Number of people who are undernourished in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Number of people who are undernourished was 1.70 million millions in 2023. ▼ Falling
Number of people who are undernourished in Sri Lanka, 2001–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in millions.
Analysis
Sri Lanka recorded 1.70 million millions for number of people who are undernourished in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 21.4% on the previous year and down 10.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of people who are undernourished in Sri Lanka peaked at 3.30 million millions in 2001 and was at its lowest, 700,000 millions, in 2020.
That places Sri Lanka 53rd out of 131 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 23 years of available data.
Number of people who are undernourished in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | millions | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 3.30 million millions | — |
| 2002 | 3.20 million millions | -3.0% |
| 2003 | 3.20 million millions | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 3.00 million millions | -6.2% |
| 2005 | 2.90 million millions | -3.3% |
| 2006 | 2.70 million millions | -6.9% |
| 2007 | 2.50 million millions | -7.4% |
| 2008 | 2.30 million millions | -8.0% |
| 2009 | 2.20 million millions | -4.3% |
| 2010 | 2.30 million millions | +4.5% |
| 2011 | 2.30 million millions | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 2.10 million millions | -8.7% |
| 2013 | 1.90 million millions | -9.5% |
| 2014 | 1.30 million millions | -31.6% |
| 2015 | 1.00 million millions | -23.1% |
| 2016 | 900,000 millions | -10.0% |
| 2017 | 1.10 million millions | +22.2% |
| 2018 | 1.20 million millions | +9.1% |
| 2019 | 800,000 millions | -33.3% |
| 2020 | 700,000 millions | -12.5% |
| 2021 | 1.00 million millions | +42.9% |
| 2022 | 1.40 million millions | +40.0% |
| 2023 | 1.70 million millions | +21.4% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's 1.70 million millions is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 500,000 millions, 3.4× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Number of people who are undernourished in Sri Lanka changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | +42.9% | 700,000 millions | 1.00 million millions |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 2.81 million millions | 2.20 million millions | 3.30 million millions | 9 |
| 2010s | 1.49 million millions | 800,000 millions | 2.30 million millions | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.20 million millions | 700,000 millions | 1.70 million millions | 4 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
- 53 Venezuela 1.70 million millions compare
- 55 Central African Republic 1.60 million millions compare
- 55 Congo 1.60 million millions compare
- 55 Guinea 1.60 million millions compare
- 55 Honduras 1.60 million millions compare
- 55 Jordan 1.60 million millions compare
- 55 Nepal 1.60 million millions compare
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 number of people who are undernourished in Sri Lanka?
- Number of people who are undernourished in Sri Lanka was 1.70 million millions in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest number of people who are undernourished recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 3.30 million millions in 2001.
- What is the lowest number of people who are undernourished recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 700,000 millions in 2020.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for number of people who are undernourished?
- Sri Lanka ranks 53rd out of 131 countries with data for 2023.
- Is number of people who are undernourished rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is down 10.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sri Lanka data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Number of people who are undernourished. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 23 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Undernourishment is measured as having a caloric intake that is insufficient to meet the minimum energy requirements necessary for a given individual.