| Population: |
19,408,635 (July 2001 est.)
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
|
| Age structure: |
0-14 years:
25.99% (male 2,578,618; female 2,464,928)
15-64 years:
67.39% (male 6,369,881; female 6,708,852)
65 years and over:
6.62% (male 615,253; female 671,103) (2001 est.)
|
| Population growth rate: |
0.87% (2001 est.)
|
| Birth rate: |
16.58 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)
|
| Death rate: |
6.43 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)
|
| Net migration rate: |
-1.43 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 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:
0.92 male(s)/female
total population:
0.97 male(s)/female (2001 est.)
|
| Infant mortality rate: |
16.08 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)
|
| Life expectancy at birth: |
total population:
72.09 years
male:
69.58 years
female:
74.73 years (2001 est.)
|
| Total fertility rate: |
1.95 children born/woman (2001 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.)
|
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