Country Foundations

Sri Lanka

Constitution in force since 1978, 40,085 words. Rights measured for 2023.

Declared
62%
mean across compared rights
Practiced
66%
mean across compared rights
Gap
+4%
delivers more than promised
Executive respects constitution
60%
V-Dem, measured directly

The rights ledger

Each row compares what the constitution declares against what is measured in practice. The two values are always shown together — a gap on its own is easy to misread.

Declared in the constitutionPracticed (measured)Falls short / exceeds
0255075100Right to life — declared 0%, practiced 59%, gap +59%Right to life0%59%+59%Freedom from torture — declared 100%, practiced 60%, gap −40%Freedom from torture100%60%−40%Freedom from slavery and forced labour — declared 0%, practiced 82%, gap +82%Freedom from slavery and forced labour0%82%+82%Freedom from arbitrary detention (habeas corpus) — declared 100%, practiced 61%, gap −39%Freedom from arbitrary detention (ha…100%61%−39%Right to a fair and public trial — declared 67%, practiced 60%, gap −7%Right to a fair and public trial67%60%−7%Presumption of innocence — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Presumption of innocenceno practice measure100%——Right to legal counsel — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to legal counselno practice measure0%——Protection from self-incrimination — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Protection from self-incriminationno practice measure0%——Protection from double jeopardy — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Protection from double jeopardyno practice measure0%——Due process of law — declared 0%, practiced 54%, gap +54%Due process of law0%54%+54%Trial by jury or lay participation — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Trial by jury or lay participationno practice measure100%——Freedom of expression — declared 100%, practiced 72%, gap −28%Freedom of expression100%72%−28%Freedom of the press — declared 100%, practiced 61%, gap −39%Freedom of the press100%61%−39%Freedom of thought and conscience — declared 100%, practiced 64%, gap −36%Freedom of thought and conscience100%64%−36%Freedom of religion — declared 100%, practiced 68%, gap −32%Freedom of religion100%68%−32%Separation of religion and state — declared 25%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Separation of religion and stateno practice measure25%——Academic freedom — declared 0%, practiced 49%, gap +49%Academic freedom0%49%+49%Freedom of assembly — declared 100%, practiced 58%, gap −42%Freedom of assembly100%58%−42%Freedom of association — declared 100%, practiced 65%, gap −35%Freedom of association100%65%−35%Right to petition government — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to petition governmentno practice measure0%——Right to form and join trade unions — declared 50%, practiced 53%, gap +3%Right to form and join trade unions50%53%+3%Right to vote and universal suffrage — declared 0%, practiced 89%, gap +89%Right to vote and universal suffrage0%89%+89%Right to privacy — declared 0%, practiced 83%, gap +83%Right to privacy0%83%+83%Freedom of movement — declared 100%, practiced 84%, gap −16%Freedom of movement100%84%−16%Right to asylum — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to asylumno practice measure0%——Right to own property — declared 100%, practiced 83%, gap −17%Right to own property100%83%−17%Equality before the law — declared 100%, practiced 67%, gap −33%Equality before the law100%67%−33%Right to education — declared 0%, practiced 58%, gap +58%Right to education0%58%+58%Right to health care — declared 0%, practiced 63%, gap +63%Right to health care0%63%+63%Right to shelter or housing — declared 100%, practiced 47%, gap −53%Right to shelter or housing100%47%−53%Independent judiciary — declared 100%, practiced 72%, gap −28%Independent judiciary100%72%−28%Right to bear arms — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to bear armsno practice measure0%——decl.prac.gap

· marks a right with no provision in that country’s constitution. Scores run 0–100; practiced values are V-Dem indicators normalized across all country-years.

Promise and practice over time

The declared line steps when the constitution changes. The practiced line moves when behaviour does. The distance between those two moments is the part worth looking at.

Declared (the text)Practiced (measured)The text changed
0501001978: constitutional text changed (+20 pts declared)19801990200020102020

Mean across the 23 rights measured on both sides, 1972–2023. Vertical marks show years when the constitutional text changed enough to move the declared score.

Promised, but not delivered

  • Freedom from torture −40%
  • Freedom from arbitrary detention (habeas corpus) −39%
  • Freedom of expression −28%
  • Freedom of the press −39%

Delivered, though never promised

  • Right to life +59%
  • Freedom from slavery and forced labour +82%
  • Due process of law +54%
  • Academic freedom +49%

Declared internationally

A constitution is only one place a country makes promises. These are the nine core UN human rights treaties.

Civil & Political Rights (ICCPR)ratified 1980
Economic, Social & Cultural Rights (ICESCR)ratified 1980
Racial Discrimination (ICERD)ratified 1982
Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)ratified 1981
Convention against Torture (CAT)ratified 1994
Rights of the Child (CRC)ratified 1991
Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)ratified 2016
Enforced Disappearance (CPED)ratified 2016
Migrant Workers (ICMW)ratified 1996

Compare with

AfghanistanAlbaniaAlgeriaAngolaArgentinaArmeniaAustraliaAzerbaijanBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBeninBhutanBoliviaBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBrazilBulgariaBurkina FasoBurma/MyanmarBurundiCambodiaCameroonCanadaCape VerdeCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaColombiaComorosCosta RicaCroatiaCubaCyprusDemocratic Republic of the CongoDenmarkDjiboutiDominican RepublicEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEswatiniEthiopiaFijiFinlandFranceGabonGeorgiaGhanaGreeceGuatemalaGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyana

Data generated 2026-08-08.