diff --git a/django/contrib/gis/db/backends/spatialite/features.py b/django/contrib/gis/db/backends/spatialite/features.py
index 5bc4b88de80..5e9f3b66f3b 100644
--- a/django/contrib/gis/db/backends/spatialite/features.py
+++ b/django/contrib/gis/db/backends/spatialite/features.py
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ from django.contrib.gis.db.backends.base.features import BaseSpatialFeatures
 from django.contrib.gis.geos import geos_version
 from django.db.backends.sqlite3.features import \
     DatabaseFeatures as SQLiteDatabaseFeatures
+from django.utils.encoding import force_text
 from django.utils.functional import cached_property
 
 
@@ -19,4 +20,4 @@ class DatabaseFeatures(BaseSpatialFeatures, SQLiteDatabaseFeatures):
 
     @cached_property
     def supports_3d_storage(self):
-        return geos_version() >= '3.3'
+        return force_text(geos_version()) >= '3.3'