Electoral Democracy Index in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Electoral Democracy Index was 0.783 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
0.783
Change on year
up 15.7%
World rank
33rd
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.783
in 2025
All-time low
0.139
in 1900
Years of data
126
1900–2025
Electoral Democracy Index in Sri Lanka, 1900–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for electoral democracy index in Sri Lanka is 0.783, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 126 years on record.
The figure is up 15.7% on the previous year and up 42.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, electoral democracy index in Sri Lanka peaked at 0.783 in 2025 and was at its lowest, 0.139, in 1900.
Sri Lanka ranks 33rd of 176 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 126 years of available data.
Electoral Democracy Index in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1900 | 0.139 | — |
| 1901 | 0.139 | +0.0% |
| 1902 | 0.139 | +0.0% |
| 1903 | 0.139 | +0.0% |
| 1904 | 0.139 | +0.0% |
| 1905 | 0.139 | +0.0% |
| 1906 | 0.139 | +0.0% |
| 1907 | 0.139 | +0.0% |
| 1908 | 0.139 | +0.0% |
| 1909 | 0.139 | +0.0% |
| 1910 | 0.139 | +0.0% |
| 1911 | 0.238 | +71.2% |
| 1912 | 0.238 | +0.0% |
| 1913 | 0.238 | +0.0% |
| 1914 | 0.238 | +0.0% |
| 1915 | 0.238 | +0.0% |
| 1916 | 0.238 | +0.0% |
| 1917 | 0.238 | +0.0% |
| 1918 | 0.238 | +0.0% |
| 1919 | 0.238 | +0.0% |
| 1920 | 0.249 | +4.6% |
| 1921 | 0.255 | +2.4% |
| 1922 | 0.255 | +0.0% |
| 1923 | 0.258 | +1.2% |
| 1924 | 0.257 | -0.4% |
| 1925 | 0.257 | +0.0% |
| 1926 | 0.257 | +0.0% |
| 1927 | 0.257 | +0.0% |
| 1928 | 0.257 | +0.0% |
| 1929 | 0.257 | +0.0% |
| 1930 | 0.26 | +1.2% |
| 1931 | 0.286 | +10.0% |
| 1932 | 0.342 | +19.6% |
| 1933 | 0.342 | +0.0% |
| 1934 | 0.342 | +0.0% |
| 1935 | 0.342 | +0.0% |
| 1936 | 0.347 | +1.5% |
| 1937 | 0.347 | +0.0% |
| 1938 | 0.347 | +0.0% |
| 1939 | 0.347 | +0.0% |
| 1940 | 0.337 | -2.9% |
| 1941 | 0.337 | +0.0% |
| 1942 | 0.337 | +0.0% |
| 1943 | 0.337 | +0.0% |
| 1944 | 0.337 | +0.0% |
| 1945 | 0.337 | +0.0% |
| 1946 | 0.344 | +2.1% |
| 1947 | 0.426 | +23.8% |
| 1948 | 0.675 | +58.5% |
| 1949 | 0.664 | -1.6% |
| 1950 | 0.677 | +2.0% |
| 1951 | 0.677 | +0.0% |
| 1952 | 0.651 | -3.8% |
| 1953 | 0.634 | -2.6% |
| 1954 | 0.632 | -0.3% |
| 1955 | 0.638 | +0.9% |
| 1956 | 0.629 | -1.4% |
| 1957 | 0.629 | +0.0% |
| 1958 | 0.63 | +0.2% |
| 1959 | 0.63 | +0.0% |
| 1960 | 0.66 | +4.8% |
| 1961 | 0.666 | +0.9% |
| 1962 | 0.664 | -0.3% |
| 1963 | 0.664 | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 0.664 | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 0.661 | -0.5% |
| 1966 | 0.659 | -0.3% |
| 1967 | 0.659 | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 0.659 | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 0.659 | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 0.64 | -2.9% |
| 1971 | 0.606 | -5.3% |
| 1972 | 0.593 | -2.1% |
| 1973 | 0.588 | -0.8% |
| 1974 | 0.587 | -0.2% |
| 1975 | 0.59 | +0.5% |
| 1976 | 0.59 | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 0.565 | -4.2% |
| 1978 | 0.552 | -2.3% |
| 1979 | 0.543 | -1.6% |
| 1980 | 0.519 | -4.4% |
| 1981 | 0.519 | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 0.512 | -1.3% |
| 1983 | 0.48 | -6.3% |
| 1984 | 0.48 | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 0.48 | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 0.478 | -0.4% |
| 1987 | 0.472 | -1.3% |
| 1988 | 0.461 | -2.3% |
| 1989 | 0.435 | -5.6% |
| 1990 | 0.445 | +2.3% |
| 1991 | 0.445 | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 0.449 | +0.9% |
| 1993 | 0.449 | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 0.49 | +9.1% |
| 1995 | 0.544 | +11.0% |
| 1996 | 0.544 | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 0.544 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 0.53 | -2.6% |
| 1999 | 0.529 | -0.2% |
| 2000 | 0.494 | -6.6% |
| 2001 | 0.496 | +0.4% |
| 2002 | 0.529 | +6.7% |
| 2003 | 0.529 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 0.513 | -3.0% |
| 2005 | 0.435 | -15.2% |
| 2006 | 0.373 | -14.3% |
| 2007 | 0.373 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 0.368 | -1.3% |
| 2009 | 0.366 | -0.5% |
| 2010 | 0.386 | +5.5% |
| 2011 | 0.384 | -0.5% |
| 2012 | 0.39 | +1.6% |
| 2013 | 0.418 | +7.2% |
| 2014 | 0.417 | -0.2% |
| 2015 | 0.55 | +31.9% |
| 2016 | 0.595 | +8.2% |
| 2017 | 0.591 | -0.7% |
| 2018 | 0.612 | +3.6% |
| 2019 | 0.564 | -7.8% |
| 2020 | 0.579 | +2.7% |
| 2021 | 0.572 | -1.2% |
| 2022 | 0.602 | +5.2% |
| 2023 | 0.585 | -2.8% |
| 2024 | 0.677 | +15.7% |
| 2025 | 0.783 | +15.7% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's 0.783 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.491, 1.6× the median. (48 countries reporting)
- Sri Lanka's 0.783 is above the median for South Asia, which is 0.561, 1.4× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Electoral Democracy Index in Sri Lanka changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1911 | +71.2% | 0.139 | 0.238 |
| 1948 | +58.5% | 0.426 | 0.675 |
| 2015 | +31.9% | 0.417 | 0.55 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 0.139 | 0.139 | 0.139 | 10 |
| 1910s | 0.2281 | 0.139 | 0.238 | 10 |
| 1920s | 0.2559 | 0.249 | 0.258 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.3302 | 0.26 | 0.347 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0.4131 | 0.337 | 0.675 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.6427 | 0.629 | 0.677 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.6615 | 0.659 | 0.666 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.5854 | 0.543 | 0.64 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.4836 | 0.435 | 0.519 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.4969 | 0.445 | 0.544 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.4476 | 0.366 | 0.529 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.4907 | 0.384 | 0.612 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.633 | 0.572 | 0.783 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
More social development data for Sri Lanka
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 213 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 148,369 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 3 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 3 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0068 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 148,369 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is electoral democracy index in Sri Lanka?
- Electoral democracy index in Sri Lanka was 0.783 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest electoral democracy index recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 0.783 in 2025.
- What is the lowest electoral democracy index recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.139 in 1900.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for electoral democracy index?
- Sri Lanka ranks 33rd out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
- Is electoral democracy index rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is up 42.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sri Lanka data come from?
- The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Electoral Democracy Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 126 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Central estimate of the extent to which political leaders are elected under comprehensive suffrage in free and fair elections, and freedoms of association and expression are guaranteed.