Demography of Sri Lanka

Demography Sri Lanka has a population of 20 million of whom the majority is Sinhalese (74%). Other ethnic groups are made up of Sri Lankan Tamils (12.6%), Indian Tamils (5.5%), Moors,Malays, Burghers (of Portuguese and Dutch descent) and others (7.9%). Sri Lanka is a multi–religious country; Buddhists constitute the majority (69%). Other religious groups include Hindus (15%), Christians (8%) and Muslims (8%). Sri Lanka's literacy rate of 92.3% is one of the highest in Asia.   Item   Mid Year Population ('000)     Annual Growth Rate (%)   Age Composition (Years ('000) Dependency Ratio (%)   Population Density (No. per sq. km.) Year       <20   20 – 64   >64       1992 17,426   0.9   8,006   8,648   751   - 269   1993 17,646   1.3   8,106   8,752   761   - 273 1994 17,891   1.4   8,219   8,876   240   - 770   1995 18,136   1.4   8,333   8,997   782   - 289   1996 18,336   1.1   8,425   9,101   789   - 292   1997 18,568   1.2   8,543   9,216   801   - 296 1998 18,774   1.2   8,637   9,327   810 - 299 1999 19,043   1.4   8,762   9,460   821   - 304   2000 19,359   1.7   8,906   9,618   835 - 309   2001 18,732   1.4   6,142   10,481   1,839   52.8   299   2002 19,007 1.5 6,506 10,636 1,865   - 304