Number of children under 5 in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Number of children under 5 was 1.64 million people in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
1.64 million people
Change on year
down 0.8%
World rank
70th
of 236 countries
All-time high
1.99 million people
in 1982
All-time low
1.21 million people
in 1950
Years of data
74
1950–2023
Number of children under 5 in Sri Lanka, 1950–2023
Source: UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in people.
Analysis
Sri Lanka recorded 1.64 million people for number of children under 5 in 2023.
That represents a change of down 0.8% on the previous year and down 9.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of children under 5 in Sri Lanka peaked at 1.99 million people in 1982 and was at its lowest, 1.21 million people, in 1950.
Sri Lanka ranks 70th of 236 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 74 years of available data.
Number of children under 5 in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 1.21 million people | — |
| 1951 | 1.23 million people | +1.6% |
| 1952 | 1.25 million people | +1.5% |
| 1953 | 1.27 million people | +1.5% |
| 1954 | 1.30 million people | +2.1% |
| 1955 | 1.33 million people | +2.5% |
| 1956 | 1.36 million people | +2.4% |
| 1957 | 1.39 million people | +2.4% |
| 1958 | 1.43 million people | +2.7% |
| 1959 | 1.47 million people | +2.9% |
| 1960 | 1.52 million people | +2.9% |
| 1961 | 1.56 million people | +2.7% |
| 1962 | 1.59 million people | +2.3% |
| 1963 | 1.62 million people | +1.8% |
| 1964 | 1.65 million people | +1.5% |
| 1965 | 1.67 million people | +1.3% |
| 1966 | 1.69 million people | +1.3% |
| 1967 | 1.71 million people | +1.4% |
| 1968 | 1.74 million people | +1.4% |
| 1969 | 1.76 million people | +1.1% |
| 1970 | 1.77 million people | +0.9% |
| 1971 | 1.78 million people | +0.7% |
| 1972 | 1.79 million people | +0.3% |
| 1973 | 1.79 million people | -0.1% |
| 1974 | 1.78 million people | -0.2% |
| 1975 | 1.78 million people | -0.1% |
| 1976 | 1.79 million people | +0.4% |
| 1977 | 1.81 million people | +0.9% |
| 1978 | 1.84 million people | +1.7% |
| 1979 | 1.88 million people | +2.5% |
| 1980 | 1.93 million people | +2.6% |
| 1981 | 1.97 million people | +2.1% |
| 1982 | 1.99 million people | +0.8% |
| 1983 | 1.97 million people | -1.1% |
| 1984 | 1.91 million people | -2.7% |
| 1985 | 1.85 million people | -3.4% |
| 1986 | 1.78 million people | -3.8% |
| 1987 | 1.72 million people | -3.6% |
| 1988 | 1.67 million people | -2.7% |
| 1989 | 1.64 million people | -1.8% |
| 1990 | 1.62 million people | -1.2% |
| 1991 | 1.61 million people | -0.5% |
| 1992 | 1.62 million people | +0.5% |
| 1993 | 1.64 million people | +1.1% |
| 1994 | 1.65 million people | +1.0% |
| 1995 | 1.67 million people | +1.0% |
| 1996 | 1.68 million people | +1.0% |
| 1997 | 1.70 million people | +0.9% |
| 1998 | 1.71 million people | +0.7% |
| 1999 | 1.72 million people | +0.4% |
| 2000 | 1.72 million people | +0.3% |
| 2001 | 1.74 million people | +0.7% |
| 2002 | 1.75 million people | +1.0% |
| 2003 | 1.77 million people | +1.0% |
| 2004 | 1.79 million people | +0.9% |
| 2005 | 1.80 million people | +0.8% |
| 2006 | 1.81 million people | +0.6% |
| 2007 | 1.82 million people | +0.4% |
| 2008 | 1.82 million people | +0.4% |
| 2009 | 1.83 million people | +0.2% |
| 2010 | 1.83 million people | -0.0% |
| 2011 | 1.82 million people | -0.3% |
| 2012 | 1.81 million people | -0.5% |
| 2013 | 1.80 million people | -0.5% |
| 2014 | 1.79 million people | -0.6% |
| 2015 | 1.78 million people | -0.8% |
| 2016 | 1.76 million people | -0.9% |
| 2017 | 1.74 million people | -1.1% |
| 2018 | 1.72 million people | -1.4% |
| 2019 | 1.70 million people | -1.4% |
| 2020 | 1.68 million people | -1.1% |
| 2021 | 1.66 million people | -0.9% |
| 2022 | 1.65 million people | -0.8% |
| 2023 | 1.64 million people | -0.8% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's 1.64 million people is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 447,677 people, 3.7× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Sri Lanka's 1.64 million people is below the median for South Asia, which is 2.21 million people, 74% of the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 1.33 million people | 1.21 million people | 1.47 million people | 10 |
| 1960s | 1.65 million people | 1.52 million people | 1.76 million people | 10 |
| 1970s | 1.80 million people | 1.77 million people | 1.88 million people | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.84 million people | 1.64 million people | 1.99 million people | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.66 million people | 1.61 million people | 1.72 million people | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.78 million people | 1.72 million people | 1.83 million people | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.78 million people | 1.70 million people | 1.83 million people | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.66 million people | 1.64 million people | 1.68 million people | 4 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
More reference data data for Sri Lanka
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.1608 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.316 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 2.33 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.1784 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 2.33 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.539 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.1604 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.63 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 10.15 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.9713 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is number of children under 5 in Sri Lanka?
- Number of children under 5 in Sri Lanka was 1.64 million people in 2023, according to UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest number of children under 5 recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 1.99 million people in 1982.
- What is the lowest number of children under 5 recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.21 million people in 1950.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for number of children under 5?
- Sri Lanka ranks 70th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
- Is number of children under 5 rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is down 9.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- 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 Number of children under 5. 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
Total population, measured on 1 July of the year shown. This only includes people aged 0-4.