🇱🇰 Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (ශ්රී ලංකා)
Visiting: Take careLGBT visiting: High Risk
Sri Lanka is not a place to go unprepared. Same-sex relationships are criminalised, which places it 122nd for LGBT rights, so LGBT travellers should weigh this carefully. Its best measures are only mid-range: violent crime is moderate, ranking 78th, and freedom is only partly protected, at 87th. Its weakest measure is conflict: there is significant exposure, placed 145th.
Homicide
Intentional homicides per 100,000 people — lower is better.
Sri Lanka: 2.5
Ranked 78th in the world for the lowest homicide rate.
Why this rank?
Two and a half killings per 100,000 people a year is low but a step above the one where the safest countries sit.
Is it safe to visit?
Fine for a visitor. Sri Lanka's last count, from 2022, gives a rate well below the world average.
Road Fatalities
Road-traffic deaths per 100,000 people per year — lower is better.
Sri Lanka: 12.6
Ranked 90th in the world for the deadliest roads.
Why this rank?
Twelve and a half deaths per 100,000 people a year is just below the world average of fifteen.
Is it safe to visit?
Reasonable in a car. Below the world average, but four in ten deaths are cyclists and a quarter are on foot.
Why we updated the score?
The WHO's 2021 figure was the police's own count. The police have published 2025, with 2,710 deaths, up on the year before, so we've used the newer count.
Conflict
Conflict deaths inside the country in the last twelve months, as recorded by the Uppsala conflict database, civilians killed on purpose, and any UN sanctions or court order over a war. The worst of those sets the colour. Lower is better.
Sri Lanka: 2.90
Ranked 36th most conflict-affected country in the world.
Why this rank?
104 people died in fighting inside Sri Lanka in the year to July 2026, none of them civilians killed on purpose.
Is it safe to visit?
The 104 deaths recorded in the year to July 2026 were Iranian sailors killed by United States strikes off Colombo in March. Nothing else is recorded anywhere on the island.
Freedom
Six freedoms rated 0–4 by Freedom House — protest, speech, press, religion, movement and due process. The weakest rating sets the colour, and the total places the country inside it — higher is better.
Sri Lanka: 6.25
Ranked 87th freest country in the world.
Why this rank?
In Sri Lanka the lowest is due process at 1. Total 14 of 24.
Is it safe to visit?
A sweeping change of government in 2024 after the 2022 protests ousted the old leadership. Due process is the low rating, the rest carry only moderate limits, and daily life is open.
LGBT Rights
LGBT equality in law and daily life — higher is better.
Sri Lanka: Illegal
Ranked 59th least equal in the world for LGBT people.
Why this rank?
Same-sex acts are still criminal, with up to ten years, though the Supreme Court cleared a repeal bill in 2023 that parliament has yet to pass. Red by law.
Is it safe to visit?
Not safe to be open, though enforcement is rare and Colombo Pride happens anyway. The law's real work is blackmail and family leverage.
Women's Safety
Women's safety — feeling safe out at night, political violence against women, a fair hearing in court, and how normal violence at home is, with the night figure setting a floor on the colour — higher is better.
Sri Lanka: 7.08
Ranked 87th least safe country in the world for women.
Why this rank?
Partner violence is four percent and almost no attacks on women are recorded. The courts rate below fair, and more than half of women say a husband can sometimes be justified in beating his wife.
Is it safe to visit?
For a woman travelling alone, Sri Lanka is a reasonable choice.