Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Sri Lanka instead of South Africa, you would:

Health

be 99.5% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS

In South Africa, 19.1% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2020. In Sri Lanka, that number is 0.1% of people as of 2020.

live 12.2 years longer

In South Africa, the average life expectancy is 65 years (64 years for men, 67 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 81.6% less likely to be obese

In South Africa, 28.3% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Sri Lanka, that number is 5.2% of people as of 2016.

Economy

be 77.3% less likely to be unemployed

In South Africa, 28.0% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Sri Lanka, that number is 6.4% as of 2023.

be 13.9% less likely to live below the poverty line

In South Africa, 16.6% live below the poverty line as of 2016. In Sri Lanka, however, that number is 14.3% as of 2019.

pay a 66.7% lower top tax rate

South Africa has a top tax rate of 45.0% as of 2017. In Sri Lanka, the top tax rate is 15.0% as of 2016.

Life

be 77.2% less likely to die during childbirth

In South Africa, approximately 127.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Sri Lanka, 29.0 women do as of 2020.

be 68.3% less likely to die during infancy

In South Africa, approximately 25.9 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 18.1% fewer children

In South Africa, there are approximately 17.7 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 15.6% more likely to have access to electricity

In South Africa, approximately 86% of people have electricity access (87% in urban areas, and 92% 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.

Expenditures

spend 71.2% less on education

South Africa spends 6.6% of its total GDP on education as of 2021. Sri Lanka spends 1.9% of total GDP on education as of 2019.

spend 52.3% less on healthcare

South Africa spends 8.6% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Sri Lanka, that number is 4.1% of GDP as of 2020.

Geography

see 52.1% less coastline

South Africa has a total of 2,798 km of coastline. In Sri Lanka, that number is 1,340 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, South African Revenue Service, 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 South Africa? See an in-depth size comparison.

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