Total population in extreme poverty in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Total population in extreme poverty was 589,870 in 2019. ◆ Volatile
Latest (2019)
589,870
Change on year
down 27.1%
World rank
47th
of 120 countries
All-time high
4.39 million
in 1985
All-time low
589,870
in 2019
Years of data
9
1985–2019
Total population in extreme poverty in Sri Lanka, 1985–2019
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2019, total population in extreme poverty in Sri Lanka stood at 589,870. That is the lowest value across all 9 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 27.1% on the previous year and down 63.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, total population in extreme poverty in Sri Lanka peaked at 4.39 million in 1985 and was at its lowest, 589,870, in 2019.
Sri Lanka ranks 47th of 120 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 4.39 million | 4.39 million | 4.39 million | 1 |
| 1990s | 3.96 million | 3.84 million | 4.08 million | 2 |
| 2000s | 2.74 million | 1.63 million | 4.10 million | 3 |
| 2010s | 908,909 | 589,870 | 1.33 million | 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)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality 9.85 (2023)
- Gender inequality index from the human development report 0.367 (2023)
- Share of government consumption in gdp vs share in extreme poverty 14.66 (2023)
- Gini coefficient of lifespan inequality in females 0.0829 (2023)
- Gini coefficient of lifespan inequality by sex 0.0829 (2023)
- Gini coefficient of lifespan inequality in males 0.1045 (2023)
- Income inequality atkinson index undp 0.3658 (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is total population in extreme poverty in Sri Lanka?
- Total population in extreme poverty in Sri Lanka was 589,870 in 2019, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest total population in extreme poverty recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 4.39 million in 1985.
- What is the lowest total population in extreme poverty recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 589,870 in 2019.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for total population in extreme poverty?
- Sri Lanka ranks 47th out of 120 countries with data for 2019.
- Is total population in extreme poverty rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is down 63.7%. 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 Total 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).