Relative poverty: Share of population below 60% of the median in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Relative poverty: Share of population below 60% of the median was 17.3% in 2019. ▲ Rising
Relative poverty: Share of population below 60% of the median in Sri Lanka, 1985–2019
Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Sri Lanka recorded 17.3% for relative poverty: share of population below 60% of the median in 2019.
That represents a change of down 1.2% on the previous year and up 11.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, relative poverty: share of population below 60% of the median in Sri Lanka peaked at 17.5% in 2016 and was at its lowest, 12.5%, in 1990.
Sri Lanka ranks 75th of 120 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
Relative poverty: Share of population below 60% of the median in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 17.0% | — |
| 1990 | 12.5% | -26.7% |
| 1995 | 14.4% | +15.4% |
| 2002 | 17.3% | +20.4% |
| 2006 | 17.5% | +0.8% |
| 2009 | 15.5% | -11.2% |
| 2012 | 16.5% | +6.6% |
| 2016 | 17.5% | +5.6% |
| 2019 | 17.3% | -1.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 17.0% | 17.0% | 17.0% | 1 |
| 1990s | 13.4% | 12.5% | 14.4% | 2 |
| 2000s | 16.8% | 15.5% | 17.5% | 3 |
| 2010s | 17.1% | 16.5% | 17.5% | 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 relative poverty: share of population below 60% of the median in Sri Lanka?
- Relative poverty: share of population below 60% of the median in Sri Lanka was 17.3% in 2019, according to World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest relative poverty: share of population below 60% of the median recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 17.5% in 2016.
- What is the lowest relative poverty: share of population below 60% of the median recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 12.5% in 1990.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for relative poverty: share of population below 60% of the median?
- Sri Lanka ranks 75th out of 120 countries with data for 2019.
- Is relative poverty: share of population below 60% of the median rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is up 11.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- 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 Relative poverty: Share of population below 60% of the median. 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
Percentage of population living in households with an income or consumption below 60% of the median.