Poverty gap index at $3 a day in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Poverty gap index at $3 a day was 0.4% in 2019. ◆ Volatile
Poverty gap index at $3 a day in Sri Lanka, 1985–2019
Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for poverty gap index at $3 a day in Sri Lanka is 0.4%, measured in 2019. That is the lowest value across all 9 years on record.
That represents a change of down 27.0% on the previous year and down 72.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, poverty gap index at $3 a day in Sri Lanka peaked at 6.8% in 1985 and was at its lowest, 0.4%, in 2019.
That places Sri Lanka 65th out of 120 countries with data for 2019, putting it in the middle of the range.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 6.8% | 6.8% | 6.8% | 1 |
| 1990s | 4.9% | 4.9% | 4.9% | 2 |
| 2000s | 2.7% | 1.5% | 4.5% | 3 |
| 2010s | 0.7% | 0.4% | 1.1% | 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)
- Share of government consumption in GDP vs. share of population living in extreme poverty 14.7% (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)
- Income inequality: Atkinson index 0.3658 (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is poverty gap index at $3 a day in Sri Lanka?
- Poverty gap index at $3 a day in Sri Lanka was 0.4% in 2019, according to World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest poverty gap index at $3 a day recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 6.8% in 1985.
- What is the lowest poverty gap index at $3 a day recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.4% in 2019.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for poverty gap index at $3 a day?
- Sri Lanka ranks 65th out of 120 countries with data for 2019.
- Is poverty gap index at $3 a day rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is down 72.3%. 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 Poverty gap index at $3 a day. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
The poverty gap index is a poverty measure that reflects both the prevalence and the depth of poverty. It is calculated as the share of population in poverty multiplied by the average shortfall from the poverty line (expressed as a % of the poverty line).