Annual number of people affected by all natural disasters in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Annual number of people affected by all natural disasters was 82,830 people in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Annual number of people affected by all natural disasters in Sri Lanka, 1977–2020
Source: EM-DAT, CRED / UCLouvain (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in people.
Analysis
The most recent figure for annual number of people affected by all natural disasters in Sri Lanka is 82,830 people, measured in 2020.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 40.5% on the previous year and down 95.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual number of people affected by all natural disasters in Sri Lanka peaked at 2.20 million people in 1987 and was at its lowest, 0 people, in 1980.
Sri Lanka ranks 50th of 78 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 250,000 people | 250,000 people | 250,000 people | 1 |
| 1980s | 715,142 people | 0 people | 2.20 million people | 7 |
| 2000s | 500,000 people | 250,513 people | 749,487 people | 2 |
| 2010s | 927,852 people | 139,261 people | 1.80 million people | 5 |
| 2020s | 82,830 people | 82,830 people | 82,830 people | 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 annual number of people affected by all natural disasters in Sri Lanka?
- Annual number of people affected by all natural disasters in Sri Lanka was 82,830 people in 2020, according to EM-DAT, CRED / UCLouvain (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest annual number of people affected by all natural disasters recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 2.20 million people in 1987.
- What is the lowest annual number of people affected by all natural disasters recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 0 people in 1980.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for annual number of people affected by all natural disasters?
- Sri Lanka ranks 50th out of 78 countries with data for 2020.
- Is annual number of people affected by all natural disasters rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is down 95.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Sri Lanka data come from?
- The figures come from EM-DAT, CRED / UCLouvain (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Annual number of people affected by all natural disasters. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 16 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Total number of people affected by a natural disaster.