PM2.5 air pollution, population exposed to levels exceeding WHO in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: PM2.5 air pollution, population exposed to levels exceeding WHO was 45.5% in 2017. ▼ Falling
PM2.5 air pollution, population exposed to levels exceeding WHO in Sri Lanka, 1990–2017
Source: Global Burden of Disease Study 2017 (GBD 2017), Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME). Measured in % of total.
Analysis
Sri Lanka recorded 45.5% for pm2.5 air pollution, population exposed to levels exceeding who in 2017. That is the lowest value across all 12 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 34.1% on the previous year and down 54.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, pm2.5 air pollution, population exposed to levels exceeding who in Sri Lanka peaked at 100.0% in 1990 and was at its lowest, 45.5%, in 2017.
That places Sri Lanka 175th out of 194 countries with data for 2017, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 12 years of available data.
PM2.5 air pollution, population exposed to levels exceeding WHO in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | % of total | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 100.0% | — |
| 1995 | 100.0% | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 100.0% | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 100.0% | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 100.0% | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 100.0% | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 100.0% | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 100.0% | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 100.0% | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 100.0% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 69.1% | -30.9% |
| 2017 | 45.5% | -34.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 2 |
| 2000s | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 2 |
| 2010s | 89.3% | 45.5% | 100.0% | 8 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
- 172 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 66.5% compare
- 173 Denmark 56.9% compare
- 174 Switzerland 49.3% compare
- 176 Spain 41.1% compare
- 177 United States Virgin Islands 40.0% compare
- 178 Northern Mariana Islands 26.9% compare
More urban development data for Sri Lanka
- Population in the largest city 14.6% (2025)
- Population density 356.24 people per sq. km of land area (2023)
- PM2.5 air pollution, mean annual exposure 22.68 micrograms per cubic meter (2023)
- Population in largest city 647,557 (2025)
- Crude steelmaking capacity 0.2 Tonnes (2025)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 23 - Ecological 87.19 Hectares (2020)
- Dollar value of all resources made available to strengthen 1.29 million (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is pm2.5 air pollution, population exposed to levels exceeding who in Sri Lanka?
- Pm2.5 air pollution, population exposed to levels exceeding who in Sri Lanka was 45.5% in 2017, according to Global Burden of Disease Study 2017 (GBD 2017), Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME).
- What is the highest pm2.5 air pollution, population exposed to levels exceeding who recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 100.0% in 1990.
- What is the lowest pm2.5 air pollution, population exposed to levels exceeding who recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 45.5% in 2017.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for pm2.5 air pollution, population exposed to levels exceeding who?
- Sri Lanka ranks 175th out of 194 countries with data for 2017.
- Is pm2.5 air pollution, population exposed to levels exceeding who rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is down 54.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sri Lanka data come from?
- The figures come from Global Burden of Disease Study 2017 (GBD 2017), Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), published as part of PM2.5 air pollution, population exposed to levels exceeding WHO guideline value (% of total). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 12 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Percent of population exposed to ambient concentrations of PM2.5 that exceed the WHO guideline value is defined as the portion of a country’s population living in places where mean annual concentrations of PM2.5 are greater than 10 micrograms per cubic meter, the guideline value recommended by the World Health Organization as the lower end of the range of concentrations over which adverse health effects due to PM2.5 exposure have been observed.