Sri Lanka has a population density of 928 people per square mile compared to 5,493 people in the Vatican. Sri Lanka has 32,224 sq ft of land per person vs 5,274 sq ft in the Vatican. Sri Lanka and the Vatican rank 25th and 3rd by population density, respectively.
Population density is calculated as the ratio of population to land area. Sri Lanka has 0.27% of the world's population and 0.04% of all countries' land area, compared to 0.00001% of the population and 0.0000003% of the land area for the Vatican, making the population density in Sri Lanka 83.1% lower than in the Vatican.
Population density by year
people per square mile
| Year | Population density | |
|---|---|---|
Sri Lanka
|
Vatican
|
|
| 2026 | 928 | 5,493 |
| 2025 | 923 | 5,460 |
| 2024 | 918 | 5,362 |
| 2023 | 923 | 5,460 |
| 2022 | 929 | 5,602 |
| 2021 | 928 | 5,723 |
| 2020 | 918 | 5,810 |
| 2019 | 913 | 5,886 |
| 2018 | 907 | - |
| 2017 | 898 | 5,886 |
| 2016 | 888 | - |
| 2015 | 878 | 5,886 |
| 2014 | 858 | 4,956 |
| 2013 | 850 | 4,939 |
| 2012 | 874 | 4,921 |
| 2011 | 868 | 4,897 |
| 2010 | 862 | 4,880 |
| 2009 | 857 | 4,862 |
| 2008 | 852 | 4,850 |
| 2007 | 846 | 4,833 |
| 2006 | 841 | 5,486 |
| 2005 | 835 | 5,421 |
| 2004 | 830 | 5,421 |
| 2003 | 824 | 5,362 |
| 2002 | 818 | 5,298 |
| 2001 | 810 | 5,239 |
| 2000 | 797 | 5,180 |
| 1999 | 782 | 5,180 |
| 1998 | 768 | 5,195 |
| 1997 | 754 | 5,217 |
| 1996 | 739 | 5,254 |
| 1995 | 725 | 5,306 |
| 1994 | 714 | 5,373 |
| 1993 | 703 | 5,388 |
| 1992 | 691 | 5,388 |
| 1991 | 680 | 5,395 |
| 1990 | 675 | 5,403 |
| 1989 | 671 | 5,418 |
| 1988 | 664 | 5,433 |
| 1987 | 657 | 5,418 |
| 1986 | 650 | 5,455 |
| 1985 | 642 | 5,462 |
| 1984 | 638 | 5,492 |
| 1983 | 636 | 5,507 |
| 1982 | 631 | 5,522 |
| 1981 | 624 | 5,522 |
| 1980 | 613 | 5,500 |
| 1979 | 602 | 5,492 |
| 1978 | 591 | 5,470 |
| 1977 | 580 | 5,448 |
| 1976 | 570 | 5,448 |
| 1975 | 560 | 5,448 |
| 1974 | 550 | 5,470 |
| 1973 | 539 | 5,477 |
| 1972 | 529 | 5,507 |
| 1971 | 518 | 5,559 |
| 1970 | 507 | 5,633 |
| 1969 | 496 | 5,797 |
| 1968 | 485 | 6,176 |
| 1967 | 473 | 6,317 |
| 1966 | 462 | 6,867 |
| 1965 | 451 | 6,830 |
| 1964 | 440 | 6,815 |
| 1963 | 429 | 6,815 |
| 1962 | 419 | 6,808 |
| 1961 | 409 | 6,837 |
| 1960 | - | 6,837 |
Data sources: World Bank | Agriculture & Rural Development (1961–2026, retrieved 2026-04-06); United Nations | World Population Prospects (1960–2026, retrieved 2026-03-10); Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) (2000–2019, retrieved 2026-02-20).
GeoRank.org/population-density/sri-lanka/vatican | CC BY 
From 2006 to 2026, population density in Sri Lanka increased by 10.4%, compared to a 0.13% growth in the Vatican.
In 2006, Sri Lanka ranked 25th by population density and is 25th still. The Vatican was 3rd in 2006 and still ranks 3rd out of 197 currently.
Population density comparison
|
Sri Lanka
|
Vatican
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Population density | 928 ppl/mi² | 5,493 ppl/mi² |
| Population density rank | 25/197 | 3/197 |
| Population |
22185425
|
936
|
| Land area | 23,884 sq mi | 0.17 sq mi |
| Land area per capita | 30,382 sq ft | 4,736 sq ft |
| Rural population | 79.7% | n/a |
| Urban population | 20.3% | n/a |
| Living in agglomerations of 1M+ people | 0% | 0% |
Densely populated cities
|
Sri Lanka
|
|
|---|---|
| City | Population |
| Colombo | 648K |
| Gampaha | 191K |
| Beruwala | 165K |
| Negombo | 142K |
| Kandy | 120K |
| Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte | 116K |
| Trincomalee | 99.1K |
| Galle | 93.1K |
| Matara | 68.2K |
| Anuradhapura | 63.2K |
Compare countries by 7 more topics
Population density in other countries
Data sources: World Bank | Agriculture & Rural Development (1961–2026, retrieved 2026-04-06); United Nations | World Population Prospects (1961–2026, retrieved 2026-03-10); U.S. Census Bureau (1961–2025, retrieved 2026-02-08); Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) (2000–2019, retrieved 2026-02-20).
GeoRank.org/population-density/sri-lanka/vatican | CC BY
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Data sources:
- World Bank | Agriculture & Rural Development (1961–2026, retrieved 2026-04-06)
- United Nations | World Population Prospects (1960–2026, retrieved 2026-03-10)
- U.S. Census Bureau (1961–2025, retrieved 2026-02-08)
- Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) (2000–2019, retrieved 2026-02-20)
- Wikidata (2001–2025, retrieved 2026-02-08)
Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) — you’re free to copy, share, remix, adapt, and use even commercially as long as you give appropriate credit and clearly indicate if you made changes. Other sources may be subject to different license terms.