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Photo: Løken · CC0 · via Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale
Topic 13 of 18 · Country Index 2026
Sri Lanka: Food & Agriculture
What does a country grow, and what does it take to grow it?
Sri Lanka is placed joint 71st of 175 countries on food & agriculture in the Country Index 2026, from 3 of its 4 key statistics. Readings behind it: Cereal Yield 3,804 (2023); Organic Agricultural Area 3.08 (2024).
Food & Agriculture
joint71st
of 175 countries placed
Placed from 3 of 4 key statistics
01The evidence
The 4 key statistics that decide it
Only these place Sri Lanka on food & agriculture — one vote each. Every value is the publisher’s own, read at the edition the Country Index 2026 used; the grey ticks are every other country it was compared with, lowest on the left.
Key 1 of 4
Cereal Yield
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Why it is a key: How much food a hectare of land produces: the clearest single measure of how productively a country farms.
2023 edition · data for 2023 · CC BY 4.0
3,804
Cereal yield (kg per hectare)
Higher is better
Sri Lanka: 3,804. Across the 179 countries in this edition, values run from 23 (Cabo Verde) to 29,147 (Oman); the world median is 3,072.
- World median
- 3,072
- Best in Southern Asia
- 5,321 Bangladesh
Each grey tick is one of 179 countries in the 2023 edition.
Key 2 of 4
Organic Agricultural Area
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Why it is a key: Farmland managed without synthetic fertiliser or pesticide — how a country farms, set beside how much it grows.
2024 edition · data for 2024 · CC BY 4.0
3.08
Organic share of agricultural land (%)
Higher is better
Sri Lanka: 3.08. Across the 156 countries in this edition, values run from 0 (Afghanistan) to 86.38 (Samoa); the world median is 0.725.
- World median
- 0.725
- Best in Southern Asia
- 3.08 Sri Lanka
Each grey tick is one of 156 countries in the 2024 edition.
Key 3 of 4
Dietary Energy Supply
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Why it is a key: Whether the food a country produces and imports covers what its population needs to eat, measured before anyone has eaten it.
2024 edition · data for 2024 · CC BY 4.0
2,760
Dietary energy supply (kcal per person per day)
Higher is better
Sri Lanka: 2,760. Across the 155 countries in this edition, values run from 1,757 (Somalia) to 3,962 (United States); the world median is 2,982.
- World median
- 2,982
- Best in Southern Asia
- 2,935 Nepal
Each grey tick is one of 155 countries in the 2024 edition.
Key 4 of 4
Agriculture Orientation Index
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Why it is a key: How much public spending agriculture attracts set against the share of the economy it produces — whether a state invests in its farms or lives off them.
2024 edition · data for 2024 · CC BY 4.0
No reading
Agriculture orientation index (1.0 = spending matches sector size)
Higher is better
FAO publishes no 2024 figure for Sri Lanka, so the standing rests on the other keys.
Across the 132 countries in this edition, values run from 0.03 (Ghana) to 5.38 (Singapore); the world median is 0.305.
- World median
- 0.305
- Best in Southern Asia
- 0.78 Bangladesh
Each grey tick is one of 132 countries in the 2024 edition.
02Over time
Which way Sri Lanka is moving
Each key’s published value, edition by edition, beside the world median. The Country Index 2026 is the first edition of the standing, so the standing itself has no history to chart yet.
Cereal Yield
Cereal yield (kg per hectare) · higher is better
Sri LankaWorld median
Sri Lanka rose from 3,338 in 2000 to 3,804 in 2023; the world median went from 2,170 to 3,072.
Every year’s figures
Year Sri Lanka World median 2023 3,804 3,072 2022 3,033 3,217 2021 4,541 3,003 2020 4,733 3,260 2019 4,724 3,106 2018 3,762 2,883 2017 3,046 2,984 2016 3,845 3,043 2015 3,943 3,000 2014 3,800 3,001 2013 3,834 2,970 2012 3,583 2,782 2011 3,521 2,754 2010 3,974 2,647 2009 3,791 2,653 2008 3,617 2,664 2007 3,728 2,553 2006 3,580 2,514 2005 3,467 2,512 2004 3,564 2,428 2003 3,283 2,331 2002 3,405 2,378 2001 3,425 2,199 2000 3,338 2,170 Organic Agricultural Area
Organic share of agricultural land (%) · higher is better
Sri LankaWorld median
Sri Lanka rose from 0.4 in 2005 to 3.08 in 2024; the world median went from 0.345 to 0.725.
Every year’s figures
Year Sri Lanka World median 2024 3.08 0.725 2023 2.32 0.780 2022 2.42 0.740 2021 2.37 0.710 2020 2.61 0.665 2019 2.51 0.550 2018 2.74 0.490 2017 6.00 0.630 2016 3.50 0.545 2015 3.51 0.540 2014 2.28 0.470 2013 0.71 0.440 2012 0.71 0.480 2011 0.71 0.460 2010 0.85 0.330 2009 0.81 0.335 2008 0.86 0.290 2007 0.71 0.370 2006 0.70 0.305 2005 0.40 0.345 Dietary Energy Supply
Dietary energy supply (kcal per person per day) · higher is better
Sri LankaWorld median
Sri Lanka rose from 2,350 in 2001 to 2,760 in 2024; the world median went from 2,628 to 2,982.
Every year’s figures
Year Sri Lanka World median 2024 2,760 2,982.0 2023 2,677 2,969.0 2022 2,739 2,962.5 2021 2,837 2,967.0 2020 2,888 2,934.0 2019 2,831 2,912.5 2018 2,700 2,893.0 2017 2,707 2,886.0 2016 2,787 2,863.0 2015 2,768 2,835.0 2014 2,697 2,844.0 2013 2,531 2,856.0 2012 2,496 2,838.0 2011 2,475 2,827.5 2010 2,473 2,808.0 2009 2,490 2,818.0 2008 2,481 2,811.0 2007 2,456 2,810.5 2006 2,422 2,772.0 2005 2,406 2,740.5 2004 2,384 2,712.5 2003 2,370 2,685.0 2002 2,364 2,667.0 2001 2,350 2,628.0 Agriculture Orientation Index
Agriculture orientation index (1.0 = spending matches sector size) · higher is better
Sri LankaWorld median
Sri Lanka rose from 0.36 in 2001 to 0.44 in 2023; the world median went from 0.36 to 0.305.
Every year’s figures
Year Sri Lanka World median 2024 — 0.305 2023 0.44 0.305 2022 0.57 0.290 2021 0.47 0.260 2020 0.56 0.255 2019 0.63 0.265 2018 0.59 0.270 2017 0.72 0.260 2016 0.78 0.285 2015 0.77 0.305 2014 0.71 0.300 2013 0.50 0.285 2012 0.62 0.330 2011 0.56 0.290 2010 0.59 0.320 2009 0.61 0.370 2008 0.64 0.390 2007 0.58 0.410 2006 0.66 0.355 2005 0.51 0.325 2004 0.42 0.320 2003 0.42 0.320 2002 0.38 0.340 2001 0.36 0.360
03In context
Sri Lanka beside its neighbours
A position reads best beside the countries around it. Every position below is a place among all 175 countries on food & agriculture, never a place within the region.
1st175thNot placed · 49 countries with too few key statisticsNo data
Sri Lanka and Southern Asia
Sri Lanka has no land border, so the table compares it with its sub-region. The standing is each country’s place among all 175 placed on the topic; the other columns are the publishers’ own values, read at the edition the standing used.
| Country | Standing | Cereal YieldCereal yield (kg per hectare) | Organic Agricultural AreaOrganic share of agricultural land (%) | Dietary Energy SupplyDietary energy supply (kcal per person per day) | Agriculture Orientation IndexAgriculture orientation index (1.0 = spending matches sector size) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Bhutan | 56th | 3,462 | 0.7 | — | 0.66 |
| Sri Lanka | =71st | 3,804 | 3.08 | 2,760 | — |
 Maldives | 81st | 2,432 | — | — | 0.39 |
 India | 82nd | 3,602 | 2.23 | 2,705 | — |
 Bangladesh | 89th | 5,321 | 0.01 | 2,639 | 0.78 |
 Nepal | =117th | 3,344 | 0.04 | 2,935 | 0.25 |
 Pakistan | 133rd | 3,634 | 0.24 | 2,530 | 0.13 |
 Iran | 139th | 2,420 | 0.01 | 2,876 | — |
 Afghanistan | 161st | 2,303 | 0 | 2,313 | — |
“—” means the publisher gives no reading for that country in that edition. A country needs readings on enough keys to be placed.
Across Southern Asia
Every country in the sub-region, by its place among all 175.
Placed either side on food & agriculture
The countries immediately above and below Sri Lanka in the topic’s list.
04Context, no vote
Where Sri Lanka is ahead of the world, and behind
16 more statistics filed under food & agriculture, published in full and deliberately given no vote in the standing. Select a row for the publisher, the rank and the links.
Ahead of the world median2
Statistics on which Sri Lanka does better than the middle country measured.
Prevalence of Severe Food InsecurityFAO · 2023 · world median 4.71.14.7▼ Worsened since 2015
Sri Lanka: 1.1 · world median 4.7 · Population in severe food insecurity (%). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 63.1; lower is better.
Position 113th of 127 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Livestock Production IndexFAO · 2022 · world median 107.06125.14107.06▲ Improved since 2012
Sri Lanka: 125.14 · world median 107.06 · Livestock production index (2014–2016 = 100). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2022 edition, data for 2022.
Published values in that edition run from 35.52 to 190.08; higher is better.
Position 38th of 194 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Behind the world median3
Statistics on which Sri Lanka does worse than the middle country measured.
Prevalence of UndernourishmentFAO · 2023 · world median 5.27.45.2▲ Improved since 2013
Sri Lanka: 7.4 · world median 5.2 · Population undernourished (%). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 2.5 to 54.2; lower is better.
Position 64th of 104 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Food Production IndexFAO · 2022 · world median 106.0899.24106.08▼ Worsened since 2012
Sri Lanka: 99.24 · world median 106.08 · Food production index (2014–2016 = 100). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2022 edition, data for 2022.
Published values in that edition run from 71.08 to 177.49; higher is better.
Position 146th of 195 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Crop Production IndexFAO · 2022 · world median 106.2395.73106.23▼ Worsened since 2012
Sri Lanka: 95.73 · world median 106.23 · Crop production index (2014–2016 = 100). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2022 edition, data for 2022.
Published values in that edition run from 53.79 to 189.93; higher is better.
Position 150th of 195 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
No better end11
These describe the shape of a country — more is not better or worse, only different — so they are never ahead or behind.
Water Withdrawal by SectorFAO · 2022 · world median 62.1487.3662.14No real change since 2012
Sri Lanka: 87.36 · world median 62.14 · Freshwater withdrawn for agriculture (% of total). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2022 edition, data for 2022.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 99.48.
Position 34th of 171 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Fertilizer Consumption per HectareFAO · 2023 · world median 87.36153.9487.36Moved since 2013
Sri Lanka: 153.94 · world median 87.36 · Fertilizer consumption (kg per hectare of arable land). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 2,926.
Position 57th of 188 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Agricultural LandFAO · 2023 · world median 37.9648.6137.96Moved since 2013
Sri Lanka: 48.61 · world median 37.96 · Agricultural land (% of land area). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0.445 to 86.48.
Position 66th of 209 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Employment in AgricultureILO · 2025 · world median 14.3825.8614.38No real change since 2015
Sri Lanka: 25.86 · world median 14.38 · Employment in agriculture (% of total employment). International Labour Organization (ILO), 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 0.095 to 85.34.
Position 69th of 182 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Land Under Cereal ProductionFAO · 2023 · world median 689,2781,247,195689,278Moved since 2013
Sri Lanka: 1,247,195 · world median 689,278 · Land under cereal production (hectares). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 103,715,108.
Position 72nd of 179 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing Value Added (% of GDP)World Bank Group · 2025 · world median 6.5728.3626.572Moved since 2015
Sri Lanka: 8.362 · world median 6.572 · Agriculture, forestry and fishing value added (% of GDP). World Bank Group, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 0.025 to 47.59.
Position 68th of 158 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Pesticide Use per HectareFAO · 2024 · world median 1.731.591.73Moved since 2014
Sri Lanka: 1.59 · world median 1.73 · Pesticide use (kg per hectare of cropland). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 37.72.
Position 93rd of 178 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Agricultural EmissionsFAO · 2023 · world median 8,6358,0148,635No real change since 2013
Sri Lanka: 8,014 · world median 8,635 · Farm-gate emissions (kt CO₂eq). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 1,044,508.
Position 103rd of 193 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Cereal Import Dependency RatioFAO · 2022 · world median 42.826.442.8No real change since 2012
Sri Lanka: 26.4 · world median 42.8 · Share of the cereal supply that is imported (%). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2022 edition, data for 2022.
Published values in that edition run from -1,894 to 100.
Arable Land per PersonFAO · 2023 · world median 0.1090.0620.109No real change since 2013
Sri Lanka: 0.062 · world median 0.109 · Arable land (hectares per person). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 1.459.
Position 141st of 206 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Livestock DensityFAO · 2023 · world median 0.5350.320.535Moved since 2013
Sri Lanka: 0.32 · world median 0.535 · Livestock units per hectare of agricultural land. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0.02 to 43.97.
Position 130th of 188 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
No current reading for Sri Lanka
Agricultural Irrigated Land, Agriculture Orientation Index (last 2023) and Global Report on Food Crises (last 2023). Listed rather than hidden, so the page can be checked against it.
05Country Index 2026
Food & Agriculture among Sri Lanka’s 16 topics
Food & Agriculture is Sri Lanka’s 3rd best-placed topic of 16. Strongest first; each marker sits at the position divided by that topic’s field, so fields of different sizes compare fairly.
- Health & Wellbeing53rd of 2004/4 keys
- Governance & Institutions71st of 1944/4 keys
- Food & Agriculturejoint 71st of 1753/4 keys
- Mobility & Trade62nd of 1473/3 keys
- Energy82nd of 1933/3 keys
- Digital & Technology87th of 1983/3 keys
- Democracy & Civil Liberties88th of 1983/3 keys
- Development & Human Capitaljoint 89th of 1963/3 keys
- Environment & Sustainability87th of 1813/3 keys
- Peace & Securityjoint 86th of 1774/4 keys
- Economy & Innovationjoint 88th of 1764/4 keys
- Poverty & Inequality80th of 1592/2 keys
- Risk & Resilience102nd of 1923/3 keys
- Education & Knowledge121st of 1712/4 keys
- Gender & Equality151st of 1834/4 keys
- Work & Labour160th of 1824/4 keys
06The top of the list
Who leads on food & agriculture
The three countries placed highest of 175, and the leaders Sri Lanka can most readily be measured against.
1
AustriaWestern Europe
1st of 175 · 4 of 4 keys
Photo: chensiyuan · CC BY-SA 4.0, greyscale
2
IrelandNorthern Europe
2nd of 175 · 4 of 4 keys
Photo: derivative work: Jjtkk · CC BY-SA 2.0, greyscale
3
CzechiaEastern Europe
3rd of 175 · 4 of 4 keys
Photo: john mcsporran from Trossachs, Scotland · CC BY 2.0, greyscale
Placed highest nearby
Highest in Asia
Singapore8th2/4 keysHighest in Southern Asia
Bhutan56th3/4 keysThis page
Sri Lanka=71st3/4 keys
Positions out of 175 placed on the topic. A country needs readings on enough keys to be placed, and the top of the list is often held on fewer of them.
07Questions
Sri Lanka on food & agriculture: questions answered
Every answer is built from the numbers on this page, so none can say something the page does not.
How does Sri Lanka rank on food & agriculture?
Sri Lanka is placed joint 71st of 175 countries on Food & Agriculture in the Country Index 2026, from 3 of its 4 key statistics (Cereal Yield, Organic Agricultural Area and Dietary Energy Supply). The position is this site’s ordering of published statistics, not a rank any publisher printed.
What is the latest Cereal Yield figure for Sri Lanka?
3,804 in 2023 (cereal yield (kg per hectare)), according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The world median in the same edition was 3,072.
What is the latest Organic Agricultural Area figure for Sri Lanka?
3.08 in 2024 (organic share of agricultural land (%)), according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The world median in the same edition was 0.725.
How have Sri Lanka’s food & agriculture figures changed?
Cereal Yield rose from 3,338 in 2000 to 3,804 in 2023; Organic Agricultural Area rose from 0.4 in 2005 to 3.08 in 2024; Dietary Energy Supply rose from 2,350 in 2001 to 2,760 in 2024; Agriculture Orientation Index rose from 0.36 in 2001 to 0.44 in 2023.
Which food & agriculture statistics are missing for Sri Lanka?
No current reading is published for Sri Lanka on Agricultural Irrigated Land, Agriculture Orientation Index and Global Report on Food Crises. They are listed rather than hidden, so the evidence on the page can be checked against it.
08Keep reading
Explore further
Sri Lanka, topic by topic
- Governance & Institutions71st of 194
- Economy & Innovation=88th of 176
- Work & Labour160th of 182
- Education & Knowledge121st of 171
- Health & Wellbeing53rd of 200
- Development & Human Capital=89th of 196
- Environment & Sustainability87th of 181
- Gender & Equality151st of 183
- Democracy & Civil Liberties88th of 198
- Peace & Security=86th of 177
- Risk & Resilience102nd of 192
- Mobility & Trade62nd of 147
- Poverty & Inequality80th of 159
- Energy82nd of 193
- Digital & Technology87th of 198
- The full Sri Lanka profile
Nearby, on food & agriculture
The key statistics, for every country
09Method
Method, sources and how to cite
What this topic does not measure
This subject is about production and land use, not about whether people are fed. Hunger, undernourishment and what a population actually eats are measured under Health & Wellbeing, and the two regularly disagree — a country can grow a great deal and still leave many people short, and one that grows little can be well fed by trade. The wider environmental cost of farming — emissions, water withdrawal, forest cover — is filed under Environment & Sustainability.
How the Food & Agriculture standing is decided, step by step
A standing is a place in a list, not a mark out of anything. This one is part of the Country Index 2026, and it is worked out like this.
- A few key indicators decide it; the rest are context. 4 indicators on this topic are keys and 18 are charted alongside them without a vote. That split is the point: if every statistic voted, importing five more of one kind would quietly change what the topic is about.
- Each key is read at one edition. ⚠ The keys behind this standing do not all describe the same year — they run from 2023 to 2024, because publishers release on their own schedules. Read the standing as “how this country places now”, not as a snapshot of one year.
- Every country’s published value is turned into a place within that one key’s own field, and then expressed as a share of that field — how far down this key’s list the country sits, rather than how many countries are above it. Keys where a higher published number is worse (terrorism, hunger, disaster risk) are turned round first, so the good end is always the same end.
- Dividing by the field first is the whole reason this works. A place carries the size of its list inside it: 22nd of 44 and 108th of 215 are the same showing, and averaging the numbers 22 and 108 says loudly that they are not. Fields on this site run from about 44 countries to about 215, so averaging raw places would reward a country for happening to be measured in small ones. Dividing each place by its own field removes the size and leaves only the showing.
- The shares are averaged, plainly. One key, one vote — no key is weighted above another, because any weighting would be this site’s opinion presented as a measurement. Countries are then put in order by that average, and the average itself is never published. It is our arithmetic with nothing anchoring it, so printing it would invite it to be read as a measurement somebody made. The position it produces, the band, and the keys it was built from are all published instead — every one of them checkable against the tables on this page.
- A country needs 2 of this topic’s 4 keys — half, rounded up, and never fewer than 2. A standing built from one reading, printed beside one built from four, is two different things sharing a column heading. 175 countries clear the bar here.
- A key has to earn its vote every edition. It must measure at least 120 countries (below that it starts measuring who was surveyed rather than the world), it must not have more than 10% of its field tied at either end, and it must not repeat another key in the same topic — Spearman correlation above 0.92 counts as repeating. A topic needs at least 2 surviving keys to place anyone at all; this one has 4.
- A standing is relative, and the grouping is ours. It says where a country places against the others measured alongside it, so it moves when they move. The publishers listed on this page did not agree to be read together, and each measures its subject its own way: the underlying numbers are theirs, the ordering on top is this site’s — the same method as the rest of the Country Index, applied to one subject instead of all of them.
The key statistics and their licences
- Cereal Yield — Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), CC BY 4.0
- Organic Agricultural Area — Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), CC BY 4.0
- Dietary Energy Supply — Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), CC BY 4.0
- Agriculture Orientation Index — Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), CC BY 4.0
The other 16 statistics on this page come from 3 publishers, each named beside its numbers, with every edition and licence on the datasets pages.
The standing itself is part of the Country Index 2026, published under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photographs
Sri Lanka’s banner and the countries placed highest, from their profiles: Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale, each used under the licence named.
- Sri Lanka (banner) — Løken, CC0
- Austria — chensiyuan, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Ireland — derivative work: Jjtkk, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Czechia — john mcsporran from Trossachs, Scotland, CC BY 2.0
Cite this page
Nations Inquiry (2026). Sri Lanka: Food & Agriculture — standing and statistics, Country Index 2026. https://nationsinquiry.com/countries/sri-lanka/food