At the end of 2020, the Sri Lanka population is expected to reach 21.41 million people. Current projections show that the population will reach its peak around 2037 at 22.19 million people, after which the population will begin declining. By the end of the century, the population is expected to fall to 15.46 million people.
Population growth in Sri Lanka has been below 1.00% since 2000. From 2019 to 2020, the population grew by 0.42%, adding about 89,000 people to the population. The fertility rate of 2.21 children per woman is above the population replacement rate of 2.1 children per woman; however, Sri Lanka experiences a significant negative net migration that slows population growth. As the fertility rate continues to decline in the coming decades, population growth will slow further before the negative migration takes over to decrease the population.
On the other hand, due to the large number of youngsters in the country, the marriage rates have only gotten higher in the last few decades. The great number of marriages have also resulted in a greater rate of births as well. The birth rate in Sri Lanka has risen in the last few years to around 17.04 births per population of 1000 people. This is also why the population in the 0-14 year old age bracket makes up 24.1% of the total population.
Sri Lanka is a developing country with a lot of potential to grow if it can utilize its large work force and provide job and development opportunities for them. The country is steadily growing and needs to utilize its resources more carefully to sustain its development for the future.
The current annual growth rate of 0.35% is projected to come to a standstill by around the year 2035. After this, the population is expected to slowly start to decrease. The Sri Lankan population is predicted to be 21,084,042 by 2020, 21,474,701 by 2030, and 21,397,716 by 2040. The slow rate of increase, followed by the equally slow rate of decrease in the future should keep the population extremely steady over the years to come.
| Sri Lanka Population (as of 12/1/2023) | 21,918,179 |
| Last UN Estimate (July 1, 2023) | 21,893,579 |
| Births per Day | 816 |
| Deaths per Day | 444 |
| Migrations per Day | -212 |
| Net Change per Day | 160 |
| Population Change Since Jan. 1 | 53,600 |
Net increase of 1 person every 9 minutes
Population estimates based on interpolation of data from World Population Prospects
| One birth every 1.77 minutes | |
| One death every 3.25 minutes | |
| One emigrant every 6.8 minutes | |
| Net gain of one person every 9 minutes |
City | Population |
|---|---|
| Colombo | 648,034 |
| Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia | 219,827 |
| Moratuwa | 185,031 |
| Jaffna | 169,102 |
| Negombo | 137,223 |
| Pita Kotte | 118,179 |
| Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte | 115,826 |
| Kandy | 111,701 |
| Trincomalee | 108,420 |
| Kalmunai | 100,171 |
This island located in the Indian Ocean has approximately 65,610 square kilometers available within its borders. It has 1,340 kilometers of coastline. The amount of area available calculated in relation to the number of people residing in this country gives us an average population density of approximately 319 individuals per square kilometer.
The most populated city in Sri Lanka is also the capital city as well as an ancient port. This city is Columbo, with a population of 648,034. In second place, is Mount Lavinia - a suburban area that features golden beaches and just over 219,000 individuals. In a close third place, Galkissa comes in with just over 215,000 residents.
Year | Population | Growth Rate | Density (km²) | Population Rank | Density Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1955 | 8,749,627 | 1.95% | 139.53 | 45 | 38 |
| 1960 | 9,783,871 | 2.26% | 156.02 | 44 | 36 |
| 1965 | 11,035,224 | 2.44% | 175.97 | 43 | 35 |
| 1970 | 12,388,769 | 2.34% | 197.56 | 43 | 29 |
| 1975 | 13,662,873 | 1.98% | 217.87 | 44 | 31 |
| 1980 | 14,943,645 | 1.81% | 238.30 | 45 | 31 |
| 1985 | 16,092,338 | 1.49% | 256.62 | 45 | 33 |
| 1990 | 17,204,094 | 1.34% | 274.34 | 48 | 34 |
| 1995 | 18,177,572 | 1.11% | 289.87 | 49 | 36 |
| 2000 | 18,776,371 | 0.65% | 299.42 | 52 | 38 |
| 2005 | 19,673,866 | 0.94% | 313.73 | 54 | 37 |
| 2010 | 20,668,557 | 0.99% | 329.59 | 57 | 39 |
| 2015 | 21,336,697 | 0.64% | 340.24 | 57 | 40 |
| 2017 | 21,506,813 | 0.38% | 342.96 | 58 | 40 |
| 2018 | 21,580,710 | 0.34% | 344.14 | 58 | 40 |
| 2019 | 21,649,664 | 0.32% | 345.23 | 58 | 39 |
| 2020 | 21,715,079 | 0.3% | 346.28 | 58 | 39 |
| 2022 | 21,832,143 | 0.3% | 348.14 | 61 | 38 |
| 2023 | 21,893,579 | 0.29% | 349.12 | 61 | 38 |
Year | Population | Growth Rate | Density (km²) | Population Rank | Density Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 21,893,579 | 0.29% | 349.12 | 61 | 38 |
| 2024 | 21,949,268 | 0.27% | 350.01 | 61 | 38 |
| 2025 | 22,000,246 | 0.26% | 350.83 | 62 | 38 |
| 2030 | 22,186,970 | 0.17% | 353.80 | 65 | 39 |
| 2035 | 22,278,745 | 0.08% | 355.27 | 66 | 39 |
| 2040 | 22,263,893 | -0.01% | 355.03 | 69 | 40 |
| 2045 | 22,112,321 | -0.14% | 352.61 | 70 | 44 |
| 2050 | 21,814,985 | -0.27% | 347.87 | 74 | 44 |
| 2055 | 21,394,260 | -0.39% | 341.16 | 74 | 45 |
| 2060 | 20,889,752 | -0.48% | 333.12 | 74 | 45 |
| 2065 | 20,323,834 | -0.55% | 324.09 | 75 | 46 |
| 2070 | 19,694,118 | -0.63% | 314.05 | 76 | 49 |
| 2075 | 18,999,945 | -0.71% | 302.98 | 77 | 50 |
| 2080 | 18,241,133 | -0.81% | 290.88 | 79 | 54 |
| 2085 | 17,425,401 | -0.91% | 277.87 | 82 | 57 |
| 2090 | 16,560,059 | -1.01% | 264.07 | 85 | 58 |
| 2095 | 15,645,483 | -1.13% | 249.49 | 88 | 64 |
33.7
Total
32.3
Male
35.1
Female
There are people over age 18 in Sri Lanka.
Year | Date |
|---|---|
| 2001 | 17 July 2001 |
| 2012 | 21 March 2012 |
| 2022 | 2022 |
Sri Lanka may seem like a small island lying southeast of India. It is growing at a rate of 0.913% annually and houses people from many different ethnicities and religions, which gives the country a multi-cultural and multi-ethnic identity.
Sri Lanka hosts a dynamic age structure that includes a very large age bracket of 25-54 year old individuals dominating the country. Around 42.6% of the population lies in that age bracket. Even though Sri Lanka is a developing economy, such a large working population is allowing it to pursue development projects and create a large number of jobs that can utilized by its inhabitants. This is not only helping many people to support their families, but is also helping Sri Lanka’s economy grow steadily in the last few years.
Moreover, the median age of people in Sri Lanka is estimated to be 31.1 years, with the median age of men being 30.1 years while females have a median age of 32.2 years. Furthermore, Sri Lanka has a high life expectancy of 75.94 years, with a male life expectancy at 72.43 years and female life expectancy at 79.59 years. This is also why 9.1% of the country's population is in the 54-65 year age bracket, while 8.1% of its population is above the age of 65. An estimate of the number of deaths each year in the Sri Lanka lies at 5.96 deaths per a population of 1000 people.
Sri Lanka is a country of multiple ethnicities, but the two most prominent are the Sinhalese and the Sri Lankan Tamils. The Sinhalese make up around 75% of the total population and are concentrated in the central and southwestern parts of the country. The Tamils make up around 11.9% of the total population and are thus the largest minority present in the country.
The Sinhalese are predominantly Buddhist, and thus it is the major religion in the country, followed by Hinduism, which is actively practiced by the Tamils. The next most popular religion is Christianity, especially among the Burgher population.
The World Happiness Report gives some insight into the quality of life, as well as a couple additional features of living that some might not often think about. Overall, Sri Lanka rates life quality at 4.4, ranking at 116th in comparison to the countries of the world.
In terms of improved drinking water and sanitation access, 95.6% of the population has improved access to drinking water and 95.1% have improved access to sanitation facilities.
The national expenditure of 3.5% GDP on healthcare results in a physician density of .88 per 1,000 individuals and 3.6 beds per 1,000 residents in terms of hospital bed availability.
From the 1500s-1800s Sri Lanka was going from the control of one European country to another, from the Portuguese to the Dutch, to the British. In 1948, Sri Lanka finally got its independence and formed its first government.
The country has seen a couple of cyclones in the 1900s, each which has killed thousands. There were also many civil and religious issues during the 20th century that led to many riots, terrorist attacks, and countless deaths. Unfortunately, this still plagues the country today.
Sri Lanka has had more than its fair share of natural disasters in the 21st century, with flooding in 2003 killing hundreds and leaving thousands homeless, an undersea earthquake in 2004 that killed over 30,000, and flooding that affected millions in 2011.