Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents was 22.0% in 2020. ▲ Rising
Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Sri Lanka, 1950–2020
Source: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Sri Lanka is 22.0%, measured in 2020. That is the highest value across all 15 years on record.
That represents a change of up 7.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Sri Lanka peaked at 22.0% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 15.0%, in 1950.
Sri Lanka ranks 62nd of 180 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 15 years of available data.
Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 15.0% | — |
| 1955 | 15.7% | +4.5% |
| 1960 | 15.7% | -0.2% |
| 1965 | 15.5% | -1.0% |
| 1970 | 15.4% | -0.6% |
| 1975 | 15.2% | -1.7% |
| 1980 | 16.0% | +5.8% |
| 1985 | 16.3% | +1.7% |
| 1990 | 17.5% | +7.2% |
| 1995 | 18.7% | +7.1% |
| 2000 | 19.8% | +5.7% |
| 2005 | 20.2% | +2.0% |
| 2010 | 20.5% | +1.6% |
| 2015 | 21.2% | +3.5% |
| 2020 | 22.0% | +3.6% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's 22.0% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 19.8%, 1.1× the median. (48 countries reporting)
- Sri Lanka's 22.0% is above the median for South Asia, which is 14.8%, 1.5× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 15.4% | 15.0% | 15.7% | 2 |
| 1960s | 15.6% | 15.5% | 15.7% | 2 |
| 1970s | 15.3% | 15.2% | 15.4% | 2 |
| 1980s | 16.2% | 16.0% | 16.3% | 2 |
| 1990s | 18.1% | 17.5% | 18.7% | 2 |
| 2000s | 20.0% | 19.8% | 20.2% | 2 |
| 2010s | 20.9% | 20.5% | 21.2% | 2 |
| 2020s | 22.0% | 22.0% | 22.0% | 1 |
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 share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Sri Lanka?
- Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Sri Lanka was 22.0% in 2020, according to European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 22.0% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 15.0% in 1950.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents?
- Sri Lanka ranks 62nd out of 180 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is up 7.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sri Lanka data come from?
- The figures come from European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Percentage of the total population living in cities with 1 million or more people. City boundaries are defined using a consistent global approach based on satellite imagery and population data.