Number of people living in extreme poverty: September 2024 data vs. latest data in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Number of people living in extreme poverty: September 2024 data vs. latest data was 589,870 people in 2019. ◆ Volatile
Number of people living in extreme poverty: September 2024 data vs. latest data in Sri Lanka, 1985–2019
Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in people.
Analysis
The most recent figure for number of people living in extreme poverty: september 2024 data vs. latest data in Sri Lanka is 589,870 people, measured in 2019. That is the lowest value across all 9 years on record.
That represents a change of down 27.1% on the previous year and down 63.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of people living in extreme poverty: september 2024 data vs. latest data in Sri Lanka peaked at 4.39 million people in 1985 and was at its lowest, 589,870 people, in 2019.
Sri Lanka ranks 47th of 120 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 4.39 million people | 4.39 million people | 4.39 million people | 1 |
| 1990s | 3.96 million people | 3.84 million people | 4.08 million people | 2 |
| 2000s | 2.74 million people | 1.63 million people | 4.10 million people | 3 |
| 2010s | 908,909 people | 589,870 people | 1.33 million people | 3 |
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)
- 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)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 9.8% (2023)
- Gender Inequality Index 0.367 (2023)
- Lifespan inequality: Gini coefficient in women 0.0829 (2023)
- Lifespan inequality: Gini coefficient by sex 0.0829 (2023)
- Lifespan inequality: Gini coefficient in men 0.1045 (2023)
- Share of government consumption in GDP vs. share of population living in extreme poverty 14.7% (2023)
- Income inequality: Atkinson index 0.3658 (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is number of people living in extreme poverty: september 2024 data vs. latest data in Sri Lanka?
- Number of people living in extreme poverty: september 2024 data vs. latest data in Sri Lanka was 589,870 people in 2019, according to World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest number of people living in extreme poverty: september 2024 data vs. latest data recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 4.39 million people in 1985.
- What is the lowest number of people living in extreme poverty: september 2024 data vs. latest data recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 589,870 people in 2019.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for number of people living in extreme poverty: september 2024 data vs. latest data?
- Sri Lanka ranks 47th out of 120 countries with data for 2019.
- Is number of people living in extreme poverty: september 2024 data vs. latest data rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is down 63.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Sri Lanka data come from?
- The figures come from World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Number of people living in extreme poverty: September 2024 data vs. latest data. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Number of people living in households with an income or consumption below $3 per day.