Poverty: Share of population living on less than $30 a day in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Poverty: Share of population living on less than $30 a day was 96.5% in 2019. ▬ Flat
Poverty: Share of population living on less than $30 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 $30 a day in Sri Lanka stood at 96.5%.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 2.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, poverty: share of population living on less than $30 a day in Sri Lanka peaked at 99.7% in 1985 and was at its lowest, 96.5%, in 2016.
That places Sri Lanka 39th out of 120 countries with data for 2019, putting it in the middle of the range.
Poverty: Share of population living on less than $30 a day in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 99.7% | — |
| 1990 | 99.6% | -0.1% |
| 1995 | 99.4% | -0.2% |
| 2002 | 98.6% | -0.8% |
| 2006 | 98.1% | -0.5% |
| 2009 | 98.5% | +0.3% |
| 2012 | 97.4% | -1.1% |
| 2016 | 96.5% | -1.0% |
| 2019 | 96.5% | +0.0% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's 96.5% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 90.5%, 1.1× the median. (35 countries reporting)
- Sri Lanka's 96.5% is below the median for South Asia, which is 98.8%, 98% of the median. (5 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 99.7% | 99.7% | 99.7% | 1 |
| 1990s | 99.5% | 99.4% | 99.6% | 2 |
| 2000s | 98.4% | 98.1% | 98.6% | 3 |
| 2010s | 96.8% | 96.5% | 97.4% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
More poverty & inequality data for Sri Lanka
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 2 surveys (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per person (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per US$ 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: share of population living on less than $30 a day in Sri Lanka?
- Poverty: share of population living on less than $30 a day in Sri Lanka was 96.5% 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 $30 a day recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 99.7% in 1985.
- What is the lowest poverty: share of population living on less than $30 a day recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 96.5% in 2016.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for poverty: share of population living on less than $30 a day?
- Sri Lanka ranks 39th out of 120 countries with data for 2019.
- Is poverty: share of population living on less than $30 a day rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.0%. 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 $30 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 $30 per day.