Urban population in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Urban population was 4.45 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
Urban population in Sri Lanka, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
Sri Lanka recorded 4.45 million for urban population in 2025. That is the highest value across all 66 years on record.
That represents a change of up 12.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, urban population in Sri Lanka peaked at 4.45 million in 2025 and was at its lowest, 1.70 million, in 1960.
That places Sri Lanka 106th out of 218 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Urban population in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 1.70 million | — |
| 1961 | 1.78 million | +5.2% |
| 1962 | 1.87 million | +5.0% |
| 1963 | 1.96 million | +4.8% |
| 1964 | 2.06 million | +4.9% |
| 1965 | 2.17 million | +5.3% |
| 1966 | 2.28 million | +5.4% |
| 1967 | 2.40 million | +5.3% |
| 1968 | 2.52 million | +5.0% |
| 1969 | 2.64 million | +4.5% |
| 1970 | 2.74 million | +3.8% |
| 1971 | 2.82 million | +2.9% |
| 1972 | 2.87 million | +2.1% |
| 1973 | 2.93 million | +1.8% |
| 1974 | 2.97 million | +1.6% |
| 1975 | 3.01 million | +1.4% |
| 1976 | 3.06 million | +1.3% |
| 1977 | 3.09 million | +1.3% |
| 1978 | 3.13 million | +1.2% |
| 1979 | 3.17 million | +1.2% |
| 1980 | 3.21 million | +1.2% |
| 1981 | 3.24 million | +1.0% |
| 1982 | 3.25 million | +0.3% |
| 1983 | 3.23 million | -0.6% |
| 1984 | 3.19 million | -1.2% |
| 1985 | 3.16 million | -1.1% |
| 1986 | 3.13 million | -0.8% |
| 1987 | 3.10 million | -1.0% |
| 1988 | 3.06 million | -1.3% |
| 1989 | 3.02 million | -1.4% |
| 1990 | 2.96 million | -1.9% |
| 1991 | 2.90 million | -1.9% |
| 1992 | 2.87 million | -1.1% |
| 1993 | 2.84 million | -1.0% |
| 1994 | 2.81 million | -1.1% |
| 1995 | 2.79 million | -0.8% |
| 1996 | 2.78 million | -0.4% |
| 1997 | 2.77 million | -0.1% |
| 1998 | 2.78 million | +0.2% |
| 1999 | 2.79 million | +0.6% |
| 2000 | 2.82 million | +1.0% |
| 2001 | 2.86 million | +1.3% |
| 2002 | 2.89 million | +1.3% |
| 2003 | 2.94 million | +1.5% |
| 2004 | 3.00 million | +2.0% |
| 2005 | 3.07 million | +2.4% |
| 2006 | 3.15 million | +2.8% |
| 2007 | 3.25 million | +3.1% |
| 2008 | 3.36 million | +3.3% |
| 2009 | 3.48 million | +3.5% |
| 2010 | 3.60 million | +3.6% |
| 2011 | 3.74 million | +3.8% |
| 2012 | 3.87 million | +3.4% |
| 2013 | 3.79 million | -1.9% |
| 2014 | 3.87 million | +1.9% |
| 2015 | 3.94 million | +1.9% |
| 2016 | 4.02 million | +2.1% |
| 2017 | 4.11 million | +2.1% |
| 2018 | 4.19 million | +1.9% |
| 2019 | 4.25 million | +1.5% |
| 2020 | 4.31 million | +1.4% |
| 2021 | 4.39 million | +1.9% |
| 2022 | 4.43 million | +0.9% |
| 2023 | 4.44 million | +0.1% |
| 2024 | 4.45 million | +0.2% |
| 2025 | 4.45 million | +0.0% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's 4.45 million is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 4.10 million, 1.1× the median. (59 countries reporting)
- Sri Lanka's 4.45 million is below the median for South Asia, which is 12.15 million, 37% of the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 2.14 million | 1.70 million | 2.64 million | 10 |
| 1970s | 2.98 million | 2.74 million | 3.17 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 3.16 million | 3.02 million | 3.25 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.83 million | 2.77 million | 2.96 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 3.08 million | 2.82 million | 3.48 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.94 million | 3.60 million | 4.25 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.41 million | 4.31 million | 4.45 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
More climate change data for Sri Lanka
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Synthetic fertilizers (Agricultural) 327.09 million kg (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 3,418 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 618.46 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 2,800 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 2.33 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 100 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 4,168 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 2,071 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 2,097 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 7.82 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is urban population in Sri Lanka?
- Urban population in Sri Lanka was 4.45 million in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest urban population recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 4.45 million in 2025.
- What is the lowest urban population recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.70 million in 1960.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for urban population?
- Sri Lanka ranks 106th out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is urban population rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is up 12.9%. 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 Urban 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
Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated using World Bank population estimates and urban ratios from the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects. Aggregation of urban and rural population may not add up to total population because of different country coverages.