Population living in slums in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Population living in slums was 44.7% in 2022. ▼ Falling
Population living in slums in Sri Lanka, 2000–2022
Source: Urban Indicators Database, UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat). Measured in % of urban population.
Analysis
In 2022, population living in slums in Sri Lanka stood at 44.7%. That is the lowest value across all 12 years on record.
The figure is down 11.4% on the previous year and down 15.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, population living in slums in Sri Lanka peaked at 57.6% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 44.7%, in 2022.
Sri Lanka ranks 46th of 174 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 12 years of available data.
Population living in slums in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | % of urban population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 57.6% | — |
| 2002 | 56.8% | -1.4% |
| 2004 | 56.0% | -1.4% |
| 2006 | 55.3% | -1.3% |
| 2008 | 54.5% | -1.4% |
| 2010 | 53.7% | -1.4% |
| 2012 | 52.9% | -1.4% |
| 2014 | 52.2% | -1.4% |
| 2016 | 51.4% | -1.4% |
| 2018 | 50.7% | -1.5% |
| 2020 | 50.4% | -0.5% |
| 2022 | 44.7% | -11.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 56.0% | 54.5% | 57.6% | 5 |
| 2010s | 52.2% | 50.7% | 53.7% | 5 |
| 2020s | 47.6% | 44.7% | 50.4% | 2 |
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 population living in slums in Sri Lanka?
- Population living in slums in Sri Lanka was 44.7% in 2022, according to Urban Indicators Database, UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat).
- What is the highest population living in slums recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 57.6% in 2000.
- What is the lowest population living in slums recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 44.7% in 2022.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for population living in slums?
- Sri Lanka ranks 46th out of 174 countries with data for 2022.
- Is population living in slums rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is down 15.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sri Lanka data come from?
- The figures come from Urban Indicators Database, UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), published as part of Population living in slums (% of urban population). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 12 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Population living in slums is the proportion of the urban population living in slum households. A slum household is defined as a group of individuals living under the same roof lacking one or more of the following conditions: access to improved water, access to improved sanitation, sufficient living area, housing durability, and security of tenure, as adopted in the Millennium Development Goal Target 7.D. The successor, the Sustainable Development Goal 11.1.1, considers inadequate housing (housing affordability) to complement the above definition of slums/informal settlements.