Income inequality: Atkinson index in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Income inequality: Atkinson index was 0.3658 in 2023. ▼ Falling
Income inequality: Atkinson index in Sri Lanka, 2010–2023
Source: UNDP, Human Development Report (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2023, income inequality: atkinson index in Sri Lanka stood at 0.3658. That is the lowest value across all 14 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 9.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, income inequality: atkinson index in Sri Lanka peaked at 0.4115 in 2010 and was at its lowest, 0.3658, in 2019.
Sri Lanka ranks 48th of 174 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 14 years of available data.
Income inequality: Atkinson index in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 0.4115 | — |
| 2011 | 0.4115 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 0.4115 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 0.4027 | -2.2% |
| 2014 | 0.4027 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 0.4027 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 0.3826 | -5.0% |
| 2017 | 0.3826 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 0.3826 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 0.3658 | -4.4% |
| 2020 | 0.3658 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 0.3658 | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 0.3658 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 0.3658 | +0.0% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's 0.3658 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.2515, 1.5× the median. (51 countries reporting)
- Sri Lanka's 0.3658 is above the median for South Asia, which is 0.3393, 1.1× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 0.3956 | 0.3658 | 0.4115 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.3658 | 0.3658 | 0.3658 | 4 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
More poverty & inequality data for Sri Lanka
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 2 surveys (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per person (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Fertility rate vs. share living in extreme poverty 1.97 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 3,804 kg per hectare (2023)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, annual growth rate 25.42 % change on previous year (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 9.85 (2023)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 9.8% (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is income inequality: atkinson index in Sri Lanka?
- Income inequality: atkinson index in Sri Lanka was 0.3658 in 2023, according to UNDP, Human Development Report (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest income inequality: atkinson index recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 0.4115 in 2010.
- What is the lowest income inequality: atkinson index recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.3658 in 2019.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for income inequality: atkinson index?
- Sri Lanka ranks 48th out of 174 countries with data for 2023.
- Is income inequality: atkinson index rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is down 9.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sri Lanka data come from?
- The figures come from UNDP, Human Development Report (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Income inequality: Atkinson index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 14 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
The Atkinson index measures inequality on a scale from 0 to 1. Higher values indicate higher inequality. Depending on the country and year, the data relates to income measured after taxes and benefits, or to consumption, per capita.