Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Sri Lanka instead of Malawi, you would:

Health

be 98.8% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS

In Malawi, 8.1% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2020. In Sri Lanka, that number is 0.1% of people as of 2020.

live 5.1 years longer

In Malawi, the average life expectancy is 72 years (69 years for men, 76 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.

be 10.3% less likely to be obese

In Malawi, 5.8% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Sri Lanka, that number is 5.2% of people as of 2016.

Economy

make 7.6 times more money

Malawi has a GDP per capita of $1,700 as of 2023, while in Sri Lanka, the GDP per capita is $13,000 as of 2023.

be 71.8% less likely to live below the poverty line

In Malawi, 50.7% live below the poverty line as of 2019. In Sri Lanka, however, that number is 14.3% as of 2019.

pay a 50.0% lower top tax rate

Malawi has a top tax rate of 30.0% as of 2016. In Sri Lanka, the top tax rate is 15.0% as of 2016.

be 26.2% more likely to be unemployed

In Malawi, 5.0% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Sri Lanka, that number is 6.4% as of 2023.

Life

be 92.4% less likely to die during childbirth

In Malawi, approximately 381.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Sri Lanka, 29.0 women do as of 2020.

be 37.1% more likely to be literate

In Malawi, the literacy rate is 67.3% as of 2021. In Sri Lanka, it is 92.3% as of 2019.

be 75.5% less likely to die during infancy

In Malawi, approximately 33.4 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 45.5% fewer children

In Malawi, there are approximately 26.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Sri Lanka, there are 14.5 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

Basic Needs

be 7.1 times more likely to have access to electricity

In Malawi, approximately 14% of people have electricity access (54% in urban areas, and 6% in rural areas) as of 2022. In Sri Lanka, that number is 100% of people on average (100% in urban areas, and 95% in rural areas) as of 2022.

be 2.8 times more likely to have internet access

In Malawi, approximately 24.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Sri Lanka, about 67.0% do as of 2021.

Expenditures

spend 34.5% less on education

Malawi spends 2.9% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Sri Lanka spends 1.9% of total GDP on education as of 2019.

spend 24.1% less on healthcare

Malawi spends 5.4% 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: Malawi Revenue Authority, The World Factbook, Sri Lanka Inland Revenue Department.

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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How big is Sri Lanka compared to Malawi? See an in-depth size comparison.

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