Adequacy of social safety net programs in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka: Adequacy of social safety net programs was 6.5% in 2019. ▲ Rising

Latest (2019)
6.5%
Change on year
up 12.6%
World rank
22nd
of 33 countries
All-time high
6.5%
in 2019
All-time low
3.4%
in 2009
Years of data
5
2006–2019

Adequacy of social safety net programs in Sri Lanka, 2006–2019

02462006201220192006: 4 % of total welfare of beneficiary households2009: 3.4 % of total welfare of beneficiary households2012: 3.7 % of total welfare of beneficiary households2016: 5.8 % of total welfare of beneficiary households2019: 6.5 % of total welfare of beneficiary households

Source: ASPIRE: The Atlas of Social Protection, World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of total welfare of beneficiary households.

Analysis

In 2019, adequacy of social safety net programs in Sri Lanka stood at 6.5%. That is the highest value across all 5 years on record.

The figure is up 12.6% on the previous year and up 91.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, adequacy of social safety net programs in Sri Lanka peaked at 6.5% in 2019 and was at its lowest, 3.4%, in 2009.

Sri Lanka ranks 22nd of 33 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 3.7% 3.4% 4.0% 2
2010s 5.3% 3.7% 6.5% 3

Countries ranked near Sri Lanka

  1. 19 Vietnam 8.8% compare
  2. 21 Dominican Republic 6.9% compare
  3. 23 Paraguay 5.6% compare
  4. 24 Uruguay 5.2% compare
  5. 25 Bolivia 4.9% compare

See the full ranking of 33 places →

More reference data data for Sri Lanka

All data for Sri Lanka →

Frequently asked questions

What is adequacy of social safety net programs in Sri Lanka?
Adequacy of social safety net programs in Sri Lanka was 6.5% in 2019, according to ASPIRE: The Atlas of Social Protection, World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest adequacy of social safety net programs recorded in Sri Lanka?
The highest recorded value was 6.5% in 2019.
What is the lowest adequacy of social safety net programs recorded in Sri Lanka?
The lowest recorded value was 3.4% in 2009.
How does Sri Lanka rank for adequacy of social safety net programs?
Sri Lanka ranks 22nd out of 33 countries with data for 2019.
Is adequacy of social safety net programs rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
Over the last ten years it is up 91.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Sri Lanka data come from?
The figures come from ASPIRE: The Atlas of Social Protection, World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Adequacy of social safety net programs. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

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About this data

Indicator
Adequacy of social safety net programs
Unit
% of total welfare of beneficiary households
Source
ASPIRE: The Atlas of Social Protection, World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
33 places, 338 data points, 2004–2023
Last refreshed

Adequacy of social safety net programs is measured by the total transfer amount received by the population participating in social safety net programs as a share of their total welfare. Social safety net programs include cash transfers, social pensions, cash transfers, school feeding, and other social assistance programs.