What is the difference in years a country was a european overseas colony between Haiti and Sri Lanka?

49 years, with Sri Lanka ahead.

How many years of comparable data are there for Haiti and Sri Lanka?

561 years are reported by both, from 1462 to 2022.

Where does this data come from?

Bastian Becker (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Years a country was a European overseas colony. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Haiti vs Sri Lanka: Years a country was a European overseas colony

Haiti

140 years

in 2022

Sri Lanka

189 years

in 2022

Haiti rank

50th

Sri Lanka rank

47th

Years a country was a European overseas colony over time

Haiti
Sri Lanka

How they compare

Sri Lanka currently reports 189 years against 140 years in Haiti, a difference of 49 years.

That makes Sri Lanka's figure about 1.4 times Haiti's.

The two have swapped places 2 times across 561 shared years of data; in 1462 it was Sri Lanka ahead.

Haiti ranks 50th and Sri Lanka ranks 47th of 159 countries.

Across the 57 decades both report, Haiti averaged higher in 20 and Sri Lanka in 22.

Head to head by decade

Decade	Haiti	Sri Lanka	Difference	Ahead
1460s	0 years	0 years	0 years	—
1470s	0 years	0 years	0 years	—
1480s	0 years	0 years	0 years	—
1490s	0 years	0 years	0 years	—
1500s	0 years	0 years	0 years	—
1510s	0 years	0 years	0 years	—
1520s	0 years	0 years	0 years	—
1530s	0 years	0 years	0 years	—
1540s	0 years	0 years	0 years	—
1550s	0 years	0 years	0 years	—
1560s	0 years	0 years	0 years	—
1570s	0 years	0 years	0 years	—
1580s	0 years	0 years	0 years	—
1590s	0 years	0 years	0 years	—
1600s	0 years	0 years	0 years	—
1610s	0 years	0.1 years	0.1 years	Sri Lanka
1620s	0 years	6.5 years	6.5 years	Sri Lanka
1630s	0 years	16.5 years	16.5 years	Sri Lanka
1640s	0 years	26.5 years	26.5 years	Sri Lanka
1650s	0 years	35.9 years	35.9 years	Sri Lanka
1660s	1.5 years	38 years	36.5 years	Sri Lanka
1670s	10.5 years	38 years	27.5 years	Sri Lanka
1680s	20.5 years	38 years	17.5 years	Sri Lanka
1690s	30.5 years	38 years	7.5 years	Sri Lanka
1700s	40.5 years	38 years	2.5 years	Haiti
1710s	50.5 years	38 years	12.5 years	Haiti
1720s	60.5 years	38 years	22.5 years	Haiti
1730s	70.5 years	38 years	32.5 years	Haiti
1740s	80.5 years	38 years	42.5 years	Haiti
1750s	90.5 years	38 years	52.5 years	Haiti
1760s	100.5 years	38 years	62.5 years	Haiti
1770s	110.5 years	38 years	72.5 years	Haiti
1780s	120.5 years	38 years	82.5 years	Haiti
1790s	130.5 years	38.3 years	92.2 years	Haiti
1800s	139 years	45.5 years	93.5 years	Haiti
1810s	140 years	55.5 years	84.5 years	Haiti
1820s	140 years	65.5 years	74.5 years	Haiti
1830s	140 years	75.5 years	64.5 years	Haiti
1840s	140 years	85.5 years	54.5 years	Haiti
1850s	140 years	95.5 years	44.5 years	Haiti
1860s	140 years	105.5 years	34.5 years	Haiti
1870s	140 years	115.5 years	24.5 years	Haiti
1880s	140 years	125.5 years	14.5 years	Haiti
1890s	140 years	135.5 years	4.5 years	Haiti
1900s	140 years	145.5 years	5.5 years	Sri Lanka
1910s	140 years	155.5 years	15.5 years	Sri Lanka
1920s	140 years	165.5 years	25.5 years	Sri Lanka
1930s	140 years	175.5 years	35.5 years	Sri Lanka
1940s	140 years	185.4 years	45.4 years	Sri Lanka
1950s	140 years	189 years	49 years	Sri Lanka
1960s	140 years	189 years	49 years	Sri Lanka
1970s	140 years	189 years	49 years	Sri Lanka
1980s	140 years	189 years	49 years	Sri Lanka
1990s	140 years	189 years	49 years	Sri Lanka
2000s	140 years	189 years	49 years	Sri Lanka
2010s	140 years	189 years	49 years	Sri Lanka
2020s	140 years	189 years	49 years	Sri Lanka

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher years a country was a european overseas colony, Haiti or Sri Lanka?: Sri Lanka, at 189 years against 140 years in Haiti as of 2022.
What is the difference in years a country was a european overseas colony between Haiti and Sri Lanka?: 49 years, with Sri Lanka ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Haiti and Sri Lanka?: 561 years are reported by both, from 1462 to 2022.
How do Haiti and Sri Lanka rank globally for years a country was a european overseas colony?: Haiti ranks 50th and Sri Lanka ranks 47th of 159 countries.
Where does this data come from?: Bastian Becker (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Years a country was a European overseas colony. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Haiti vs Sri Lanka: Years a country was a European overseas colony. Statizoid, drawing on Bastian Becker (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 23 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/compare/years-colonized/haiti/sri-lanka/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://reference.statizoid.com/compare/years-colonized/haiti/sri-lanka/">Haiti vs Sri Lanka: Years a country was a European overseas colony</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator: Years a country was a European overseas colony
Unit: years
Source: Bastian Becker (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 159 places, 88,747 data points, 1462–2022
Last refreshed: 18 September 2026

Number of years the country has been colonized from overseas by the European colonial power(s) in a specific year, between Belgium, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and Italy, or a combination of them.