World Factbook
Sri Lanka
Shri Lanka Prajatantrika Samajavadi Janarajaya (Sinhala)/ Ilankai Jananayaka Choshalichak Kutiyarachu (Tamil)
Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)
Literacy
male
93.4% (2023 est.)
female
92% (2023 est.)
total population
92.7% (2023 est.)
Languages
Sinhala (official) 87%, Tamil (official) 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.)
Sex ratio
at birth
1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years
1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years
0.95 male(s)/female
total population
0.94 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
65 years and over
0.73 male(s)/female
Birth rate
14.38 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Death rate
7.65 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Median age
male
32.2 years
total
34.2 years (2025 est.)
female
35.8 years
Population
male
10,668,528
total
22,050,561 (2025 est.)
female
11,382,033
Nationality
noun
Sri Lankan(s)
adjective
Sri Lankan
Tobacco use
male
36.3% (2025 est.)
total
18.2% (2025 est.)
female
2% (2025 est.)
Urbanization
urban population
19.2% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization
1.22% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Age structure
0-14 years
22.6% (male 2,537,918/female 2,423,615)
15-64 years
65% (male 6,954,869/female 7,336,897)
65 years and over
12.4% (2024 est.) (male 1,149,256/female 1,580,053)
Ethnic groups
Sinhalese 74.9%, Sri Lankan Tamil 11.2%, Sri Lankan Moors 9.2%, Indian Tamil 4.2%, other 0.5% (2012 est.)
Child marriage
women married by age 15
0.9% (2016)
women married by age 18
9.8% (2016)
Dependency ratios
total dependency ratio
53.9 (2025 est.)
youth dependency ratio
34.2 (2025 est.)
potential support ratio
5.1 (2025 est.)
elderly dependency ratio
19.7 (2025 est.)
Physician density
1.14 physicians/1,000 population (2023)
Health expenditure
Health expenditure (as % of GDP)
4.1% of GDP (2021)
Health expenditure (as % of national budget)
9.5% of national budget (2022 est.)
Net migration rate
-4.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Hospital bed density
4 beds/1,000 population (2020 est.)
Total fertility rate
2.12 children born/woman (2025 est.)
Drinking water source
improved: rural
rural: 87.2% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total
total: 89.3% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: 98.1% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural
rural: 12.8% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 10.7% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 1.9% of population (2022 est.)
Education expenditure
Education expenditure (% GDP)
1.8% of GDP (2023 est.)
Education expenditure (% national budget)
7.2% national budget (2024 est.)
Infant mortality rate
male
7.5 deaths/1,000 live births
total
6.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)
female
6.1 deaths/1,000 live births
Population growth rate
0.22% (2025 est.)
Gross reproduction rate
1.03 (2025 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
Life expectancy at birth
male
73.7 years
female
79.9 years
total population
76.8 years (2024 est.)
Maternal mortality ratio
18 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)
Sanitation facility access
improved: rural
rural: 99.2% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total
total: 99% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: 97.9% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural
rural: 0.8% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 1% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 2.1% of population (2022 est.)
Alcohol consumption per capita
beer
0.22 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine
0.01 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
total
2.58 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits
2.32 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols
0.03 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Major urban areas - population
103,000 Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte (legislative capital) (2018), 633,000 COLOMBO (capital) (2023)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate
5.2% (2016)
Mother's mean age at first birth
25.6 years (2016 est.)
note: data represents median age at first birth among women 30-34
Currently married women (ages 15-49)
66.3% (2016 est.)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight
17.1% (2024 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)
male
12 years (2023 est.)
total
13 years (2023 est.)
female
14 years (2023 est.)