Individual Liberties and Equality before the Law Index in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Individual Liberties and Equality before the Law Index was 0.77 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
0.77
Change on year
up 1.6%
World rank
79th
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.837
in 1949
All-time low
0.406
in 1989
Years of data
126
1900–2025
Individual Liberties and Equality before the Law Index in Sri Lanka, 1900–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, individual liberties and equality before the law index in Sri Lanka stood at 0.77.
The figure is up 1.6% on the previous year and up 13.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, individual liberties and equality before the law index in Sri Lanka peaked at 0.837 in 1949 and was at its lowest, 0.406, in 1989.
That places Sri Lanka 79th out of 176 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 126 years of available data.
Individual Liberties and Equality before the Law Index in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1900 | 0.714 | — |
| 1901 | 0.714 | +0.0% |
| 1902 | 0.714 | +0.0% |
| 1903 | 0.714 | +0.0% |
| 1904 | 0.714 | +0.0% |
| 1905 | 0.714 | +0.0% |
| 1906 | 0.714 | +0.0% |
| 1907 | 0.714 | +0.0% |
| 1908 | 0.714 | +0.0% |
| 1909 | 0.714 | +0.0% |
| 1910 | 0.714 | +0.0% |
| 1911 | 0.714 | +0.0% |
| 1912 | 0.714 | +0.0% |
| 1913 | 0.714 | +0.0% |
| 1914 | 0.714 | +0.0% |
| 1915 | 0.714 | +0.0% |
| 1916 | 0.714 | +0.0% |
| 1917 | 0.714 | +0.0% |
| 1918 | 0.714 | +0.0% |
| 1919 | 0.714 | +0.0% |
| 1920 | 0.754 | +5.6% |
| 1921 | 0.754 | +0.0% |
| 1922 | 0.754 | +0.0% |
| 1923 | 0.754 | +0.0% |
| 1924 | 0.754 | +0.0% |
| 1925 | 0.754 | +0.0% |
| 1926 | 0.754 | +0.0% |
| 1927 | 0.754 | +0.0% |
| 1928 | 0.754 | +0.0% |
| 1929 | 0.754 | +0.0% |
| 1930 | 0.757 | +0.4% |
| 1931 | 0.757 | +0.0% |
| 1932 | 0.757 | +0.0% |
| 1933 | 0.757 | +0.0% |
| 1934 | 0.757 | +0.0% |
| 1935 | 0.757 | +0.0% |
| 1936 | 0.757 | +0.0% |
| 1937 | 0.757 | +0.0% |
| 1938 | 0.757 | +0.0% |
| 1939 | 0.757 | +0.0% |
| 1940 | 0.757 | +0.0% |
| 1941 | 0.757 | +0.0% |
| 1942 | 0.756 | -0.1% |
| 1943 | 0.756 | +0.0% |
| 1944 | 0.756 | +0.0% |
| 1945 | 0.756 | +0.0% |
| 1946 | 0.756 | +0.0% |
| 1947 | 0.756 | +0.0% |
| 1948 | 0.821 | +8.6% |
| 1949 | 0.837 | +1.9% |
| 1950 | 0.834 | -0.4% |
| 1951 | 0.834 | +0.0% |
| 1952 | 0.834 | +0.0% |
| 1953 | 0.834 | +0.0% |
| 1954 | 0.834 | +0.0% |
| 1955 | 0.831 | -0.4% |
| 1956 | 0.792 | -4.7% |
| 1957 | 0.795 | +0.4% |
| 1958 | 0.786 | -1.1% |
| 1959 | 0.794 | +1.0% |
| 1960 | 0.794 | +0.0% |
| 1961 | 0.794 | +0.0% |
| 1962 | 0.794 | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 0.794 | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 0.794 | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 0.794 | +0.0% |
| 1966 | 0.792 | -0.3% |
| 1967 | 0.792 | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 0.792 | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 0.792 | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 0.755 | -4.7% |
| 1971 | 0.666 | -11.8% |
| 1972 | 0.698 | +4.8% |
| 1973 | 0.697 | -0.1% |
| 1974 | 0.701 | +0.6% |
| 1975 | 0.727 | +3.7% |
| 1976 | 0.727 | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 0.715 | -1.7% |
| 1978 | 0.702 | -1.8% |
| 1979 | 0.711 | +1.3% |
| 1980 | 0.612 | -13.9% |
| 1981 | 0.612 | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 0.612 | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 0.553 | -9.6% |
| 1984 | 0.539 | -2.5% |
| 1985 | 0.539 | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 0.508 | -5.8% |
| 1987 | 0.442 | -13.0% |
| 1988 | 0.418 | -5.4% |
| 1989 | 0.406 | -2.9% |
| 1990 | 0.426 | +4.9% |
| 1991 | 0.432 | +1.4% |
| 1992 | 0.489 | +13.2% |
| 1993 | 0.489 | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 0.561 | +14.7% |
| 1995 | 0.57 | +1.6% |
| 1996 | 0.57 | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 0.57 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 0.57 | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 0.57 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 0.57 | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 0.57 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 0.57 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 0.57 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 0.562 | -1.4% |
| 2005 | 0.534 | -5.0% |
| 2006 | 0.497 | -6.9% |
| 2007 | 0.466 | -6.2% |
| 2008 | 0.466 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 0.452 | -3.0% |
| 2010 | 0.537 | +18.8% |
| 2011 | 0.537 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 0.553 | +3.0% |
| 2013 | 0.581 | +5.1% |
| 2014 | 0.589 | +1.4% |
| 2015 | 0.68 | +15.4% |
| 2016 | 0.729 | +7.2% |
| 2017 | 0.726 | -0.4% |
| 2018 | 0.791 | +9.0% |
| 2019 | 0.741 | -6.3% |
| 2020 | 0.635 | -14.3% |
| 2021 | 0.607 | -4.4% |
| 2022 | 0.68 | +12.0% |
| 2023 | 0.724 | +6.5% |
| 2024 | 0.758 | +4.7% |
| 2025 | 0.77 | +1.6% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's 0.77 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.713, 1.1× the median. (48 countries reporting)
- Sri Lanka's 0.77 is above the median for South Asia, which is 0.724, 1.1× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 0.714 | 0.714 | 0.714 | 10 |
| 1910s | 0.714 | 0.714 | 0.714 | 10 |
| 1920s | 0.754 | 0.754 | 0.754 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.757 | 0.757 | 0.757 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0.7708 | 0.756 | 0.837 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.8168 | 0.786 | 0.834 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.7932 | 0.792 | 0.794 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.7099 | 0.666 | 0.755 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.5241 | 0.406 | 0.612 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.5247 | 0.426 | 0.57 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.5257 | 0.452 | 0.57 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.6464 | 0.537 | 0.791 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.6957 | 0.607 | 0.77 | 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 individual liberties and equality before the law index in Sri Lanka?
- Individual liberties and equality before the law index in Sri Lanka was 0.77 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest individual liberties and equality before the law index recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 0.837 in 1949.
- What is the lowest individual liberties and equality before the law index recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.406 in 1989.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for individual liberties and equality before the law index?
- Sri Lanka ranks 79th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
- Is individual liberties and equality before the law index rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is up 13.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- 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 Individual Liberties and Equality before the Law 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 extent to which citizens enjoy physical integrity rights, freedoms of religion, of movement, and from forced labor, as well as access to justice, laws are transparent, and public administration is impartial.