Sierra Leone vs Sri Lanka
Sierra Leone is 9% larger than Sri Lanka.
Sierra LeoneSri LankaSierra Leone moved onto Sri Lanka · Equal-area projection
1.09×
Sierra Leone is 1.09× the area of Sri Lanka.
 Sierra Leone |  Sri Lanka | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaSierra Leone: 1.09× the area | 71,740 km²#117 of 194 | 65,610 km²#120 of 194 |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Coast, no land border |
| Land neighbours | 2 | 0 |
| People | ||
| PopulationSri Lanka: 2.47× the population | 8,819,794#101 of 194 · 2025 | 21,756,000#63 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensitySri Lanka: 2.7× the density | 123 / km²#72 of 194 | 332 / km²#25 of 194 |
| Urban populationSierra Leone: 2.24× the urban share | 46%#135 of 192 · 2025 | 21%#187 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateSierra Leone: 1.9× the births per woman | 3.70 per woman#35 of 192 · 2024 | 1.95 per woman#99 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthSierra Leone: 2.77 points higher | +2.04%#46 of 192 · 2025 | −0.73%#186 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateSierra Leone: 2.98× the birth rate | 30.1 per 1,000#29 of 192 · 2024 | 10.1 per 1,000#138 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateSierra Leone: 1.05× the death rate | 8.2 per 1,000#68 of 192 · 2024 | 7.8 per 1,000#76 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Sierra Leone: 16.0 points higher | 37.7%#35 of 192 · 2025 | 21.7%#106 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65Sri Lanka: 9.2 points higher | 3.3%#158 of 192 · 2025 | 12.5%#68 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationSierra Leone: 0.1 per 1,000 higher | −1.3 per 1,000#124 of 192 · 2025 | −1.4 per 1,000#126 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadSri Lanka: 6.75× the refugees for its size | 1.01 per 1,000#59 of 190 · 2025 | 6.82 per 1,000#24 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancySri Lanka: 15.7 years longer | 62.0 years#181 of 192 · 2024 | 77.7 years#62 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalitySierra Leone: 10.5× the infant mortality | 54.6 per 1,000 births#12 of 191 · 2024 | 5.2 per 1,000 births#142 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsSri Lanka: 8.77× the doctors per person | 0.13 per 1,000#164 of 178 · 2022 | 1.14 per 1,000#104 of 178 · 2023 |
| University enrolment | — | 20.7%#116 of 145 · 2023 |
| Human Development IndexSri Lanka: 0.309 higher | 0.467#182 of 190 · 2023 | 0.776#88 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaSri Lanka: 5.63× the income per person | $830#174 of 185 · 2025 | $4,670#117 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPSri Lanka: 14.6× the economy | $7.46B2025 | $108.83B2025 |
| Income group | Low income | Upper-middle income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)Sri Lanka: 4.59× the output per person | $3,717#163 of 184 · 2025 | $17,065#102 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthSri Lanka: 0.4 points higher | +4.6%#51 of 187 · 2025 | +5.0%#45 of 187 · 2025 |
| InflationSierra Leone: 12.3 points higher | +7.5%#32 of 176 · 2025 | −4.8%#175 of 176 · 2025 |
| UnemploymentSri Lanka: 1.25× the unemployment | 3.2%#133 of 178 · 2025 | 4.0%#113 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme povertySierra Leone: 15.4× the share in extreme poverty | 41.5%#18 of 149 · 2018 | 2.7%#65 of 149 · 2019 |
| Income inequality (Gini)Sri Lanka: 2.0 higher | 35.7#66 of 149 · 2018 | 37.7#54 of 149 · 2019 |
| Jobs in agricultureSierra Leone: 18.6 points higher | 44.5% of jobs#31 of 178 · 2025 | 25.9% of jobs#71 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industrySri Lanka: 14.8 points higher | 11.5% of jobs#151 of 178 · 2025 | 26.3% of jobs#33 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesSri Lanka: 3.8 points higher | 44.0% of jobs#140 of 178 · 2025 | 47.8% of jobs#129 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentSierra Leone: 1.4 points higher | 2.4% of GDP#78 of 184 · 2025 | 1.0% of GDP#126 of 184 · 2025 |
| ExportsSierra Leone: 1.9 points higher | 20.9% of GDP#133 of 168 · 2025 | 19.0% of GDP#136 of 168 · 2025 |
| Military spendingSri Lanka: 3.54× the military spending | 0.4% of GDP#148 of 155 · 2025 | 1.3% of GDP#97 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersSri Lanka: 2.18× the share online | 25%#170 of 184 · 2024 | 55%#141 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsSri Lanka: 1.23× the mobile subscriptions | 108 per 100#114 of 191 · 2022 | 133 per 100#45 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaAbout the same forest share | 34% of land#90 of 192 · 2024 | 34% of land#87 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personSri Lanka: 6.24× the CO₂ per person | 0.17 t a year#170 of 185 · 2024 | 1.06 t a year#128 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energySierra Leone: 22.8 points higher | 71.6%#25 of 190 · 2022 | 48.8%#51 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricitySri Lanka: 60.8 points higher | 39.2%#182 of 192 · 2024 | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)About the same air pollution | 22.5 µg/m³#69 of 191 · 2023 | 22.7 µg/m³#68 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landSri Lanka: 18.2 points higher | 12.6% of land#134 of 191 · 2025 | 30.8% of land#31 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landSri Lanka: 0.3 points higher | 21.9% of land#48 of 190 · 2024 | 22.2% of land#46 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressSri Lanka: 182× the water stress | 0.5%#165 of 176 · 2022 | 90.8%#19 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationSierra Leone: 1.48× the rain and snow | 2,526 mm#13 of 180 · 2022 | 1,712 mm#45 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilitySri Lanka: 0.35 higher | −0.39#131 of 193 · 2025 | −0.04#108 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionSri Lanka: 0.50 higher | −0.78#140 of 193 · 2025 | −0.28#99 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rateSri Lanka: 1.5× the homicide rate | 2.2 per 100,000#74 of 146 · 2020 | 3.3 per 100,000#61 of 146 · 2019 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Presidential republic | Presidential republic |
| Capital | Freetown | Colombo |
| Currency | Leone (SLE) | Sri Lankan rupee (LKR) |
| Official languages | English, Krio | Tamil, Sinhala |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the left |
| Time zone | UTC | UTC+5:30 |
| Calling code | +232 | +94 |
| Region | Western Africa, Africa | Southern Asia, Asia |
Area: Wikidata. Population, income, health, economy, environment and governance: World Bank. Human Development Index: UNDP. Government: CIA World Factbook. Ranks among the 194 independent states. All sources
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Sierra Leone sits at about 9° N and is stretched to 1.02× its true area; Sri Lanka at 8° N is stretched to 1.02×. Here the two are distorted about the same amount, so Mercator gets this pair roughly right. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is Sierra Leone bigger than Sri Lanka?
- Yes. Sierra Leone is 9% larger than Sri Lanka. Sierra Leone covers 71,740 km² and Sri Lanka covers 65,610 km².
- How many times does Sri Lanka fit into Sierra Leone?
- About 1.1 times: Sierra Leone has 1.09× the area of Sri Lanka.
- Why do Sierra Leone and Sri Lanka look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Sierra Leone is drawn about 1.02× its true area there and Sri Lanka about 1.02×. For this pair the distortion is similar, so Mercator gets the comparison roughly right. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, Sierra Leone or Sri Lanka?
- Sri Lanka: 21,756,000 people against 8,819,794. Density: Sierra Leone 123 per km², Sri Lanka 332 per km².
- Which is richer, Sierra Leone or Sri Lanka?
- By gross national income per person, Sri Lanka: $4,670 against $830 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 5.63× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Sierra Leone or Sri Lanka?
- In Sri Lanka: life expectancy at birth is 77.7 years, against 62.0 — 15.7 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Sierra Leone and Sri Lanka have?
- The same form of government, by constitution: presidential republic (CIA World Factbook).