Free and Fair Elections Index in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Free and Fair Elections Index was 0.914 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
0.914
Change on year
up 12.6%
World rank
33rd
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.914
in 2025
All-time low
0
in 1900
Years of data
126
1900–2025
Free and Fair Elections Index in Sri Lanka, 1900–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, free and fair elections index in Sri Lanka stood at 0.914. That is the highest value across all 126 years on record.
That represents a change of up 12.6% on the previous year and up 49.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, free and fair elections index in Sri Lanka peaked at 0.914 in 2025 and was at its lowest, 0, in 1900.
That places Sri Lanka 33rd out of 176 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 126 years of available data.
Free and Fair Elections Index in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1900 | 0 | — |
| 1901 | 0 | — |
| 1902 | 0 | — |
| 1903 | 0 | — |
| 1904 | 0 | — |
| 1905 | 0 | — |
| 1906 | 0 | — |
| 1907 | 0 | — |
| 1908 | 0 | — |
| 1909 | 0 | — |
| 1910 | 0 | — |
| 1911 | 0.772 | — |
| 1912 | 0.772 | +0.0% |
| 1913 | 0.772 | +0.0% |
| 1914 | 0.772 | +0.0% |
| 1915 | 0.772 | +0.0% |
| 1916 | 0.772 | +0.0% |
| 1917 | 0.772 | +0.0% |
| 1918 | 0.772 | +0.0% |
| 1919 | 0.772 | +0.0% |
| 1920 | 0.772 | +0.0% |
| 1921 | 0.805 | +4.3% |
| 1922 | 0.805 | +0.0% |
| 1923 | 0.805 | +0.0% |
| 1924 | 0.8 | -0.6% |
| 1925 | 0.8 | +0.0% |
| 1926 | 0.8 | +0.0% |
| 1927 | 0.8 | +0.0% |
| 1928 | 0.8 | +0.0% |
| 1929 | 0.8 | +0.0% |
| 1930 | 0.8 | +0.0% |
| 1931 | 0.782 | -2.3% |
| 1932 | 0.768 | -1.8% |
| 1933 | 0.768 | +0.0% |
| 1934 | 0.768 | +0.0% |
| 1935 | 0.768 | +0.0% |
| 1936 | 0.77 | +0.3% |
| 1937 | 0.771 | +0.1% |
| 1938 | 0.771 | +0.0% |
| 1939 | 0.771 | +0.0% |
| 1940 | 0.771 | +0.0% |
| 1941 | 0.771 | +0.0% |
| 1942 | 0.771 | +0.0% |
| 1943 | 0.771 | +0.0% |
| 1944 | 0.771 | +0.0% |
| 1945 | 0.771 | +0.0% |
| 1946 | 0.771 | +0.0% |
| 1947 | 0.789 | +2.3% |
| 1948 | 0.807 | +2.3% |
| 1949 | 0.8 | -0.9% |
| 1950 | 0.8 | +0.0% |
| 1951 | 0.8 | +0.0% |
| 1952 | 0.751 | -6.1% |
| 1953 | 0.72 | -4.1% |
| 1954 | 0.72 | +0.0% |
| 1955 | 0.737 | +2.4% |
| 1956 | 0.731 | -0.8% |
| 1957 | 0.729 | -0.3% |
| 1958 | 0.729 | +0.0% |
| 1959 | 0.729 | +0.0% |
| 1960 | 0.743 | +1.9% |
| 1961 | 0.747 | +0.5% |
| 1962 | 0.747 | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 0.747 | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 0.747 | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 0.745 | -0.3% |
| 1966 | 0.744 | -0.1% |
| 1967 | 0.744 | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 0.744 | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 0.744 | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 0.722 | -3.0% |
| 1971 | 0.707 | -2.1% |
| 1972 | 0.707 | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 0.707 | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 0.707 | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 0.707 | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 0.707 | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 0.679 | -4.0% |
| 1978 | 0.645 | -5.0% |
| 1979 | 0.645 | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 0.645 | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 0.645 | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 0.623 | -3.4% |
| 1983 | 0.583 | -6.4% |
| 1984 | 0.583 | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 0.583 | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 0.583 | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 0.583 | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 0.581 | -0.3% |
| 1989 | 0.506 | -12.9% |
| 1990 | 0.506 | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 0.506 | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 0.506 | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 0.506 | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 0.569 | +12.5% |
| 1995 | 0.67 | +17.8% |
| 1996 | 0.67 | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 0.67 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 0.67 | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 0.667 | -0.4% |
| 2000 | 0.57 | -14.5% |
| 2001 | 0.591 | +3.7% |
| 2002 | 0.646 | +9.3% |
| 2003 | 0.646 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 0.605 | -6.3% |
| 2005 | 0.578 | -4.5% |
| 2006 | 0.49 | -15.2% |
| 2007 | 0.49 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 0.489 | -0.2% |
| 2009 | 0.489 | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 0.487 | -0.4% |
| 2011 | 0.485 | -0.4% |
| 2012 | 0.49 | +1.0% |
| 2013 | 0.499 | +1.8% |
| 2014 | 0.492 | -1.4% |
| 2015 | 0.61 | +24.0% |
| 2016 | 0.612 | +0.3% |
| 2017 | 0.612 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 0.612 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 0.638 | +4.2% |
| 2020 | 0.776 | +21.6% |
| 2021 | 0.75 | -3.4% |
| 2022 | 0.769 | +2.5% |
| 2023 | 0.724 | -5.9% |
| 2024 | 0.812 | +12.2% |
| 2025 | 0.914 | +12.6% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's 0.914 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.5655, 1.6× the median. (48 countries reporting)
- Sri Lanka's 0.914 is above the median for South Asia, which is 0.668, 1.4× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1910s | 0.6948 | 0 | 0.772 | 10 |
| 1920s | 0.7987 | 0.772 | 0.805 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.7737 | 0.768 | 0.8 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0.7793 | 0.771 | 0.807 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.7446 | 0.72 | 0.8 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.7452 | 0.743 | 0.747 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.6933 | 0.645 | 0.722 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.5915 | 0.506 | 0.645 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.594 | 0.506 | 0.67 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.5594 | 0.489 | 0.646 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.5537 | 0.485 | 0.638 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.7908 | 0.724 | 0.914 | 6 |
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 free and fair elections index in Sri Lanka?
- Free and fair elections index in Sri Lanka was 0.914 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest free and fair elections index recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 0.914 in 2025.
- What is the lowest free and fair elections index recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1900.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for free and fair elections index?
- Sri Lanka ranks 33rd out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
- Is free and fair elections index rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is up 49.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sri Lanka data come from?
- The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Free and Fair Elections Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 126 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Central estimate of the extent to which registration fraud, systematic irregularities, government intimidation of the opposition, vote buying, and election violence are absent, and the election management body is autonomous and has enough staff and resources.