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 64th out of 120 countries with data for 2019, putting it in the middle of the range.
Poverty gap index at $3 a day in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 6.8% | — |
| 1990 | 4.9% | -28.3% |
| 1995 | 4.9% | +1.9% |
| 2002 | 4.5% | -9.8% |
| 2006 | 2.3% | -48.7% |
| 2009 | 1.5% | -35.2% |
| 2012 | 1.1% | -25.1% |
| 2016 | 0.6% | -49.3% |
| 2019 | 0.4% | -27.0% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's 0.4% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.4%, 1.0× the median. (35 countries reporting)
- Sri Lanka's 0.4% is above the median for South Asia, which is 0.3%, 1.2× the median. (5 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 6.8% | 6.8% | 6.8% | 1 |
| 1990s | 4.9% | 4.9% | 4.9% | 2 |
| 2000s | 2.7% | 1.5% | 4.5% | 3 |
| 2010s | 0.7% | 0.4% | 1.1% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
More poverty & inequality data for Sri Lanka
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 2 surveys (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per person (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per US$ 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 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 64th 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
CSV · JSON — 9 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
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).