Pesticide use in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka: Pesticide use was 1,799 tonnes in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
1,799 tonnes
Change on year
down 15.9%
World rank
93rd
of 211 countries
All-time high
2,778 tonnes
in 2021
All-time low
933 tonnes
in 2014
Years of data
34
1990–2023

Pesticide use in Sri Lanka, 1990–2023

1.0k1.5k2.0k2.5k3.0k1990200620231990: 1.6k tonnes1991: 1.4k tonnes1992: 2.1k tonnes1993: 1.8k tonnes1994: 1.9k tonnes1995: 1.7k tonnes1996: 1.7k tonnes1997: 1.6k tonnes1998: 1.5k tonnes1999: 1.8k tonnes2000: 1.7k tonnes2001: 1.7k tonnes2002: 1.7k tonnes2003: 1.7k tonnes2004: 1.7k tonnes2005: 1.7k tonnes2006: 1.8k tonnes2007: 1.4k tonnes2008: 1.2k tonnes2009: 1.2k tonnes2010: 1.5k tonnes2011: 1.3k tonnes2012: 1.1k tonnes2013: 1.2k tonnes2014: 933 tonnes2015: 2.5k tonnes2016: 1.9k tonnes2017: 1.3k tonnes2018: 2.3k tonnes2019: 1.5k tonnes2020: 2.6k tonnes2021: 2.8k tonnes2022: 2.1k tonnes2023: 1.8k tonnes

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.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest 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

  1. 90 Dominican Republic 1,984 tonnes compare
  2. 91 Syria 1,897 tonnes compare
  3. 92 Lebanon 1,816 tonnes compare
  4. 94 Slovakia 1,792 tonnes compare
  5. 95 Libya 1,713 tonnes compare
  6. 96 Latvia 1,666 tonnes compare

See the full ranking of 211 places →

More reference data data for Sri Lanka

All data for Sri Lanka →

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

Indicator
Pesticide use
Unit
tonnes
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
211 places, 7,015 data points, 1990–2023
Last refreshed

Total pesticide use measured in tonnes of pesticide consumption per year.