Share of cereals allocated to human food in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Share of cereals allocated to human food was 90.9% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Share of cereals allocated to human food in Sri Lanka, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of cereals allocated to human food in Sri Lanka is 90.9%, measured in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.5% on the previous year and down 4.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of cereals allocated to human food in Sri Lanka peaked at 100.0% in 1976 and was at its lowest, 89.4%, in 2021.
Sri Lanka ranks 39th of 192 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.
Share of cereals allocated to human food in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 99.5% | — |
| 1962 | 99.7% | +0.2% |
| 1963 | 99.9% | +0.2% |
| 1964 | 99.9% | -0.1% |
| 1965 | 99.7% | -0.1% |
| 1966 | 99.7% | -0.0% |
| 1967 | 99.7% | -0.0% |
| 1968 | 99.5% | -0.1% |
| 1969 | 99.6% | +0.1% |
| 1970 | 99.3% | -0.3% |
| 1971 | 99.4% | +0.2% |
| 1972 | 99.4% | -0.0% |
| 1973 | 99.6% | +0.2% |
| 1974 | 99.9% | +0.3% |
| 1975 | 99.9% | -0.0% |
| 1976 | 100.0% | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 99.7% | -0.3% |
| 1978 | 99.4% | -0.3% |
| 1979 | 99.7% | +0.3% |
| 1980 | 99.1% | -0.6% |
| 1981 | 99.6% | +0.4% |
| 1982 | 99.9% | +0.3% |
| 1983 | 99.9% | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 98.7% | -1.2% |
| 1985 | 98.8% | +0.1% |
| 1986 | 99.3% | +0.5% |
| 1987 | 98.5% | -0.9% |
| 1988 | 99.2% | +0.7% |
| 1989 | 99.1% | -0.1% |
| 1990 | 99.6% | +0.4% |
| 1991 | 99.4% | -0.2% |
| 1992 | 99.8% | +0.5% |
| 1993 | 99.7% | -0.2% |
| 1994 | 99.6% | -0.1% |
| 1995 | 97.5% | -2.1% |
| 1996 | 96.9% | -0.6% |
| 1997 | 96.7% | -0.2% |
| 1998 | 96.9% | +0.3% |
| 1999 | 96.8% | -0.2% |
| 2000 | 96.5% | -0.3% |
| 2001 | 96.2% | -0.3% |
| 2002 | 99.0% | +2.9% |
| 2003 | 98.1% | -0.9% |
| 2004 | 97.5% | -0.6% |
| 2005 | 96.1% | -1.5% |
| 2006 | 96.5% | +0.4% |
| 2007 | 96.4% | -0.1% |
| 2008 | 95.1% | -1.3% |
| 2009 | 97.5% | +2.5% |
| 2010 | 95.7% | -1.8% |
| 2011 | 96.1% | +0.4% |
| 2012 | 95.7% | -0.4% |
| 2013 | 95.6% | -0.1% |
| 2014 | 95.6% | -0.0% |
| 2015 | 95.2% | -0.4% |
| 2016 | 96.0% | +0.8% |
| 2017 | 93.8% | -2.3% |
| 2018 | 94.3% | +0.6% |
| 2019 | 96.0% | +1.7% |
| 2020 | 93.6% | -2.5% |
| 2021 | 89.4% | -4.5% |
| 2022 | 91.4% | +2.3% |
| 2023 | 90.9% | -0.5% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's 90.9% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 55.5%, 1.6× the median. (57 countries reporting)
- Sri Lanka's 90.9% is above the median for South Asia, which is 88.3%, 1.0× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 99.7% | 99.5% | 99.9% | 9 |
| 1970s | 99.6% | 99.3% | 100.0% | 10 |
| 1980s | 99.2% | 98.5% | 99.9% | 10 |
| 1990s | 98.3% | 96.7% | 99.8% | 10 |
| 2000s | 96.9% | 95.1% | 99.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 95.4% | 93.8% | 96.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 91.3% | 89.4% | 93.6% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
- 36 Bahrain 92.3% compare
- 37 Bhutan 92.2% compare
- 38 Madagascar 91.2% compare
- 40 Cote d'Ivoire 89.9% compare
- 41 Democratic Republic of Congo 89.8% compare
- 42 North Korea 89.0% compare
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 share of cereals allocated to human food in Sri Lanka?
- Share of cereals allocated to human food in Sri Lanka was 90.9% in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of cereals allocated to human food recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 100.0% in 1976.
- What is the lowest share of cereals allocated to human food recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 89.4% in 2021.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for share of cereals allocated to human food?
- Sri Lanka ranks 39th out of 192 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of cereals allocated to human food rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is down 4.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sri Lanka data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of cereals allocated to human food. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Share of cereals available for domestic use – after accounting for trade – that is allocated to direct human consumption, relative to the total used for human food, animal feed, and industrial purposes. This excludes cereals used for seed, processing, and losses.