What is population growth rate in Sri Lanka?

Population growth rate in Sri Lanka was 0.6% in 2023, according to UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data.

What is the highest population growth rate recorded in Sri Lanka?

The highest recorded value was 2.5% in 1964.

What is the lowest population growth rate recorded in Sri Lanka?

The lowest recorded value was 0.2% in 1990.

How does Sri Lanka rank for population growth rate?

Sri Lanka ranks 139th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.

Is population growth rate rising or falling in Sri Lanka?

Over the last ten years it is down 35.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.

Where does this Sri Lanka data come from?

The figures come from UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Population growth rate. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Population growth rate in Sri Lanka

Name: Population growth rate in Sri Lanka
Creator: UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data
License: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)

Sri Lanka: Population growth rate was 0.6% in 2023. ▼ Falling

Latest (2023)

0.6%

Change on year

down 4.9%

World rank

139th

of 236 countries

All-time high

2.5%

in 1964

All-time low

0.2%

in 1990

Years of data

1950–2023

Population growth rate in Sri Lanka, 1950–2023

Source: UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

Sri Lanka recorded 0.6% for population growth rate in 2023.

That represents a change of down 4.9% on the previous year and down 35.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, population growth rate in Sri Lanka peaked at 2.5% in 1964 and was at its lowest, 0.2%, in 1990.

Sri Lanka ranks 139th of 236 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 74 years of available data.

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1950s	2.1%	1.8%	2.4%	10
1960s	2.4%	2.3%	2.5%	10
1970s	1.9%	1.8%	2.2%	10
1980s	1.0%	0.2%	1.8%	10
1990s	1.6%	0.2%	1.9%	10
2000s	0.9%	0.6%	1.8%	10
2010s	0.8%	0.6%	0.9%	10
2020s	0.6%	0.6%	0.7%	4

Countries ranked near Sri Lanka

136 Samoa 0.6% compare
137 Switzerland 0.6% compare
138 United States 0.6% compare
140 Chile 0.6% compare
141 Sweden 0.6% compare
142 Guyana 0.6% compare

See the full ranking of 236 places →

More population data for Sri Lanka

Literate and illiterate world population 7.3% (2024)

All data for Sri Lanka →

Frequently asked questions

What is population growth rate in Sri Lanka?: Population growth rate in Sri Lanka was 0.6% in 2023, according to UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest population growth rate recorded in Sri Lanka?: The highest recorded value was 2.5% in 1964.
What is the lowest population growth rate recorded in Sri Lanka?: The lowest recorded value was 0.2% in 1990.
How does Sri Lanka rank for population growth rate?: Sri Lanka ranks 139th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
Is population growth rate rising or falling in Sri Lanka?: Over the last ten years it is down 35.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Sri Lanka data come from?: The figures come from UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Population growth rate. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 74 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator: Population growth rate
Unit: %
Source: UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 236 places, 17,464 data points, 1950–2023
Last refreshed: 06 August 2026

The annual rate at which the population is growing, expressed as a percentage.