Share of population in extreme poverty in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Share of population in extreme poverty was 2.71 in 2019. ◆ Volatile
Latest (2019)
2.71
Change on year
down 29.0%
World rank
48th
of 120 countries
All-time high
28.25
in 1985
All-time low
2.71
in 2019
Years of data
9
1985–2019
Share of population in extreme poverty in Sri Lanka, 1985–2019
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2019, share of population in extreme poverty in Sri Lanka stood at 2.71. That is the lowest value across all 9 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 29.0% on the previous year and down 65.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population in extreme poverty in Sri Lanka peaked at 28.25 in 1985 and was at its lowest, 2.71, in 2019.
That places Sri Lanka 48th out of 120 countries with data for 2019, putting it in the middle of the range.
Share of population in extreme poverty in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 28.25 | — |
| 1990 | 23.37 | -17.3% |
| 1995 | 23.03 | -1.5% |
| 2002 | 20.71 | -10.1% |
| 2006 | 12.16 | -41.3% |
| 2009 | 7.81 | -35.8% |
| 2012 | 6.36 | -18.5% |
| 2016 | 3.81 | -40.1% |
| 2019 | 2.71 | -29.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 28.25 | 28.25 | 28.25 | 1 |
| 1990s | 23.2 | 23.03 | 23.37 | 2 |
| 2000s | 13.56 | 7.81 | 20.71 | 3 |
| 2010s | 4.29 | 2.71 | 6.36 | 3 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
More poverty & inequality data for Sri Lanka
- Data deprivation poverty surveys per decade 2 (2025)
- Fertility rate vs the share living in extreme poverty 1.97 (2023)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty 3,804 (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 revenues vs income inequality 9.85 (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, annual growth rate 32.5 % change on previous year (2023)
- Gender inequality index from the human development report 0.367 (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of population in extreme poverty in Sri Lanka?
- Share of population in extreme poverty in Sri Lanka was 2.71 in 2019, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of population in extreme poverty recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 28.25 in 1985.
- What is the lowest share of population in extreme poverty recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.71 in 2019.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for share of population in extreme poverty?
- Sri Lanka ranks 48th out of 120 countries with data for 2019.
- Is share of population in extreme poverty rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is down 65.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Sri Lanka data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Share of population in extreme poverty. 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).