Democracy in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Democracy was 4 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Democracy in Sri Lanka, 2005–2025
Source: Bertelsmann Transformation Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for democracy in Sri Lanka is 4, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 11 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 100.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, democracy in Sri Lanka peaked at 4 in 2005 and was at its lowest, 2, in 2011.
Sri Lanka ranks 16th of 128 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 11 years of available data.
Democracy in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 4 | — |
| 2007 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 3 | -25.0% |
| 2011 | 2 | -33.3% |
| 2013 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 4 | +100.0% |
| 2019 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 4 | +0.0% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's 4 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 3, 1.3× the median. (42 countries reporting)
- Sri Lanka's 4 is above the median for South Asia, which is 4, 1.0× the median. (5 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 3.67 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| 2010s | 2.8 | 2 | 4 | 5 |
| 2020s | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
- 16 Albania 4 compare
- 16 Argentina 4 compare
- 16 Armenia 4 compare
- 16 Bhutan 4 compare
- 16 Bolivia 4 compare
- 16 Brazil 4 compare
- 16 Bulgaria 4 compare
- 16 Colombia 4 compare
- 16 Dominican Republic 4 compare
- 16 Ecuador 4 compare
- 16 Ghana 4 compare
- 16 Hungary 4 compare
- 16 India 4 compare
- 16 Lesotho 4 compare
- 16 Liberia 4 compare
- 16 Malawi 4 compare
- 16 Malaysia 4 compare
- 16 Mauritius 4 compare
- 16 Moldova 4 compare
- 16 Mongolia 4 compare
- 16 Montenegro 4 compare
- 16 Namibia 4 compare
- 16 Nepal 4 compare
- 16 North Macedonia 4 compare
- 16 Panama 4 compare
- 16 Paraguay 4 compare
- 16 Romania 4 compare
- 16 Senegal 4 compare
- 16 South Africa 4 compare
- 16 Ukraine 4 compare
- 16 Zambia 4 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 democracy in Sri Lanka?
- Democracy in Sri Lanka was 4 in 2025, according to Bertelsmann Transformation Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest democracy recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 4 in 2005.
- What is the lowest democracy recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 2 in 2011.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for democracy?
- Sri Lanka ranks 16th out of 128 countries with data for 2025.
- Is democracy rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is up 100.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sri Lanka data come from?
- The figures come from Bertelsmann Transformation Index (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 — 11 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Identifies the political regime of a country. It distinguishes between hard-line autocracies (score 1), moderate autocracies (score 2), highly defective democracies (score 3), defective democracies (score 4), and consolidating democracies (score 5).