| Population: |
20,926,315
note: since the outbreak of hostilities between the government and armed Tamil separatists in the mid-1980s, several hundred thousand Tamil civilians have fled the island and more than 200,000 Tamils have sought refuge in the West (July 2007 est.) |
| Age structure: |
0-14 years: 24.3% (male 2,596,295/female 2,495,949)
15-64 years: 67.9% (male 6,947,310/female 7,259,271)
65 years and over: 7.8% (male 765,507/female 861,983) (2007 est.) |
| Median age: |
total: 30 years
male: 29.2 years
female: 31 years (2007 est.) |
| Population growth rate: |
0.982% (2007 est.) |
| Birth rate: |
17 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Death rate: |
6.01 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Net migration rate: |
-1.16 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Sex ratio: |
at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.957 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.888 male(s)/female
total population: 0.971 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
| Infant mortality rate: |
total: 19.45 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 21.2 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 17.63 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
| Life expectancy at birth: |
total population: 74.8 years
male: 72.81 years
female: 76.88 years (2007 est.) |
| Total fertility rate: |
2.05 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: |
less than 0.1% (2001 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: |
3,500 (2001 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - deaths: |
less than 200 (2003 est.) |
| Nationality: |
noun: Sri Lankan(s)
adjective: Sri Lankan |
| Ethnic groups: |
Sinhalese 73.8%, Sri Lankan Moors 7.2%, Indian Tamil 4.6%, Sri Lankan Tamil 3.9%, other 0.5%, unspecified 10% (2001 census provisional data) |
| Religions: |
Buddhist 69.1%, Muslim 7.6%, Hindu 7.1%, Christian 6.2%, unspecified 10% (2001 census provisional data) |
| Languages: |
Sinhala (official and national language) 74%, Tamil (national language) 18%, other 8%
note: English is commonly used in government and is spoken competently by about 10% of the population |
| Literacy: |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 90.7%
male: 92.3%
female: 89.1% (2001 census) |