Population 19,576,783
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; as of mid-1999, approximately 66,000 were housed in 133 refugee camps in south India, another 40,000 lived outside the Indian camps, and more than 200,000 Tamils have sought refuge in the West (July 2002 est.)

Age structure
0-14 years: 25.6% (male 2,559,246; female 2,446,393)
15-64 years: 67.7% (male 6,446,320; female 6,802,515)
65 years and over: 6.7% (male 628,398; female 693,911) (2002 est.)

Population growth rate 0.85% (2002 est.)

Birth rate 16.36 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Death rate 6.45 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Net migration rate -1.39 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Sex ratio
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.91 male(s)/female
total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2002 est.)

Infant mortality rate 15.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
total population: 72.35 years
female: 75 years (2002 est.)
male: 69.83 years

Total fertility rate 1.93 children born/woman (2002 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate 0.07% (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS 7,500 (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths 490 (1999 est.)

Nationality
noun: Sri Lankan(s)
adjective: Sri Lankan

Ethnic groups Sinhalese 74%, Tamil 18%, Moor 7%, Burgher, Malay, and Vedda 1%

Religions Buddhist 70%, Hindu 15%, Christian 8%, Muslim 7% (1999)

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: 90.2%
male: 93.4%
female: 87.2% (1995 est.)

NOTE: The information regarding Sri Lanka on this page is re-published from the 2002 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Sri Lanka People 2002 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Sri Lanka People 2002 should be addressed to the CIA.