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Sri Lanka
Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka · Southern Asia
At a glance
CapitalColombo
Most common first languageSinhala74.9% speak it as a mother tongue
Official languagesSinhala, Tamil
CurrencySri Lankan rupee
Drives on theleft
Highest pointPidurutalagala2,524 m
Biggest category of goods exportedmanufactured goods66% of goods exports, 2024
Services share of exports35.1%of everything sold abroad, 2024
TerritoryEntirely islandsno part on a continental mainland
Internet domain.lk
Sri Lanka by the numbers
Rank is out of the countries with data for that measure. Every figure is the latest year the source publishes.
| Measure | Value | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| PopulationEveryone living in the country, all ages, counted mid-year. | 21.8m (2025) | 62nd of 209 |
| GDPThe total value of everything the country produces in a year, at current prices. | $109bn (2025) | 72nd of 203 |
| Land areaTotal land area, excluding inland water and offshore territory. | 61.9k km² (2023) | 123rd of 209 |
| Military spending, totalWhat the government spends on its armed forces in a year — pay, equipment and operations. | $1.33bn (2024) | 72nd of 151 |
| Exports of goods & servicesThe value of everything the country sells abroad in a year, goods and services combined. | $20.6bn (2025) | 90th of 180 |
| Mobile subscriptionsActive mobile phone subscriptions — NOT the same as people. Many people hold two, so a country can have more subscriptions than residents. | 30.6m (2024) | 47th of 205 |
| Forest areaLand under natural or planted trees, whether or not it is productive. | 21.0k km² (2023) | 106th of 203 |
| Agricultural landCropland, land under permanent crops, and permanent pasture. | 30.1k km² (2023) | 103rd of 206 |
| COâ‚‚ emissionsCarbon dioxide released in a year, in millions of tonnes. | 23 Mt (2024) | 83rd of 198 |
| Urban populationThe number of people living in urban areas, as each country defines them. | 4.45m (2025) | 106th of 209 |
| Life expectancyHow long a baby born today would live if death rates never changed. | 77.7 years (2024) | 73rd of 209 |
| GDP per personEverything the country produces in a year, divided by its population. | $5,002 (2025) | 134th of 205 |
| Internet useThe share of people who have used the internet in the last three months. | 54.6% (2024) | 145th of 191 |
| InflationHow much prices rose over the year, measured on a basket of consumer goods. | -4.8% (2025) | 181st of 182 |
| UnemploymentThe share of people who want a job and are looking for one but do not have one. | 4.0% (2025) | 118th of 185 |
| Urban shareThe share of the population living in urban areas. | 20.5% (2025) | 204th of 209 |
| Births per womanHow many children a woman would have across her life at current birth rates. | 1.95 (2024) | 105th of 209 |
| Military spending, share of GDPWhat the country spends on its armed forces, as a share of everything it produces. | 1.43% of GDP (2024) | 90th of 155 |
| Trade opennessImports plus exports as a share of GDP. Above 100% is normal for small trading economies. | 41.8% of GDP (2025) | 157th of 183 |
| COâ‚‚ per personCarbon dioxide from fuel and industry, divided by the population. | 1.07 t (2024) | 138th of 198 |
| Human Development IndexThe UN’s combined measure of health, education and income, on a scale from 0 to 1. | 0.776 (2023) | 91st of 193 |
Land borders
Sri Lanka shares these with other countries
Drives on the left 60Is made up entirely of islands 58Shares no land border 51Has tamil as an official language 2Is a member of the commonwealth 55Mainly exports manufactured goods 83Is in southern asia 9
Keep going
Country data from the World Bank (CC BY 4.0) and the UNDP Human Development Report (CC BY 3.0 IGO)
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