Pesticide use in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Pesticide use was 1,799 tonnes in 2023. ▲ Rising
Pesticide use in Sri Lanka, 1990–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.
Analysis
Sri Lanka recorded 1,799 tonnes for pesticide use in 2023.
The figure is down 15.9% on the previous year and up 45.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, pesticide use in Sri Lanka peaked at 2,778 tonnes in 2021 and was at its lowest, 933 tonnes, in 2014.
Sri Lanka ranks 93rd of 211 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.
Pesticide use in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | tonnes | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 1,571 tonnes | — |
| 1991 | 1,409 tonnes | -10.3% |
| 1992 | 2,144 tonnes | +52.2% |
| 1993 | 1,753 tonnes | -18.2% |
| 1994 | 1,861 tonnes | +6.2% |
| 1995 | 1,736 tonnes | -6.7% |
| 1996 | 1,654 tonnes | -4.7% |
| 1997 | 1,622 tonnes | -1.9% |
| 1998 | 1,532 tonnes | -5.5% |
| 1999 | 1,767 tonnes | +15.3% |
| 2000 | 1,696 tonnes | -4.0% |
| 2001 | 1,705 tonnes | +0.5% |
| 2002 | 1,714 tonnes | +0.5% |
| 2003 | 1,724 tonnes | +0.6% |
| 2004 | 1,733 tonnes | +0.5% |
| 2005 | 1,742 tonnes | +0.5% |
| 2006 | 1,752 tonnes | +0.6% |
| 2007 | 1,440 tonnes | -17.8% |
| 2008 | 1,152 tonnes | -20.0% |
| 2009 | 1,170 tonnes | +1.6% |
| 2010 | 1,451 tonnes | +24.0% |
| 2011 | 1,290 tonnes | -11.1% |
| 2012 | 1,113 tonnes | -13.7% |
| 2013 | 1,235 tonnes | +11.0% |
| 2014 | 933 tonnes | -24.5% |
| 2015 | 2,540 tonnes | +172.2% |
| 2016 | 1,925 tonnes | -24.2% |
| 2017 | 1,266 tonnes | -34.2% |
| 2018 | 2,261 tonnes | +78.6% |
| 2019 | 1,526 tonnes | -32.5% |
| 2020 | 2,573 tonnes | +68.6% |
| 2021 | 2,778 tonnes | +8.0% |
| 2022 | 2,140 tonnes | -23.0% |
| 2023 | 1,799 tonnes | -15.9% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's 1,799 tonnes is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 2,066 tonnes, 87% of the median. (56 countries reporting)
- Sri Lanka's 1,799 tonnes is above the median for South Asia, which is 1,487 tonnes, 1.2× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Pesticide use 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | +172.2% | 933 tonnes | 2,540 tonnes |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 1,705 tonnes | 1,409 tonnes | 2,144 tonnes | 10 |
| 2000s | 1,583 tonnes | 1,152 tonnes | 1,752 tonnes | 10 |
| 2010s | 1,554 tonnes | 933 tonnes | 2,540 tonnes | 10 |
| 2020s | 2,322 tonnes | 1,799 tonnes | 2,778 tonnes | 4 |
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 pesticide use in Sri Lanka?
- Pesticide use in Sri Lanka was 1,799 tonnes 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 pesticide use recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 2,778 tonnes in 2021.
- What is the lowest pesticide use recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 933 tonnes in 2014.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for pesticide use?
- Sri Lanka ranks 93rd out of 211 countries with data for 2023.
- Is pesticide use rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is up 45.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- 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 Pesticide use. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 34 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Total pesticide use measured in tonnes of pesticide consumption per year.