What the data says about Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is classified as an upper-middle-income economy, a tier where statistical capacity, and therefore data completeness, varies more widely than in high-income countries, so a missing or older data point on this profile usually reflects reporting lag rather than an absence of the underlying activity. Output and income figures are reported at market exchange rates in current dollars, which means currency depreciation or appreciation can shift the headline numbers for a small economy like this one even when the real economy is barely moving. Because these economies are also the ones most likely to shift income tier within a decade, the trend over several years usually tells a more useful story than any single year's value.

Sri Lanka sits in South Asia with a population of 21.9 million, placing it 60th out of 217 countries by headcount. Its capital, Colombo, anchors a Upper middle income economy with total GDP of $99.6 billion - ranked 73rd globally, and GDP per capita of $4,545. This combination of demographic scale and economic output shapes everything from household purchasing power and domestic market depth to the country's weight in regional trade flows and international development programmes.

Life expectancy at birth in Sri Lanka is 77.7 years, ranking 78th worldwide and offering a summary read on healthcare access, nutrition, sanitation, and long-run living standards. The World Bank's World Development Indicators, combined with the WHO Global Health Observatory and ILO ILOSTAT wage statistics, expose 41 data points across 7 thematic areas, from fertility and urbanisation to CO₂ emissions, school enrolment, and labour-force participation. Reading these indicators together, rather than in isolation, is what turns headline numbers into a grounded portrait of how people actually live.

Use the indicator tables below to track trajectories over time, jump to Sri Lanka's placement on specific rankings such as GDP, population density, or life expectancy, and open the side-by-side Compare view to benchmark against peers inside South Asia or across income groups. Because all figures come from official, CC BY 4.0-licensed datasets with clear vintages, you can cite them directly in research or journalism. Where a field reads "N/A", the upstream agency has not yet released that value for Sri Lanka - we never fabricate estimates or carry forward stale values, so missing points stay visible rather than quietly filled in.