Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

be 92.3% more likely to be obese

In Sri Lanka, 5.2% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Thailand, that number is 10.0% of people as of 2016.

Economy

make 43.4% more money

Sri Lanka has a GDP per capita of $12,200 as of 2022, while in Thailand, the GDP per capita is $17,500 as of 2022.

be 84.8% less likely to be unemployed

In Sri Lanka, 6.2% of adults are unemployed as of 2022. In Thailand, that number is 0.9% as of 2022.

be 55.9% less likely to live below the poverty line

In Sri Lanka, 14.3% live below the poverty line as of 2019. In Thailand, however, that number is 6.3% as of 2021.

pay a 2.3 times higher top tax rate

Sri Lanka has a top tax rate of 15.0% as of 2016. In Thailand, the top tax rate is 35.0% as of 2016.

Life

be 21.1% less likely to die during infancy

In Sri Lanka, approximately 8.2 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Thailand, on the other hand, 6.5 children do as of 2022.

have 31.7% fewer children

In Sri Lanka, there are approximately 14.5 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Thailand, there are 9.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

Basic Needs

be 26.9% more likely to have internet access

In Sri Lanka, approximately 67.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Thailand, about 85.0% do as of 2021.

Expenditures

spend 68.4% more on education

Sri Lanka spends 1.9% of its total GDP on education as of 2019. Thailand spends 3.2% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

Geography

see 2.4 times more coastline

Sri Lanka has a total of 1,340 km of coastline. In Thailand, that number is 3,219 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, The Revenue Department, Government of Thailand, Sri Lanka Inland Revenue Department.

Thailand: At a glance

Thailand is a sovereign country in East/Southeast Asia, with a total land area of approximately 510,890 sq km. A unified Thai kingdom was established in the mid-14th century. Known as Siam until 1939, Thailand is the only Southeast Asian country never to have been taken over by a European power. A bloodless revolution in 1932 led to a constitutional monarchy. In alliance with Japan during World War II, Thailand became a US treaty ally in 1954 after sending troops to Korea and later fighting alongside the United States in Vietnam. Thailand since 2005 has experienced several rounds of political turmoil including a military coup in 2006 that ousted then Prime Minister THAKSIN Chinnawat, followed by large-scale street protests by competing political factions in 2008, 2009, and 2010. THAKSIN's youngest sister, YINGLAK Chinnawat, in 2011 led the Puea Thai Party to an electoral win and assumed control of the government. A blanket amnesty bill for individuals involved in street protests, altered at the last minute to include all political crimes - including all convictions against THAKSIN - triggered months of large-scale anti-government protests in Bangkok beginning in November 2013. In early May 2014 YINGLAK was removed from office and in late May 2014 the Royal Thai Army staged a coup against the caretaker government. Thailand has also experienced violence associated with the ethno-nationalist insurgency in Thailand's southern Malay-Muslim majority provinces. Since January 2004, thousands have been killed and wounded in the insurgency.
Read more

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

Share this

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Thailand.or Sri Lanka It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.