Share of population living in urban areas in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Share of population living in urban areas was 84.7% in 2020. ▲ Rising
Share of population living in urban areas in Sri Lanka, 1950–2020
Source: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of population living in urban areas in Sri Lanka is 84.7%, measured in 2020. That is the highest value across all 15 years on record.
That represents a change of up 2.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population living in urban areas in Sri Lanka peaked at 84.7% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 59.5%, in 1950.
That places Sri Lanka 56th out of 236 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 15 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 60.6% | 59.5% | 61.7% | 2 |
| 1960s | 65.6% | 64.2% | 66.9% | 2 |
| 1970s | 70.5% | 69.5% | 71.5% | 2 |
| 1980s | 74.8% | 74.3% | 75.3% | 2 |
| 1990s | 77.8% | 77.0% | 78.6% | 2 |
| 2000s | 81.1% | 80.7% | 81.5% | 2 |
| 2010s | 82.9% | 82.4% | 83.4% | 2 |
| 2020s | 84.7% | 84.7% | 84.7% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
- 53 Uzbekistan 85.4% compare
- 54 Philippines 84.8% compare
- 55 Iran 84.7% compare
- 57 Burundi 84.6% compare
- 58 Guam 84.5% compare
- 59 Afghanistan 84.4% 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 share of population living in urban areas in Sri Lanka?
- Share of population living in urban areas in Sri Lanka was 84.7% in 2020, according to European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of population living in urban areas recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 84.7% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of population living in urban areas recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 59.5% in 1950.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for share of population living in urban areas?
- Sri Lanka ranks 56th out of 236 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of population living in urban areas rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.8%. 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 major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of population living in urban areas. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 15 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Estimated share of the population living in urban areas (the sum of cities and towns and suburbs). Urban areas are identified using satellite imagery and population data, applying the same definitions across countries.