Share of population living in extreme poverty (2017 prices) in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Share of population living in extreme poverty (2017 prices) was 1.0% in 2019. ◆ Volatile
Share of population living in extreme poverty (2017 prices) in Sri Lanka, 1985–2019
Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Sri Lanka recorded 1.0% for share of population living in extreme poverty (2017 prices) in 2019. That is the lowest value across all 9 years on record.
That represents a change of down 26.0% on the previous year and down 72.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population living in extreme poverty (2017 prices) in Sri Lanka peaked at 17.2% in 1985 and was at its lowest, 1.0%, in 2019.
Sri Lanka ranks 59th of 119 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
Share of population living in extreme poverty (2017 prices) in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 17.2% | — |
| 1990 | 11.6% | -32.4% |
| 1995 | 11.8% | +1.4% |
| 2002 | 11.0% | -6.4% |
| 2006 | 5.6% | -48.9% |
| 2009 | 3.5% | -37.9% |
| 2012 | 2.6% | -26.0% |
| 2016 | 1.3% | -49.9% |
| 2019 | 1.0% | -26.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 17.2% | 17.2% | 17.2% | 1 |
| 1990s | 11.7% | 11.6% | 11.8% | 2 |
| 2000s | 6.7% | 3.5% | 11.0% | 3 |
| 2010s | 1.6% | 1.0% | 2.6% | 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 share of population living in extreme poverty (2017 prices) in Sri Lanka?
- Share of population living in extreme poverty (2017 prices) in Sri Lanka was 1.0% in 2019, according to World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of population living in extreme poverty (2017 prices) recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 17.2% in 1985.
- What is the lowest share of population living in extreme poverty (2017 prices) recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.0% in 2019.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for share of population living in extreme poverty (2017 prices)?
- Sri Lanka ranks 59th out of 119 countries with data for 2019.
- Is share of population living in extreme poverty (2017 prices) rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is down 72.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Sri Lanka data come from?
- The figures come from World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of population living in extreme poverty (2017 prices). 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 $2.15 per day.