Wealth share of the richest 1% in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Wealth share of the richest 1% was 26.8% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Wealth share of the richest 1% in Sri Lanka, 1980–2024
Source: World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for wealth share of the richest 1% in Sri Lanka is 26.8%, measured in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, wealth share of the richest 1% in Sri Lanka peaked at 28.8% in 2002 and was at its lowest, 23.8%, in 1980.
Sri Lanka ranks 117th of 215 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 45 years of available data.
Wealth share of the richest 1% in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 23.8% | — |
| 1981 | 23.8% | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 23.8% | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 23.8% | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 23.8% | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 23.8% | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 24.0% | +0.7% |
| 1987 | 24.2% | +0.8% |
| 1988 | 24.3% | +0.5% |
| 1989 | 24.5% | +0.7% |
| 1990 | 24.6% | +0.4% |
| 1991 | 24.6% | +0.2% |
| 1992 | 24.7% | +0.1% |
| 1993 | 24.7% | +0.2% |
| 1994 | 24.8% | +0.3% |
| 1995 | 24.8% | +0.2% |
| 1996 | 25.3% | +1.8% |
| 1997 | 25.8% | +1.9% |
| 1998 | 26.1% | +1.3% |
| 1999 | 26.6% | +2.1% |
| 2000 | 27.4% | +2.9% |
| 2001 | 28.3% | +3.4% |
| 2002 | 28.8% | +1.6% |
| 2003 | 28.6% | -0.6% |
| 2004 | 28.4% | -0.6% |
| 2005 | 28.2% | -0.7% |
| 2006 | 28.0% | -0.6% |
| 2007 | 26.7% | -4.6% |
| 2008 | 25.9% | -3.0% |
| 2009 | 25.4% | -2.2% |
| 2010 | 25.9% | +2.3% |
| 2011 | 26.3% | +1.2% |
| 2012 | 26.6% | +1.4% |
| 2013 | 26.7% | +0.3% |
| 2014 | 26.7% | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 26.8% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 26.8% | +0.3% |
| 2017 | 26.9% | +0.1% |
| 2018 | 26.9% | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 26.9% | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 26.9% | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 26.8% | -0.0% |
| 2022 | 26.8% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 26.8% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 26.8% | +0.0% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's 26.8% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 27.2%, 99% of the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Sri Lanka's 26.8% is above the median for South Asia, which is 24.2%, 1.1× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 24.0% | 23.8% | 24.5% | 10 |
| 1990s | 25.2% | 24.6% | 26.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 27.6% | 25.4% | 28.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 26.6% | 25.9% | 26.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 26.8% | 26.8% | 26.9% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
- 114 Kiribati 27.2% compare
- 115 Marshall Islands 27.2% compare
- 116 Turkmenistan 27.1% compare
- 118 Kazakhstan 26.8% compare
- 119 Malawi 26.6% compare
- 120 Morocco 26.6% 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 wealth share of the richest 1% in Sri Lanka?
- Wealth share of the richest 1% in Sri Lanka was 26.8% in 2024, according to World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest wealth share of the richest 1% recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 28.8% in 2002.
- What is the lowest wealth share of the richest 1% recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 23.8% in 1980.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for wealth share of the richest 1%?
- Sri Lanka ranks 117th out of 215 countries with data for 2024.
- Is wealth share of the richest 1% rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sri Lanka data come from?
- The figures come from World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Wealth share of the richest 1%. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Share of wealth owned by the richest 1% of the population. Wealth is defined as the total value of non-financial and financial assets (housing, land, deposits, bonds, equities, etc.) held by households, minus their debts.