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Sri Lanka

Population

23,384,249

Estimated as of Oct 22, 2026View source
Population rank
60th
Share of world
0.28%
Annual change
+118,8450.57%

Population of Sri Lanka

10M15M20M25M30M35M40M45M95% prediction intervalProjected peak202623.4M2050 projection24.8M↑ 6% from 202619601980200020202040206020802100

Source: United Nations — World Population Prospects (2024 Revision)

Current population estimate: 23,384,249. 2050 projection: 24,813,690.Use the arrow keys on the chart to inspect individual years.

Historical population estimates for Sri Lanka. Annual change is shown as a percentage.
202623,348,3150.57%60
202523,229,4700.59%60
202022,561,8070.68%58
201922,410,5520.71%58
201822,253,1180.75%57
201722,087,5220.81%57
201521,729,9710.80%57
201020,879,0890.65%57
200520,216,5240.94%54
200019,293,0541.90%51

Showing 10 of 19 years.

Population by City

Colombo is home to 468,377 people, 2.01% of Sri Lanka's population.

City population400K200K70K
Colombo 468.4KKaduwela (Battaramulla) 319.4KMaharagama 211.7KNegombo 174.0KMoratuwa 157.2KDehiwala-Mount Lavinia 155.9KSri Jayawardenepura 98.1KBatticaloa 94.4KKandy 86.9K
Largest cities by 2026 population and share of the national population.
1Colombo468.4K2.01%
2Kaduwela (Battaramulla)319.4K1.37%
3Maharagama211.7K0.91%
4Negombo174.0K0.75%
5Moratuwa157.2K0.67%
6Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia155.9K0.67%
7Kalmunai (incl. Sainthamarathu)107.1K0.46%
8Sri Jayawardenepura98.1K0.42%
9Batticaloa94.4K0.40%
10Kandy86.9K0.37%

Sri Lanka by the Numbers

Estimated as of Oct 22, 2026

Population
Sri Lanka is home to an estimated 23,384,249 people, the 60th largest population in the world.
Daily change
Sri Lanka has a net population change of approximately 318 people per day, driven by 866 births, 464 deaths, and net emigration of 84 people.
Share of world
Sri Lanka makes up 0.28% of the world's population and 0.47% of Asia's.
Density
377.4 people per km² of land (977.6 per mi²), ranking 37th among countries and territories.
Urban living
20.45% of people live in urban areas.

Sri Lanka Demographics

Age & longevity

MaleFemale100+ years, male: 162100+ years, female: 52695–99 years, male: 2,18395–99 years, female: 5,92490–94 years, male: 13,11490–94 years, female: 31,42885–89 years, male: 45,65485–89 years, female: 88,55680–84 years, male: 118,35280–84 years, female: 204,83475–79 years, male: 239,79275–79 years, female: 362,89370–74 years, male: 353,97170–74 years, female: 479,70265–69 years, male: 467,22165–69 years, female: 583,29760–64 years, male: 544,95560–64 years, female: 639,96555–59 years, male: 612,89155–59 years, female: 681,47750–54 years, male: 647,61550–54 years, female: 704,94245–49 years, male: 772,78945–49 years, female: 830,40040–44 years, male: 759,88340–44 years, female: 823,45535–39 years, male: 741,43935–39 years, female: 796,72830–34 years, male: 807,42930–34 years, female: 817,20725–29 years, male: 825,89025–29 years, female: 806,37320–24 years, male: 882,74920–24 years, female: 863,27915–19 years, male: 909,30815–19 years, female: 888,38410–14 years, male: 891,14810–14 years, female: 857,1735–9 years, male: 842,5005–9 years, female: 808,4440–4 years, male: 813,8360–4 years, female: 780,451100+95–9990–9485–8980–8475–7970–7465–6960–6455–5950–5445–4940–4435–3930–3425–2920–2415–1910–145–90–4200K200K400K400K600K600K800K800K

Hover or tap an age group to see exact counts. Use the up and down arrow keys to inspect age groups.

Median age

34.6 yrs

World: 31

Life expectancy

78 yrs

World: 73.8

Male

48.37%

Female

51.63%

Life expectancy 74.9Life expectancy 81

Ethnicity

74.9%

Sinhalese

  • Sinhalese74.9%
  • Sri Lankan Tamil11.2%
  • Sri Lankan Moors9.2%
  • Indian Tamil4.2%
  • Other0.5%
Data notes

Source estimate: 2012 est.

Religion

70.2%

Buddhist (official), the largest religion

  • Buddhist (official)70.2%
  • Hindu12.6%
  • Muslim9.7%
  • Roman Catholic6.1%
  • Other Christian1.3%
  • Other0.05%
Data notes

Source estimate: 2012 est.

Related Pages

Sources

  1. World Population Prospects (2024 Revision) - United Nations population estimates and projections.
  2. World Population Prospects (2024 Revision) - Sri Lanka United Nations Graphs/Profiles
  3. World Bank / UN World Urbanization Prospects - 2025: Urban population (% of total population), using national definitions.
  4. Department of Census and Statistics
  5. Department of Census and Statistics