Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Sri Lanka instead of Laos, you would:
Health
live 9.3 years longer
In Laos, the average life expectancy is 68 years (66 years for men, 70 years for women) as of 2022. In Sri Lanka, that number is 78 years (75 years for men, 82 years for women) as of 2020.
Economy
make 54.8% more money
Laos has a GDP per capita of $8,400 as of 2023, while in Sri Lanka, the GDP per capita is $13,000 as of 2023.
be 21.9% less likely to live below the poverty line
In Laos, 18.3% live below the poverty line as of 2018. In Sri Lanka, however, that number is 14.3% as of 2019.
pay a 37.5% lower top tax rate
Laos has a top tax rate of 24.0% as of 2016. In Sri Lanka, the top tax rate is 15.0% as of 2016.
be 5.4 times more likely to be unemployed
In Laos, 1.2% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Sri Lanka, that number is 6.4% as of 2023.
Life
be 77.0% less likely to die during childbirth
In Laos, approximately 126.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Sri Lanka, 29.0 women do as of 2020.
be 78.3% less likely to die during infancy
In Laos, approximately 37.8 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Sri Lanka, on the other hand, 8.2 children do as of 2022.
have 26.8% fewer children
In Laos, there are approximately 19.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Sri Lanka, there are 14.5 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 17.4% less on education
Laos spends 2.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Sri Lanka spends 1.9% of total GDP on education as of 2019.
spend 51.9% more on healthcare
Laos spends 2.7% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Sri Lanka, that number is 4.1% of GDP as of 2020.
The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, Ministry of Finance, Sri Lanka Inland Revenue Department.
Sri Lanka: At a glance
How big is Sri Lanka compared to Laos? See an in-depth size comparison.