Ireland is 1.05× the size of Sri Lanka
Ireland covers about 69,400 km² (26,800 mi²) and Sri Lanka about 66,300 km² (25,600 mi²). Below, both outlines are drawn at one scale and centred on each other.
- 69,400km²Ireland
- 66,300km²Sri Lanka
100 km
- Ireland
- Sri Lanka
What fits
- Sri Lanka is 95% of the size of Ireland.
- Ireland is larger by 3,150 km² (1,220 mi²), which is 4.8% of the area of Sri Lanka.
- Measured in Belgiums: Ireland is about 2.26, Sri Lanka about 2.16.
How they differ
- Ireland is larger, but Sri Lanka has the larger population: 21.4 million against 5.1 million, 4.16× as many people.
- Per square kilometre that is 323 in Sri Lanka against 74 in Ireland: Sri Lanka is 4.36× as densely populated.
- Their centres are about 9,250 km apart.
- A standard web map misstates the comparison: Ireland at 53°N is drawn about 2.8× too large and Sri Lanka at 8°N about 1.0×, so the map shows Ireland as 2.86× the size of Sri Lanka instead of 1.05×.
- Together Ireland and Sri Lanka cover 136,000 km², close to the size of Bangladesh (137,000 km², 0.9% bigger).
- The gap between them, 3,150 km², is about the size of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (3,320 km²).
- At Sri Lanka's density, Ireland would have 22.5 million people (it has 5.1 million). At Ireland's density, Sri Lanka would have 4.9 million (it has 21.4 million).
- Ireland's centre is 45.6° of latitude, about 5,070 km, farther north than Sri Lanka's.
Who wins on what
| Measure | Winner | By |
|---|---|---|
| Larger area | Ireland | 1.05× |
| More people | Sri Lanka | 4.16× |
| More crowded | Sri Lanka | 4.36× |
| Farther north | Ireland | 45.6° of latitude |
| Stretched more on a web map | Ireland | 2.8× against 1.0× |
Both against the same yardsticks
| Yardstick | Ireland | Sri Lanka |
|---|---|---|
| Belgium 30,700 km² | 2.26× | 2.16× |
| United Kingdom 244,000 km² | 0.28× | 0.27× |
| Germany 358,000 km² | 0.19× | 0.19× |
| Japan 374,000 km² | 0.19× | 0.18× |
| France 548,000 km² | 0.13× | 0.12× |
| India 3,151,000 km² | 0.02× | 0.02× |
| Brazil 8,473,000 km² | 0.01× | 0.01× |
| United States 9,447,000 km² | 0.01× | 0.01× |
| Russia 16,980,000 km² | 1 in 245 | 1 in 256 |
Each figure is the place's area divided by the yardstick's.
Side by side
| Ireland | Sri Lanka | |
|---|---|---|
| Area, main territory | 69,400 km²26,800 mi² | 66,300 km²25,600 mi² |
| Population | 5.1 millionWikidata, 2022 | 21.4 millionWikidata, 2017 |
| Density | 74 per km² | 323 per km² |
| Official area | 69,800 km²Wikidata | 65,600 km²Wikidata |
| Capital | Dublin | Colombo; Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte |
| Latitude range | 51°N to 55°N | 6°N to 10°N |
| Continent | Europe | Asia |
Population: Wikidata 2022 and Wikidata 2017, covering each whole country. Official figures: Wikidata (CC0).
- Wikidata's official figure of 69,800 km² agrees with our measured area of 69,400 km², to within 2%.
- Wikidata's official figure of 65,600 km² agrees with our measured area of 66,300 km², to within 2%.
Similar in size to Ireland
Similar in size to Sri Lanka
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Sources and method
- Outlines
- Natural Earth, 1:10m Admin 0 - Countries, public domain
- Boundary
- De facto, as drawn by Natural Earth. Main territory: the largest landmass and every part within 1,000 km of it.
- Area
- Measured on the WGS84 ellipsoid from the full-detail outlines, shown rounded. Comparisons use main-territory area.
- Drawing
- Each outline is projected with an equal-area projection centred on its own centroid, so areas stay true and the two can be laid over each other.
- Data built
- 2026-11-11