Life expectancy in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Life expectancy was 77.48 years in 2023. ▲ Rising
Life expectancy in Sri Lanka, 1901–2023
Source: Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
Sri Lanka recorded 77.48 years for life expectancy in 2023. That is the highest value across all 82 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.2% on the previous year and up 2.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, life expectancy in Sri Lanka peaked at 77.48 years in 2023 and was at its lowest, 29.9 years, in 1911.
Sri Lanka ranks 84th of 236 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 82 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 32.6 years | 32.6 years | 32.6 years | 1 |
| 1910s | 29.9 years | 29.9 years | 29.9 years | 1 |
| 1920s | 32 years | 32 years | 32 years | 1 |
| 1930s | 46.3 years | 46.3 years | 46.3 years | 1 |
| 1940s | 50.12 years | 45.2 years | 55.5 years | 4 |
| 1950s | 56.7 years | 53.17 years | 59.97 years | 10 |
| 1960s | 62.53 years | 60.6 years | 64.14 years | 10 |
| 1970s | 65.49 years | 64.24 years | 67.51 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 68.57 years | 67.28 years | 69.01 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 69.83 years | 69.13 years | 70.43 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 71.75 years | 68.02 years | 73.07 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 75.72 years | 74.46 years | 76.7 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 77 years | 76.28 years | 77.48 years | 4 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
- 81 Colombia 77.72 years compare
- 82 Iran 77.65 years compare
- 83 Antigua and Barbuda 77.6 years compare
- 85 Bonaire Sint Eustatius and Saba 77.44 years compare
- 86 Argentina 77.39 years compare
- 86 North Macedonia 77.39 years compare
More health data for Sri Lanka
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,250 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 304 deaths (2100)
- Deaths in armed conflicts based on where they occurred 104 deaths (2026)
- Deaths in armed conflicts by region 104 deaths (2026)
- Age population, age 25, male, interpolated 165,896 (2025)
- Age population, age 25, female, interpolated 161,381 (2025)
- Age population, age 24, male, interpolated 168,135 (2025)
- Age population, age 24, female, interpolated 163,591 (2025)
- Age population, age 23, male, interpolated 171,383 (2025)
- Age population, age 23, female, interpolated 167,020 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is life expectancy in Sri Lanka?
- Life expectancy in Sri Lanka was 77.48 years in 2023, according to Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest life expectancy recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 77.48 years in 2023.
- What is the lowest life expectancy recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 29.9 years in 1911.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for life expectancy?
- Sri Lanka ranks 84th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
- Is life expectancy rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sri Lanka data come from?
- The figures come from Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Life expectancy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 82 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Period life expectancy is the number of years the average person born in a certain year would live if they experienced the same chances of dying at each age as people did that year.