Rural population in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Rural population was 17.31 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
17.31 million
Change on year
down 0.9%
World rank
32nd
of 218 countries
All-time high
17.76 million
in 2021
All-time low
7.97 million
in 1960
Years of data
66
1960–2025
Rural population in Sri Lanka, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
Sri Lanka recorded 17.31 million for rural population in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.9% on the previous year and up 1.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in Sri Lanka peaked at 17.76 million in 2021 and was at its lowest, 7.97 million, in 1960.
That places Sri Lanka 32nd out of 218 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Rural population in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 7.97 million | — |
| 1961 | 8.12 million | +1.9% |
| 1962 | 8.27 million | +1.9% |
| 1963 | 8.43 million | +2.0% |
| 1964 | 8.60 million | +1.9% |
| 1965 | 8.75 million | +1.8% |
| 1966 | 8.90 million | +1.7% |
| 1967 | 9.05 million | +1.7% |
| 1968 | 9.21 million | +1.7% |
| 1969 | 9.38 million | +1.8% |
| 1970 | 9.55 million | +1.9% |
| 1971 | 9.74 million | +2.0% |
| 1972 | 9.94 million | +2.0% |
| 1973 | 10.14 million | +2.0% |
| 1974 | 10.33 million | +2.0% |
| 1975 | 10.53 million | +1.9% |
| 1976 | 10.74 million | +2.0% |
| 1977 | 10.96 million | +2.0% |
| 1978 | 11.18 million | +2.0% |
| 1979 | 11.41 million | +2.1% |
| 1980 | 11.64 million | +2.0% |
| 1981 | 11.86 million | +1.9% |
| 1982 | 12.04 million | +1.5% |
| 1983 | 12.16 million | +1.0% |
| 1984 | 12.25 million | +0.7% |
| 1985 | 12.39 million | +1.1% |
| 1986 | 12.60 million | +1.7% |
| 1987 | 12.81 million | +1.7% |
| 1988 | 13.02 million | +1.6% |
| 1989 | 13.23 million | +1.6% |
| 1990 | 13.39 million | +1.2% |
| 1991 | 13.57 million | +1.3% |
| 1992 | 13.87 million | +2.2% |
| 1993 | 14.18 million | +2.3% |
| 1994 | 14.47 million | +2.0% |
| 1995 | 14.78 million | +2.2% |
| 1996 | 15.13 million | +2.4% |
| 1997 | 15.48 million | +2.3% |
| 1998 | 15.82 million | +2.2% |
| 1999 | 16.15 million | +2.1% |
| 2000 | 16.47 million | +2.0% |
| 2001 | 16.74 million | +1.6% |
| 2002 | 16.91 million | +1.0% |
| 2003 | 17.01 million | +0.6% |
| 2004 | 17.09 million | +0.5% |
| 2005 | 17.15 million | +0.3% |
| 2006 | 17.20 million | +0.3% |
| 2007 | 17.24 million | +0.2% |
| 2008 | 17.27 million | +0.2% |
| 2009 | 17.28 million | +0.1% |
| 2010 | 17.28 million | -0.0% |
| 2011 | 17.27 million | -0.0% |
| 2012 | 17.30 million | +0.2% |
| 2013 | 16.79 million | -3.0% |
| 2014 | 16.91 million | +0.7% |
| 2015 | 17.03 million | +0.7% |
| 2016 | 17.18 million | +0.9% |
| 2017 | 17.34 million | +0.9% |
| 2018 | 17.48 million | +0.8% |
| 2019 | 17.55 million | +0.4% |
| 2020 | 17.61 million | +0.3% |
| 2021 | 17.76 million | +0.9% |
| 2022 | 17.75 million | -0.1% |
| 2023 | 17.60 million | -0.8% |
| 2024 | 17.47 million | -0.7% |
| 2025 | 17.31 million | -0.9% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's 17.31 million is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 1.53 million, 11.3× the median. (59 countries reporting)
- Sri Lanka's 17.31 million is above the median for South Asia, which is 13.54 million, 1.3× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 8.67 million | 7.97 million | 9.38 million | 10 |
| 1970s | 10.45 million | 9.55 million | 11.41 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 12.40 million | 11.64 million | 13.23 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 14.68 million | 13.39 million | 16.15 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 17.04 million | 16.47 million | 17.28 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 17.21 million | 16.79 million | 17.55 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 17.58 million | 17.31 million | 17.76 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
More agriculture & rural data for Sri Lanka
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 9.1 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0836 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 418.3 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -0.9172 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0002 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.7955 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 8.4% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 8.4% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 2.7% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.9% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in Sri Lanka?
- Rural population in Sri Lanka was 17.31 million in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 17.76 million in 2021.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 7.97 million in 1960.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for rural population?
- Sri Lanka ranks 32nd out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sri Lanka data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Rural population. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 66 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Rural population refers to people living in rural areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated as the difference between total population and urban population. Aggregation of urban and rural population may not add up to total population because of different country coverages.