Sri Lanka vs Zambia: Population
Sri Lanka
22.97 million people
in 2023
Zambia
20.72 million people
in 2023
Sri Lanka rank
61st
Zambia rank
63rd
Population over time
- Sri Lanka
- Zambia
How they compare
Sri Lanka currently reports 22.97 million people against 20.72 million people in Zambia, a difference of 2.25 million people.
That makes Sri Lanka's figure about 1.1 times Zambia's.
Across all 241 years both countries report, Sri Lanka has been ahead every year.
Sri Lanka ranks 61st and Zambia ranks 63rd of 238 countries.
Sri Lanka has averaged higher in every one of the 40 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Sri Lanka | Zambia | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1000s | 800,000 people | 151,500 people | 648,500 people | Sri Lanka |
| 1100s | 900,000 people | 181,800 people | 718,200 people | Sri Lanka |
| 1200s | 1.00 million people | 212,100 people | 787,900 people | Sri Lanka |
| 1300s | 970,000 people | 242,400 people | 727,600 people | Sri Lanka |
| 1400s | 930,000 people | 272,700 people | 657,300 people | Sri Lanka |
| 1500s | 1.00 million people | 303,000 people | 697,000 people | Sri Lanka |
| 1600s | 1.25 million people | 328,755 people | 921,245 people | Sri Lanka |
| 1700s | 1.50 million people | 354,510 people | 1.15 million people | Sri Lanka |
| 1710s | 1.51 million people | 340,320 people | 1.17 million people | Sri Lanka |
| 1720s | 1.48 million people | 346,823 people | 1.13 million people | Sri Lanka |
| 1730s | 1.45 million people | 353,744 people | 1.10 million people | Sri Lanka |
| 1740s | 1.42 million people | 361,130 people | 1.06 million people | Sri Lanka |
| 1750s | 1.39 million people | 369,038 people | 1.02 million people | Sri Lanka |
| 1760s | 1.37 million people | 377,533 people | 988,507 people | Sri Lanka |
| 1770s | 1.34 million people | 386,691 people | 952,559 people | Sri Lanka |
| 1780s | 1.31 million people | 396,607 people | 916,383 people | Sri Lanka |
| 1790s | 1.29 million people | 407,390 people | 879,850 people | Sri Lanka |
| 1800s | 1.61 million people | 800,457 people | 813,251 people | Sri Lanka |
| 1810s | 1.34 million people | 931,599 people | 413,281 people | Sri Lanka |
| 1820s | 1.33 million people | 1.08 million people | 250,340 people | Sri Lanka |
| 1830s | 1.63 million people | 1.26 million people | 365,569 people | Sri Lanka |
| 1840s | 1.99 million people | 1.47 million people | 520,337 people | Sri Lanka |
| 1850s | 2.07 million people | 1.59 million people | 476,283 people | Sri Lanka |
| 1860s | 2.30 million people | 1.60 million people | 702,784 people | Sri Lanka |
| 1870s | 2.94 million people | 1.60 million people | 1.33 million people | Sri Lanka |
| 1880s | 3.25 million people | 1.62 million people | 1.62 million people | Sri Lanka |
| 1890s | 3.71 million people | 1.63 million people | 2.08 million people | Sri Lanka |
| 1900s | 4.41 million people | 1.57 million people | 2.85 million people | Sri Lanka |
| 1910s | 5.16 million people | 1.48 million people | 3.68 million people | Sri Lanka |
| 1920s | 5.72 million people | 1.55 million people | 4.17 million people | Sri Lanka |
| 1930s | 6.19 million people | 1.79 million people | 4.40 million people | Sri Lanka |
| 1940s | 7.09 million people | 2.09 million people | 4.99 million people | Sri Lanka |
| 1950s | 8.57 million people | 2.67 million people | 5.89 million people | Sri Lanka |
| 1960s | 10.81 million people | 3.65 million people | 7.15 million people | Sri Lanka |
| 1970s | 13.43 million people | 4.94 million people | 8.49 million people | Sri Lanka |
| 1980s | 15.56 million people | 6.69 million people | 8.87 million people | Sri Lanka |
| 1990s | 17.51 million people | 8.71 million people | 8.80 million people | Sri Lanka |
| 2000s | 20.12 million people | 11.62 million people | 8.49 million people | Sri Lanka |
| 2010s | 21.64 million people | 16.19 million people | 5.45 million people | Sri Lanka |
| 2020s | 22.77 million people | 19.88 million people | 2.88 million people | Sri Lanka |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher population, Sri Lanka or Zambia?
- Sri Lanka, at 22.97 million people against 20.72 million people in Zambia as of 2023.
- What is the difference in population between Sri Lanka and Zambia?
- 2.25 million people, with Sri Lanka ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Sri Lanka and Zambia?
- 241 years are reported by both, from 1000 to 2023.
- How do Sri Lanka and Zambia rank globally for population?
- Sri Lanka ranks 61st and Zambia ranks 63rd of 238 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- HYDE (2023); Gapminder (2022); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Population. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Population by country, available from 10,000 BCE to 2023, based on data and estimates from different sources.