Sri Lanka People - 2023
SOURCE: 2023 CIA WORLD FACTBOOK
Population
23,326,272 (2023 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: 21.95% (male 2,609,642/female 2,511,570)
15-64 years: 66.22% (male 7,609,573/female 7,836,480)
65 years and over: 11.83% (2023 est.) (male 1,156,637/female 1,602,370)
Dependency ratios
total dependency ratio: 53.7
youth dependency ratio: 35.4
elderly dependency ratio: 17
potential support ratio: 5.9 (2021 est.)
Median age
total: 33.7 years
male: 32.3 years
female: 35.1 years (2020 est.)
Population growth rate
0.59% (2023 est.)
Birth rate
13.61 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)
Death rate
6.54 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)
Net migration rate
-1.21 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 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: 19.2% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 1.22% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Major urban areas - population
103,000 Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte (legislative capital) (2018), 633,000 COLOMBO (capital) (2023)
Sex ratio
at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female
total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2023 est.)
Mother's mean age at first birth
25.6 years (2016 est.)
note: data represents median age at first birth among women 30-34
Maternal mortality ratio
29 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)
Infant mortality rate
total: 8.04 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 9.02 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 7.03 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 78.24 years
male: 74.83 years
female: 81.78 years (2023 est.)
Total fertility rate
1.97 children born/woman (2023 est.)
Gross reproduction rate
0.96 (2023 est.)
Contraceptive prevalence rate
64.6% (2016)
Drinking water source
improved: urban: 99.7% of population
rural: 91.2% of population
total: 92.8% of population
unimproved: urban: 0.3% of population
rural: 8.8% of population
total: 7.2% of population (2020 est.)
Current health expenditure
4.1% of GDP (2020)
Physicians density
1.23 physicians/1,000 population (2020)
Hospital bed density
4.2 beds/1,000 population (2017)
Sanitation facility access
improved: urban: 96.6% of population
rural: 97.9% of population
total: 97.6% of population
unimproved: urban: 3.4% of population
rural: 2.1% of population
total: 2.4% of population (2020 est.)
Major infectious diseases
degree of risk: intermediate (2023)
vectorborne diseases: dengue fever
water contact diseases: leptospirosis
animal contact diseases: rabies
Obesity - adult prevalence rate
5.2% (2016)
Alcohol consumption per capita
total: 2.58 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
beer: 0.22 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine: 0.01 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.)
Tobacco use
total: 22% (2020 est.)
male: 41.4% (2020 est.)
female: 2.6% (2020 est.)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight
20.5% (2016)
Currently married women (ages 15-49)
65.1% (2023 est.)
Child marriage
women married by age 15: 0.9%
women married by age 18: 9.8% (2016 est.)
Education expenditures
1.9% of GDP (2019 est.)
Literacy
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 92.3%
male: 93%
female: 91.6% (2019)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)
total: 14 years
male: 14 years
female: 14 years (2018)
Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24)
total: 26.1%
male: 21.1%
female: 35.6% (2021 est.)
NOTE: The information regarding Sri Lanka on this page is re-published from the 2023 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Sri Lanka 2023 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Sri Lanka 2023 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.
This page was last modified 06 Dec 23, Copyright © 2023 ITA all rights reserved.