Is Sri Lanka a good place to live for remote workers?

Sri Lanka scores 58/100 on our equal-weighted livability composite (internet 35.4 Mbps, safety 80, healthcare 72, air quality 64; English not scored) — rank 95 of 167.

How fast is the internet in Sri Lanka?

Median fixed broadband is around 35.4 Mbps.

What does $3,000/month get you in Sri Lanka?

Single-person essentials run about $474/month at local prices, so $3,000 lives "like royalty" (6.3× essentials).

Livability · rank 95/167

Is 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka (Colombo) a good place to live?

Quality score 58/100 against essentials of $474/month.

The five metrics

Internet 14 35.4 Mbps median broadband, 54.6% online

Safety 80 3.3 homicides/100k (2019)

Healthcare 72 UHC service coverage 72/100 (2023)

Air quality 64 PM2.5 21.4 µg/m³ (2023)

Beside the score, not inside it

Neither of these is part of the composite above, deliberately. Folding governance into a quality-of-life number would bury a political judgement where you could not see it or argue with it, and connection price is a different question from connection speed — somewhere fast and expensive and somewhere slow and cheap are different trade-offs, not one average.

Rule of law: weak; World Bank WGI estimate -0.26 · corruption control -0.38 · stability -0.35 (2024). Scale −2.5 to +2.5, higher is better.
What connectivity costs: $2.46 /mo broadband; Mobile 10GB $3.09/month. ITU price basket. The speed above is scored; this price is not.

What your budget buys

Monthly budget	vs essentials ($474)	Verdict
$2,000	4.2×	like royalty
$3,000	6.3×	like royalty
$5,000	10.6×	like royalty

Essentials from the Pint & Property basket. Rank countries by your own priorities in the interactive matrix.

Similar value-for-money

🇮🇩 Indonesia — quality 64, essentials $528/mo
🇸🇷 Suriname — quality 72.7, essentials $605/mo
🇻🇳 Vietnam — quality 64.4, essentials $539/mo
🇱🇦 Laos — quality 44.9, essentials $377/mo

Frequently asked questions

Is Sri Lanka a good place to live for remote workers?: Sri Lanka scores 58/100 on our equal-weighted livability composite (internet 35.4 Mbps, safety 80, healthcare 72, air quality 64; English not scored) — rank 95 of 167.
How fast is the internet in Sri Lanka?: Median fixed broadband is around 35.4 Mbps.
What does $3,000/month get you in Sri Lanka?: Single-person essentials run about $474/month at local prices, so $3,000 lives "like royalty" (6.3× essentials).