At a glance
How big is Japan compared to Sri Lanka? See an in-depth size comparison.