Share of land defined as natural habitat in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Share of land defined as natural habitat was 70.99 in 2010. ▼ Falling
Share of land defined as natural habitat in Sri Lanka, 1780–2010
Source: Taylor and Rising, and United Nations (2021) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Sri Lanka recorded 70.99 for share of land defined as natural habitat in 2010.
That represents a change of up 2.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of land defined as natural habitat in Sri Lanka peaked at 87.99 in 1820 and was at its lowest, 67.33, in 1970.
That places Sri Lanka 45th out of 168 countries with data for 2010, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 24 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1780s | 87.85 | 87.85 | 87.85 | 1 |
| 1790s | 87.88 | 87.88 | 87.88 | 1 |
| 1800s | 87.92 | 87.92 | 87.92 | 1 |
| 1810s | 87.95 | 87.95 | 87.95 | 1 |
| 1820s | 87.99 | 87.99 | 87.99 | 1 |
| 1830s | 87.77 | 87.77 | 87.77 | 1 |
| 1840s | 87.39 | 87.39 | 87.39 | 1 |
| 1850s | 82.86 | 82.86 | 82.86 | 1 |
| 1860s | 82.2 | 82.2 | 82.2 | 1 |
| 1870s | 81.4 | 81.4 | 81.4 | 1 |
| 1880s | 80.46 | 80.46 | 80.46 | 1 |
| 1890s | 79.44 | 79.44 | 79.44 | 1 |
| 1900s | 78.21 | 78.21 | 78.21 | 1 |
| 1910s | 76.72 | 76.72 | 76.72 | 1 |
| 1920s | 76.04 | 76.04 | 76.04 | 1 |
| 1930s | 75.97 | 75.97 | 75.97 | 1 |
| 1940s | 74.71 | 74.71 | 74.71 | 1 |
| 1950s | 73.59 | 73.59 | 73.59 | 1 |
| 1960s | 73.93 | 73.93 | 73.93 | 1 |
| 1970s | 67.33 | 67.33 | 67.33 | 1 |
| 1980s | 68.4 | 68.4 | 68.4 | 1 |
| 1990s | 68.2 | 68.2 | 68.2 | 1 |
| 2000s | 69.11 | 69.11 | 69.11 | 1 |
| 2010s | 70.99 | 70.99 | 70.99 | 1 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
More reference data data for Sri Lanka
- Spring temperature anomalies 0.1264 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies 0.2745 °C (2026)
- Temperature anomalies by month 0.0088 °C (2026)
- Universal right to vote in practice 2 (2025)
- Autumn temperature anomalies 0.7892 °C (2025)
- Winter temperature anomalies 0.372 °C (2025)
- Consumer price index 292.34 2010 = 100 (2025)
- Universal right to vote 2 (2025)
- Competitive elections 1 (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote 1 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of land defined as natural habitat in Sri Lanka?
- Share of land defined as natural habitat in Sri Lanka was 70.99 in 2010, according to Taylor and Rising, and United Nations (2021) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of land defined as natural habitat recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 87.99 in 1820.
- What is the lowest share of land defined as natural habitat recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 67.33 in 1970.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for share of land defined as natural habitat?
- Sri Lanka ranks 45th out of 168 countries with data for 2010.
- Is share of land defined as natural habitat rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sri Lanka data come from?
- The figures come from Taylor and Rising, and United Nations (2021) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of land defined as natural habitat. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 24 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Natural ecosystems include forest, grassland, savanna, and shrublands, and other classes such as peatlands and marshes. It is total land minus land that is used by humans for agriculture – either croplands or pasture – or for infrastructure and urban environments.