Income share of the richest 20% — all countries

Income share of the richest 20% — Sri Lanka

Income share of the richest 20% in Sri Lanka in 2019 — 45.7%. Ranked 59 in the world out of 78. Since 1985, the indicator has risen by 4.6 pp.

2019 45.7% −1.5 pp vs 2016
World rank 59of 78
Period maximum 48%2002
Period minimum 41.1%1985

Trend over time

1985–2019 · % of income

Income share of the richest 20% — Sri Lanka, 1985–2019404244464819851989199319972001200520092013201720191985: 41.1%1990: 41.7%1995: 44%2002: 48%2006: 47.4%2009: 44.4%2012: 46.6%2016: 47.2%2019: 45.7%
Change over the period: +4.6 pp Annual average: 0.14 pp
Income share of the richest 20% — Sri Lanka, by year Sri Lanka All countries CSV XLSX
Year % Change, pp
2019 45.7
2016 47.2
2012 46.6
2009 44.4
2006 47.4
2002 48
1995 44
1990 41.7
1985 41.1

Southern Asia, 2019

The same indicator for neighboring countries — with links to their pages

About the indicator

The share of total income or consumption that goes to the richest twenty percent of the population. Under complete equality it would be twenty percent; in the most unequal countries of Latin America and Southern Africa it comes to more than sixty. The ratio of this share to the share of the poorest quintile — the quintile ratio, S80/S20 — was historically the first measure of inequality, and it speaks more clearly than the Gini index about the gap between the poles.

Important: There are no aggregates for country groups for the same reason as with the Gini index: the quintile of a group is not a union of national quintiles. Household surveys systematically understate the incomes of the richest, so real inequality is higher than measured.

Source: World Development Indicators (World Bank), license CC BY 4.0.