Sri Lanka: People & Society#
| Population | 22.235 million (July 2016 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) 74%, Tamil (official and national language) 18%, other 8% note: English, spoken competently by about 10% of the population, 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: 24.35% (male 2,760,821/female 2,652,747) 15-24 years: 14.7% (male 1,660,402/female 1,608,022) 25-54 years: 41.71% (male 4,544,253/female 4,729,544) 55-64 years: 9.89% (male 1,018,357/female 1,181,060) 65 years and over: 9.35% (male 882,740/female 1,197,054) (2016 est.) |
| Dependency ratios | total dependency ratio: 51.2% youth dependency ratio: 37.2% elderly dependency ratio: 14.1% potential support ratio: 7.1% (2015 est.) |
| Median age | total: 32.5 years male: 31.2 years female: 33.7 years (2016 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 0.8% (2016 est.) |
| Birth rate | 15.5 births/1,000 population (2016 est.) |
| Death rate | 6.2 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.) |
| Net migration rate | -1.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.) |
| Urbanization | urban population: 18.4% of total population (2015) rate of urbanization: 0.72% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.) |
| Major urban areas - population | Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte (legislative capital) 128,000 (2014); COLOMBO (capital) 707,000 (2015) |
| Sex ratio | at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female 0-14 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-24 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 25-54 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 55-64 years: 0.86 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.74 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2016 est.) |
| Mother's mean age at first birth | 25.4 note: median age at first birth among women 30-34 (2006/07 est.) |
| Maternal mortality rate | 30 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.) |
| Infant mortality rate | total: 8.6 deaths/1,000 live births male: 9.5 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.6 deaths/1,000 live births (2016 est.) |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 76.8 years male: 73.3 years female: 80.4 years (2016 est.) |
| Total fertility rate | 2.09 children born/woman (2016 est.) |
| Contraceptive prevalence rate | 68.4% (2006/07) |
| Health expenditures | 3.5% of GDP (2014) |
| Physicians density | 0.68 physicians/1,000 population (2010) |
| Hospital bed density | 3.6 beds/1,000 population (2012) |
| Drinking water source | improved: urban: 98.5% of population rural: 95% of population total: 95.6% of population unimproved: urban: 1.5% of population rural: 5% of population total: 4.4% of population (2015 est.) |
| Sanitation facility access | improved: urban: 88.1% of population rural: 96.7% of population total: 95.1% of population unimproved: urban: 11.9% of population rural: 3.3% of population total: 4.9% of population (2015 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate | 0.03% (2015 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS | 4,200 (2015 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - deaths | 100 (2015 est.) |
| Major infectious diseases | degree of risk: high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea and hepatitis A vectorborne diseases: dengue fever water contact disease: leptospirosis animal contact disease: rabies (2016) |
| Obesity - adult prevalence rate | 6.8% (2014) |
| Children under the age of 5 years underweight | 26.3% (2012) |
| Education expenditures | 2.2% of GDP (2015) |
| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 92.6% male: 93.6% female: 91.7% (2015 est.) |
| School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education) | total: 14 years male: 14 years female: 14 years (2013) |
| Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 | total: 20.1% male: 15% female: 27.8% (2013 est.) |