Human Rights Index vs. Electoral Democracy Index in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Human Rights Index vs. Electoral Democracy Index was 0.816 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
0.816
Change on year
up 2.8%
World rank
69th
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.849
in 1949
All-time low
0.435
in 2009
Years of data
126
1900–2025
Human Rights Index vs. Electoral Democracy Index in Sri Lanka, 1900–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for human rights index vs. electoral democracy index in Sri Lanka is 0.816, measured in 2025.
The figure is up 2.8% on the previous year and up 11.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, human rights index vs. electoral democracy index in Sri Lanka peaked at 0.849 in 1949 and was at its lowest, 0.435, in 2009.
That places Sri Lanka 69th out of 176 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 126 years of available data.
Human Rights Index vs. Electoral Democracy Index in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1900 | 0.764 | — |
| 1901 | 0.764 | +0.0% |
| 1902 | 0.764 | +0.0% |
| 1903 | 0.764 | +0.0% |
| 1904 | 0.764 | +0.0% |
| 1905 | 0.764 | +0.0% |
| 1906 | 0.764 | +0.0% |
| 1907 | 0.764 | +0.0% |
| 1908 | 0.764 | +0.0% |
| 1909 | 0.764 | +0.0% |
| 1910 | 0.764 | +0.0% |
| 1911 | 0.764 | +0.0% |
| 1912 | 0.764 | +0.0% |
| 1913 | 0.764 | +0.0% |
| 1914 | 0.764 | +0.0% |
| 1915 | 0.764 | +0.0% |
| 1916 | 0.764 | +0.0% |
| 1917 | 0.764 | +0.0% |
| 1918 | 0.764 | +0.0% |
| 1919 | 0.764 | +0.0% |
| 1920 | 0.78 | +2.1% |
| 1921 | 0.78 | +0.0% |
| 1922 | 0.78 | +0.0% |
| 1923 | 0.78 | +0.0% |
| 1924 | 0.78 | +0.0% |
| 1925 | 0.78 | +0.0% |
| 1926 | 0.78 | +0.0% |
| 1927 | 0.78 | +0.0% |
| 1928 | 0.78 | +0.0% |
| 1929 | 0.78 | +0.0% |
| 1930 | 0.779 | -0.1% |
| 1931 | 0.79 | +1.4% |
| 1932 | 0.79 | +0.0% |
| 1933 | 0.79 | +0.0% |
| 1934 | 0.79 | +0.0% |
| 1935 | 0.79 | +0.0% |
| 1936 | 0.796 | +0.8% |
| 1937 | 0.796 | +0.0% |
| 1938 | 0.796 | +0.0% |
| 1939 | 0.796 | +0.0% |
| 1940 | 0.786 | -1.3% |
| 1941 | 0.786 | +0.0% |
| 1942 | 0.785 | -0.1% |
| 1943 | 0.785 | +0.0% |
| 1944 | 0.785 | +0.0% |
| 1945 | 0.785 | +0.0% |
| 1946 | 0.788 | +0.4% |
| 1947 | 0.788 | +0.0% |
| 1948 | 0.847 | +7.5% |
| 1949 | 0.849 | +0.2% |
| 1950 | 0.849 | +0.0% |
| 1951 | 0.849 | +0.0% |
| 1952 | 0.849 | +0.0% |
| 1953 | 0.849 | +0.0% |
| 1954 | 0.849 | +0.0% |
| 1955 | 0.846 | -0.4% |
| 1956 | 0.837 | -1.1% |
| 1957 | 0.837 | +0.0% |
| 1958 | 0.821 | -1.9% |
| 1959 | 0.827 | +0.7% |
| 1960 | 0.831 | +0.5% |
| 1961 | 0.832 | +0.1% |
| 1962 | 0.832 | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 0.832 | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 0.832 | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 0.832 | +0.0% |
| 1966 | 0.839 | +0.8% |
| 1967 | 0.839 | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 0.839 | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 0.839 | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 0.8 | -4.6% |
| 1971 | 0.694 | -13.3% |
| 1972 | 0.732 | +5.5% |
| 1973 | 0.742 | +1.4% |
| 1974 | 0.745 | +0.4% |
| 1975 | 0.747 | +0.3% |
| 1976 | 0.747 | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 0.721 | -3.5% |
| 1978 | 0.715 | -0.8% |
| 1979 | 0.716 | +0.1% |
| 1980 | 0.636 | -11.2% |
| 1981 | 0.636 | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 0.636 | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 0.579 | -9.0% |
| 1984 | 0.574 | -0.9% |
| 1985 | 0.569 | -0.9% |
| 1986 | 0.55 | -3.3% |
| 1987 | 0.498 | -9.5% |
| 1988 | 0.47 | -5.6% |
| 1989 | 0.461 | -1.9% |
| 1990 | 0.46 | -0.2% |
| 1991 | 0.46 | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 0.513 | +11.5% |
| 1993 | 0.516 | +0.6% |
| 1994 | 0.591 | +14.5% |
| 1995 | 0.602 | +1.9% |
| 1996 | 0.602 | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 0.602 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 0.588 | -2.3% |
| 1999 | 0.588 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 0.584 | -0.7% |
| 2001 | 0.584 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 0.59 | +1.0% |
| 2003 | 0.59 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 0.588 | -0.3% |
| 2005 | 0.544 | -7.5% |
| 2006 | 0.499 | -8.3% |
| 2007 | 0.452 | -9.4% |
| 2008 | 0.449 | -0.7% |
| 2009 | 0.435 | -3.1% |
| 2010 | 0.535 | +23.0% |
| 2011 | 0.535 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 0.559 | +4.5% |
| 2013 | 0.586 | +4.8% |
| 2014 | 0.592 | +1.0% |
| 2015 | 0.735 | +24.2% |
| 2016 | 0.785 | +6.8% |
| 2017 | 0.789 | +0.5% |
| 2018 | 0.834 | +5.7% |
| 2019 | 0.782 | -6.2% |
| 2020 | 0.665 | -15.0% |
| 2021 | 0.648 | -2.6% |
| 2022 | 0.696 | +7.4% |
| 2023 | 0.73 | +4.9% |
| 2024 | 0.794 | +8.8% |
| 2025 | 0.816 | +2.8% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's 0.816 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.7345, 1.1× the median. (48 countries reporting)
- Sri Lanka's 0.816 is above the median for South Asia, which is 0.7125, 1.1× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 0.764 | 0.764 | 0.764 | 10 |
| 1910s | 0.764 | 0.764 | 0.764 | 10 |
| 1920s | 0.78 | 0.78 | 0.78 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.7913 | 0.779 | 0.796 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0.7984 | 0.785 | 0.849 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.8413 | 0.821 | 0.849 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.8347 | 0.831 | 0.839 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.7359 | 0.694 | 0.8 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.5609 | 0.461 | 0.636 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.5522 | 0.46 | 0.602 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.5315 | 0.435 | 0.59 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.6732 | 0.535 | 0.834 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.7248 | 0.648 | 0.816 | 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 human rights index vs. electoral democracy index in Sri Lanka?
- Human rights index vs. electoral democracy index in Sri Lanka was 0.816 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest human rights index vs. electoral democracy index recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 0.849 in 1949.
- What is the lowest human rights index vs. electoral democracy index recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.435 in 2009.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for human rights index vs. electoral democracy index?
- Sri Lanka ranks 69th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
- Is human rights index vs. electoral democracy index rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is up 11.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- 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 Human Rights Index vs. 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 people are free from government torture, political killings, and forced labor, they have property rights, and enjoy the freedoms of movement, religion, expression, and association.