| Population | 23,044,123 (July 2021 est.) |
| Nationality | noun: Sri Lankan(s) adjective: Sri Lankan |
| Ethnic groups | Sinhalese 74.9%, Sri Lankan Tamil 11.2%, Sri Lankan Moors 9.2%, Indian Tamil 4.2%, other 0.5% (2012 est.) |
| Languages | Sinhala (official and national language) 87%, Tamil (official and national language) 28.5%, English 23.8% (2012 est.) note: data represent main languages spoken by the population aged 10 years and older; shares sum to more than 100% because some respondents gave more than one answer on the census; English is commonly used in government and is referred to as the "link language" in the constitution |
| Religions | Buddhist (official) 70.2%, Hindu 12.6%, Muslim 9.7%, Roman Catholic 6.1%, other Christian 1.3%, other 0.05% (2012 est.) |
| Age structure | 0-14 years: 23.11% (male 2,696,379/female 2,592,450) 15-24 years: 14.58% (male 1,700,442/female 1,636,401) 25-54 years: 41.2% (male 4,641,842/female 4,789,101) 55-64 years: 10.48% (male 1,110,481/female 1,288,056) 65 years and over: 10.63% (male 1,023,315/female 1,410,734) (2020 est.) |
| Dependency ratios | total dependency ratio: 53.7 youth dependency ratio: 36.4 elderly dependency ratio: 17.3 potential support ratio: 5.8 (2020 est.) |
| Median age | total: 33.7 years male: 32.3 years female: 35.1 years (2020 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 0.63% (2021 est.) |
| Birth rate | 14.01 births/1,000 population (2021 est.) |
| Death rate | 6.45 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.) |
| Net migration rate | -1.24 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.) |
| Population distribution | the population is primarily concentrated within a broad wet zone in the southwest, urban centers along the eastern coast, and on the Jaffna Peninsula in the north |
| Urbanization | urban population: 18.9% of total population (2021) rate of urbanization: 1.22% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.) |
| Major cities - population | 103,000 Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte (legislative capital) (2018), 619,000 COLOMBO (capital) (2021) |
| Sex ratio | at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female 0-14 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-24 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 25-54 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 55-64 years: 0.86 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2020 est.) |
| Mother's mean age at first birth | 25.6 years (2016 est.) note: median age at first birth among women 30-34 |
| Maternal mortality rate | 36 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.) |
| Infant mortality rate | total: 8.36 deaths/1,000 live births male: 9.35 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.34 deaths/1,000 live births (2021 est.) |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 77.75 years male: 74.31 years female: 81.33 years (2021 est.) |
| Total fertility rate | 2 children born/woman (2021 est.) |
| Contraceptive prevalence rate | 64.6% (2016) |
| Drinking water source | improved: urban: 98.1% of population rural: 91.4% of population total: 92.6% of population unimproved: urban: 1.9% of population rural: 8.6% of population total: 7.4% of population (2017 est.) |
| Health expenditures | 3.8% (2018) |
| Physicians density | 1 physicians/1,000 population (2018) |
| Hospital bed density | 4.2 beds/1,000 population (2017) |
| Sanitation facility access | improved: urban: 97.1% of population rural: 99.3% of population total: 98.9% of population unimproved: urban: 2.9% of population rural: 0.7% of population total: 1.1% of population (2017 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate | <.1% (2020 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS | 3,700 (2020 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - deaths | <200 (2020 est.) |
| Major infectious diseases | degree of risk: intermediate (2020)vectorborne diseases: dengue fever water contact diseases: leptospirosis animal contact diseases: rabies |
| Obesity - adult prevalence rate | 5.2% (2016) |
| Children under the age of 5 years underweight | 20.5% (2016) |
| Education expenditures | 2.1% of GDP (2018) |
| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 91.9% male: 93% female: 91% (2017) |
| School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education) | total: 14 years male: 14 years female: 15 years (2018) |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021
