Poverty: Share of population living on less than $40 a day in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Poverty: Share of population living on less than $40 a day was 98.2% in 2019. ▬ Flat
Poverty: Share of population living on less than $40 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
In 2019, poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day in Sri Lanka stood at 98.2%.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.1% on the previous year and down 1.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day in Sri Lanka peaked at 100.0% in 1985 and was at its lowest, 98.1%, in 2016.
That places Sri Lanka 42nd out of 120 countries with data for 2019, putting it in the middle of the range.
Poverty: Share of population living on less than $40 a day in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 100.0% | — |
| 1990 | 99.8% | -0.2% |
| 1995 | 99.8% | -0.0% |
| 2002 | 99.3% | -0.5% |
| 2006 | 99.1% | -0.2% |
| 2009 | 99.3% | +0.2% |
| 2012 | 98.8% | -0.6% |
| 2016 | 98.1% | -0.7% |
| 2019 | 98.2% | +0.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 1 |
| 1990s | 99.8% | 99.8% | 99.8% | 2 |
| 2000s | 99.2% | 99.1% | 99.3% | 3 |
| 2010s | 98.4% | 98.1% | 98.8% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
- 39 Republic of Moldova 98.8% compare
- 40 Ukraine 98.4% compare
- 41 Albania 98.3% compare
- 43 Iran, Islamic Republic of 98.0% compare
- 44 Mongolia 97.9% compare
- 45 Kazakhstan 97.5% compare
More poverty & inequality data for Sri Lanka
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 2 surveys (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per person (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per US$ 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: share of population living on less than $40 a day in Sri Lanka?
- Poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day in Sri Lanka was 98.2% in 2019, according to World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 100.0% in 1985.
- What is the lowest poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 98.1% in 2016.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day?
- Sri Lanka ranks 42nd out of 120 countries with data for 2019.
- Is poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is down 1.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- 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: Share of population living on less than $40 a day. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Percentage of population living in households with an income or consumption below $40 per day.