The People of Sri Lanka
The People of Sri Lanka
Sri Lankan People
Population: 21,324,791 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 2009 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 23.9% (male 2,594,815/female 2,493,002) 15-64 years: 68% (male 7,089,307/female 7,418,123) 65 years and over: 8.1% (male 803,172/female 926,372) (2009 est.)
Median age: total: 30.9 years male: 29.9 years female: 31.8 years (2009 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.904% (2009 est.)
Death rate: 6.07 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Net migration rate: -1.09 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.87 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2009 est.)
Infant mortality rate: total: 18.57 deaths/1,000 live births male: 20.33 deaths/1,000 live births female: 16.73 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 75.14 years male: 73.08 years female: 77.28 years (2009 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.99 children born/woman (2009 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: less than 0.1% (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 3,800 (2007 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: fewer 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)