Statizoid

Median age in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka: Median age was 32.81 years in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
32.81 years
Change on year
up 0.8%
World rank
114th
of 236 countries
All-time high
32.81 years
in 2023
All-time low
18.41 years
in 1963
Years of data
74
1950–2023

Median age in Sri Lanka, 1950–2023

0102030195019862023

Source: UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in years.

Analysis

In 2023, median age in Sri Lanka stood at 32.81 years. That is the highest value across all 74 years on record.

The figure is up 0.8% on the previous year and up 8.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, median age in Sri Lanka peaked at 32.81 years in 2023 and was at its lowest, 18.41 years, in 1963.

That places Sri Lanka 114th out of 236 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 74 years of available data.

Median age in Sri Lanka, year by year

Year years Change
1950 19.86 years —
1951 19.7 years -0.8%
1952 19.54 years -0.8%
1953 19.38 years -0.8%
1954 19.22 years -0.8%
1955 19.08 years -0.7%
1956 18.95 years -0.7%
1957 18.83 years -0.6%
1958 18.71 years -0.6%
1959 18.59 years -0.6%
1960 18.5 years -0.5%
1961 18.44 years -0.3%
1962 18.41 years -0.2%
1963 18.41 years -0.0%
1964 18.43 years +0.1%
1965 18.49 years +0.3%
1966 18.58 years +0.5%
1967 18.69 years +0.6%
1968 18.8 years +0.6%
1969 18.9 years +0.5%
1970 18.99 years +0.5%
1971 19.1 years +0.5%
1972 19.22 years +0.6%
1973 19.36 years +0.7%
1974 19.51 years +0.8%
1975 19.67 years +0.8%
1976 19.82 years +0.8%
1977 19.97 years +0.7%
1978 20.11 years +0.7%
1979 20.24 years +0.7%
1980 20.39 years +0.7%
1981 20.54 years +0.7%
1982 20.68 years +0.7%
1983 20.81 years +0.6%
1984 20.93 years +0.6%
1985 21.12 years +0.9%
1986 21.4 years +1.3%
1987 21.69 years +1.4%
1988 22 years +1.4%
1989 22.3 years +1.4%
1990 22.58 years +1.2%
1991 22.87 years +1.3%
1992 23.23 years +1.6%
1993 23.59 years +1.6%
1994 23.94 years +1.5%
1995 24.32 years +1.6%
1996 24.74 years +1.7%
1997 25.14 years +1.6%
1998 25.51 years +1.5%
1999 25.86 years +1.4%
2000 26.2 years +1.3%
2001 26.51 years +1.2%
2002 26.8 years +1.1%
2003 27.09 years +1.1%
2004 27.38 years +1.1%
2005 27.68 years +1.1%
2006 27.98 years +1.1%
2007 28.3 years +1.1%
2008 28.61 years +1.1%
2009 28.92 years +1.1%
2010 29.22 years +1.0%
2011 29.52 years +1.0%
2012 29.83 years +1.0%
2013 30.14 years +1.0%
2014 30.44 years +1.0%
2015 30.73 years +1.0%
2016 31.02 years +0.9%
2017 31.29 years +0.9%
2018 31.55 years +0.9%
2019 31.82 years +0.8%
2020 32.07 years +0.8%
2021 32.32 years +0.8%
2022 32.56 years +0.8%
2023 32.81 years +0.8%

Sri Lanka compared with similar countries

  • Sri Lanka's 32.81 years is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 29.94 years, 1.1× the median. (58 countries reporting)
  • Sri Lanka's 32.81 years is above the median for South Asia, which is 28.72 years, 1.1× the median. (6 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1950s 19.19 years 18.59 years 19.86 years 10
1960s 18.56 years 18.41 years 18.9 years 10
1970s 19.6 years 18.99 years 20.24 years 10
1980s 21.19 years 20.39 years 22.3 years 10
1990s 24.18 years 22.58 years 25.86 years 10
2000s 27.54 years 26.2 years 28.92 years 10
2010s 30.55 years 29.22 years 31.82 years 10
2020s 32.44 years 32.07 years 32.81 years 4

Countries ranked near Sri Lanka

  1. 111 Qatar 33.19 years compare
  2. 112 Bahrain 32.88 years compare
  3. 113 Iran 32.87 years compare
  4. 115 Azerbaijan 32.6 years compare
  5. 116 Turkey 32.52 years compare
  6. 117 Vietnam 32.43 years compare

See the full ranking of 236 places →

More reference data data for Sri Lanka

All data for Sri Lanka →

Frequently asked questions

What is median age in Sri Lanka?
Median age in Sri Lanka was 32.81 years in 2023, according to UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest median age recorded in Sri Lanka?
The highest recorded value was 32.81 years in 2023.
What is the lowest median age recorded in Sri Lanka?
The lowest recorded value was 18.41 years in 1963.
How does Sri Lanka rank for median age?
Sri Lanka ranks 114th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
Is median age rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
Over the last ten years it is up 8.9%. 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 Median age. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Median age in Sri Lanka. Statizoid, drawing on UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 22 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/median-age/sri-lanka/

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About this data

Indicator
Median age
Unit
years
Source
UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
236 places, 17,464 data points, 1950–2023
Last refreshed

Age that divides the population into two halves of equal size — half are younger and half are older.