Poverty: Share of population living on less than $8.30 a day in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Poverty: Share of population living on less than $8.30 a day was 53.3% in 2019. ▼ Falling
Poverty: Share of population living on less than $8.30 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 $8.30 a day in Sri Lanka stood at 53.3%. That is the lowest value across all 9 years on record.
That represents a change of down 5.8% on the previous year and down 24.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, poverty: share of population living on less than $8.30 a day in Sri Lanka peaked at 89.3% in 1985 and was at its lowest, 53.3%, in 2019.
Sri Lanka ranks 37th of 120 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
Poverty: Share of population living on less than $8.30 a day in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 89.3% | — |
| 1990 | 88.9% | -0.4% |
| 1995 | 84.5% | -4.9% |
| 2002 | 78.9% | -6.6% |
| 2006 | 72.2% | -8.5% |
| 2009 | 70.9% | -1.9% |
| 2012 | 64.9% | -8.4% |
| 2016 | 56.6% | -12.7% |
| 2019 | 53.3% | -5.8% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's 53.3% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 21.4%, 2.5× the median. (35 countries reporting)
- Sri Lanka's 53.3% is above the median for South Asia, which is 53.3%, 1.0× the median. (5 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 89.3% | 89.3% | 89.3% | 1 |
| 1990s | 86.7% | 84.5% | 88.9% | 2 |
| 2000s | 74.0% | 70.9% | 78.9% | 3 |
| 2010s | 58.3% | 53.3% | 64.9% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
More poverty & inequality data for Sri Lanka
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 2 surveys (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per person (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per US$ 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 $8.30 a day in Sri Lanka?
- Poverty: share of population living on less than $8.30 a day in Sri Lanka was 53.3% 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 $8.30 a day recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 89.3% in 1985.
- What is the lowest poverty: share of population living on less than $8.30 a day recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 53.3% in 2019.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for poverty: share of population living on less than $8.30 a day?
- Sri Lanka ranks 37th out of 120 countries with data for 2019.
- Is poverty: share of population living on less than $8.30 a day rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is down 24.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- 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 $8.30 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 $8.30 per day.