Sri Lanka Population
Sri Lanka had an estimated population of 21,756,000 in mid-2025 (World Bank), making it the 62nd most populous of 217 countries and territories, with 0.26% of everyone alive. The counter above projects that figure forward at the current growth rate of −0.73% a year.
Sri Lanka at a glance
How Sri Lanka's population is changing
Sri Lanka's population is shrinking: −0.73% a year, which works out to about −159,415 people per year, or −436 a day. Births (10.1 per 1,000) and deaths (7.8 per 1,000) alone would give +0.23% a year; net migration removes about 30,724 people a year (−0.14%). Roughly one in every 378 people on Earth lives in Sri Lanka.
Population of Sri Lanka since 1960
In 1960, Sri Lanka had 9,661,389 people. By 2025 that was 21,756,000 — 2.3× larger. The population peaked in 2022 at 22,181,000 and has declined since. The fastest growth came between 1960 and 1970, when the population rose by 27%.
| Year | Population | Change vs previous row |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 9,661,389 | — |
| 1970 | 12,287,110 | +27.2% |
| 1980 | 14,847,974 | +20.8% |
| 1990 | 16,352,458 | +10.1% |
| 2000 | 19,293,054 | +18.0% |
| 2010 | 20,879,089 | +8.2% |
| 2020 | 21,919,000 | +5.0% |
| 2025 | 21,756,000 | −0.7% |
Sri Lanka from 1800 to 2100
Modelled estimates put Sri Lanka at about 1,750,000 people in 1800; the UN estimates 23,229,474 in 2025 (13× 1800) and projects 21,249,404 for 2100 in its medium scenario. The population is projected to peak around 2051 at 24,814,756 and decline afterwards.
| Year | Population | Kind |
|---|---|---|
| 1800 | 1,750,000 | modelled estimate |
| 1850 | 2,169,961 | modelled estimate |
| 1900 | 4,063,376 | modelled estimate |
| 1950 | 7,811,051 | UN estimate |
| 2000 | 19,293,056 | UN estimate |
| 2025 | 23,229,474 | UN projection |
| 2050 | 24,813,694 | UN projection |
| 2075 | 23,833,456 | UN projection |
| 2100 | 21,249,404 | UN projection |
Country live/base figures use World Bank estimates; this historical/future chart uses a separate UN series and need not match the World Bank base in overlapping years. Before 1950: HYDE 3.3 / Gapminder reconstructions via Our World in Data — historical modelling, not censuses. 1950–2023: UN World Population Prospects 2024. 2024–2100: UN medium projection. Open the time machine to see the whole map in any year.
Largest listed places in Sri Lanka
10 records sorted by displayed base population. Definitions vary (province/administrative unit, UN urban centre or GeoNames settlement); this is not a harmonised city ranking. Shares use World Bank 2025 country population 21,756,000. Dates and boundaries may differ. Overlapping entities are not summed.
| # | Place | Population | Definition | Share | Source / reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kandy | 785,519 | UN urban centre | 3.61% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 2 | Colombo | 648,034 | GeoNames settlement | 2.98% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
| 3 | Galle | 346,263 | UN urban centre | 1.59% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 4 | Matara | 292,019 | UN urban centre | 1.34% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 5 | Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia | 219,827 | GeoNames settlement | 1.01% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
| 6 | Jaffna | 200,544 | UN urban centre | 0.92% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 7 | Maharagama | 195,355 | GeoNames settlement | 0.90% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
| 8 | Moratuwa | 168,280 | GeoNames settlement | 0.77% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
| 9 | Kalmunai | 156,093 | UN urban centre | 0.72% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 10 | Batticaloa | 147,618 | UN urban centre | 0.68% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
How Sri Lanka compares
Sri Lanka has almost the same population as Zambia (21,913,874).
| Rank | Country | Population | vs Sri Lanka | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #60 |  Malawi | 22,216,120 | +2% | compare → |
| #61 |  Zambia | 21,913,874 | +1% | compare → |
| #63 |  Chad | 21,003,705 | −3% | compare → |
| #64 |  Kazakhstan | 20,843,754 | −4% | compare → |
Compare Sri Lanka with any country →
Same region (South Asia): India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives.
Explore around Sri Lanka
Nearest countries
Sri Lanka has no land border. Closest by distance:
Maldives 529,676 · 41.1× smaller · compare
Bangladesh 175,686,899 · 8.1× the population · compare
Nepal 29,618,118 · 1.4× the population · compare
Thailand 71,619,863 · 3.3× the population · compare
In its region
Sri Lanka is the 4th most populous of the 6 economies in South Asia, holding 1.3% of the region's 1,692,252,900 people.
Rankings featuring Sri Lanka
Cities
Kandy, Colombo, Galle, Matara, Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia, Jaffna, Maharagama, Moratuwa — all Sri Lanka's cities on the map.
World population history · The world when you were born · Sri Lanka when you were born · Time machine · Embed this live counter on your site
About these numbers
Population, growth, birth and death rates, migration, density, age structure, life expectancy, fertility and GDP per capita come from the World Bank Indicators API (latest available year shown beside each figure). The live counter applies the annual growth rate continuously from 1 July 2025 — a model, not a measurement. City populations are the latest census or official estimate held by GeoNames and are not projected. Sub-city units are folded into their parent city.
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Read this country carefully
This page is a structured reference entry. Its sources, geographic definition and reference dates determine what the figures mean; it is not independent reporting about the causes of change. Read the accompanying explanation before comparing different places or vintages.