Democracy in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Democracy was 6 in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Democracy in Sri Lanka, 1900–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, democracy in Sri Lanka stood at 6. That is the highest value across all 126 years on record.
That represents a change of up 20.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, democracy in Sri Lanka peaked at 6 in 1948 and was at its lowest, 0, in 1900.
That places Sri Lanka 42nd out of 176 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1910s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1920s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1940s | 1.5 | 0 | 6 | 10 |
| 1950s | 6 | 6 | 6 | 10 |
| 1960s | 6 | 6 | 6 | 10 |
| 1970s | 5.7 | 5 | 6 | 10 |
| 1980s | 4.2 | 3 | 5 | 10 |
| 1990s | 4.5 | 4 | 5 | 10 |
| 2000s | 3.8 | 3 | 5 | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.4 | 3 | 6 | 10 |
| 2020s | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
- 42 Argentina 6 compare
- 42 Armenia 6 compare
- 42 Bolivia 6 compare
- 42 Botswana 6 compare
- 42 Bulgaria 6 compare
- 42 Cape Verde 6 compare
- 42 Colombia 6 compare
- 42 Croatia 6 compare
- 42 Dominican Republic 6 compare
- 42 East Timor 6 compare
- 42 Ecuador 6 compare
- 42 Ghana 6 compare
- 42 Greece 6 compare
- 42 Guatemala 6 compare
- 42 Jamaica 6 compare
- 42 Lesotho 6 compare
- 42 Liberia 6 compare
- 42 Nepal 6 compare
- 42 Panama 6 compare
- 42 Paraguay 6 compare
- 42 Peru 6 compare
- 42 Poland 6 compare
- 42 Portugal 6 compare
- 42 Romania 6 compare
- 42 Sao Tome and Principe 6 compare
- 42 Senegal 6 compare
- 42 Slovakia 6 compare
- 42 Slovenia 6 compare
- 42 Solomon Islands 6 compare
- 42 South Africa 6 compare
- 42 Suriname 6 compare
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 democracy in Sri Lanka?
- Democracy in Sri Lanka was 6 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest democracy recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 6 in 1948.
- What is the lowest democracy recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1900.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for democracy?
- Sri Lanka ranks 42nd out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
- Is democracy rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is up 20.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Sri Lanka data come from?
- The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Democracy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 126 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Political regime of a country using the Regimes of the World classification by political scientists Anna Lührmann, Marcus Tannenberg and Staffan Lindberg, including ambiguous categories.