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POPULATION STATISTICS: historical demography of all countries, their divisions and towns

About this siteFrequently Asked QuestionsLinks to other sitesRemarks on the dataSources used for the dataRecent updates of the data
map of Sri Lanka; source WRSRI LANKA

general data of the country


 
General useful information
 
Note: some data are of constant value, while other are due to changes, fluctuations etc.
 
Nation and population
official name (short form): Srī Lanka ; Ilankai
country code ISO: LK //; - FIPS: CE
location: South Asia
time zone: +5:30 UT
surface (land) area: 65610 sq.km = 25332 sq.mi //; - area incl. inland waters: sq.km = sq.mi
geographical position in extreme co-ordinates: North: 10° N / South: 6° N / East: 82° E / West: 80° E
borders (land): none
borders (coastline): Indian Ocean
climate: tropical, humid, monsoon
Government
independent since: 1948-02-04
type of government: republic
capital: Colombo (administrative), Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte (legislative)
administrative division: province (9) into district (25)
Population
population according to the last two censuses: (1981): 14848,364 /-; (2001:) 19410,000
total population according to the estimate of midyear 2000: 19238,575; or: 19359,000 / -; 2001: 19408,635
population density: 294 per sq.km = 762 per sq.mi
population growth: 1,4% //; - doubling time: 52 years
birth rate: 17 - 20 per 1000
death rate: 6 per 1000
fertility rate: 2 children per female
maternal mortality: 60 per 100,000
infant mortality (1-4 years): 24 per 1000
life expectancy: 73 years (male: 71; female: 75)
age breakdown: 0-14 years: 33% //; - 15-59 years: 59% //; - 60+ years: 8%
urbanisation: 24% //; - urbanisation growth: 4%
percentage of urban population in the greatest city: 16%
Ethnic composition, language, religion
ethnic groups: Sinhalese 73,9%; Tamil 12,7%; Sri Lankan Moor 7,1%; Indian Tamil 5,5%; Burgher 0,3%; Malayan 0,3%
languages: Sinhala, Tamil (both official); English
religious affiliation: Buddhist 69,3%; Hindu 15,5%; Muslim 7,5%; Christian (mainly Roman Catholic) 6,9%; other: 0,8%
Health
daily food intake: 2314 calories per capita
population with access to safe water: 20, or 83%
people per physician: 2740
people per hospital bed: 355
Education, literacy
school enrolment: primary education 6-11 years: 98%
school enrolment: secondary education: 53%
school enrolment: tertiary education 20-24 years: 1%
adult literacy: 87% (male: 90%; female: 84%) [later as total figure found: 92%]
 
Economy and infrastructure
 
Economy and trade
currency: Sri Lanka rupee = 100 cents
annual inflation rate: 9%
population below poverty line: 25%
Gross Domestic Product: USD 640 per capita
GNI USD 850 per capita //; - [ppp: 3460]
GDP growth: 4%
income: USD 500 per capita
import: USD 2833 per capita //; - export: USD 2391 per capita
trade: USD 293 per capita //; - or 73% of GDP
trade partners: JP IN SK US GB DE BE NL FR
human development index: 0,735 //; - position of the country in the world no.: 81
female labour force: 37%
unemployment: 8%
tourism: 0,4 million
Economic activities in agriculture, fisheries, industry, mining, services, energy
land use: arable land: 29% //; - grass land: 7% //; - wooded area: 32% //; - arid land and desert: %
agriculture: labour force: 43% //; - part of agriculture in GDP: 27%
agricultural products: tea, rice, coconuts, sugarcane, cassava, cattle, rubber, timber
livestock (1000s): buffalo 694 / cattle: 1557 / goats: 495 / horses: 1 / pigs: 71 / poultry: 10200 / sheep: 11
fish catch: 247000 - 271595 metric tonnes
industry: labour force: 12% //; - part of industry in GDP: 25%
industrial products: food manufacturing & processing, textiles, clothing, oil refining
mining products: quartz stone, limestone, titanium, gemstones, petroleum, graphite, phosphates
CO2 emission per capita: 0,4
services: labour force: 46% //; - part of services in GDP: 48%
energy use (kg per capita): 406
electricity use (per capita): 255
annual water use (per capita): 503
Traffic, communication
road network: 102600 km //; - of which paved: 11% //; - of which are motorways: 0 km
vehicles: 10 per 1000
railways: 1447, or 1493 km //; - railways passenger/km: 3264
navigable inland waterways: 430 km
ownership telephone: 11 - 36 per 1000
ownership radio receivers: 182 - 210 per 1000
ownership tv-sets: 66 - 92 per 1000
newspaper circulation: 25 per 1000
persons per post office: 4440
personal computers: 7 per 1000
 
Some physical landmarks
 
mountains: Pidurutalagala 2524 m, Kirigalpota 2395, Totapolakanda 2357, Kudahagala 2320, Sri Pada (Adam's Peak) 2243, Kikiimana 2240
lowest point: sea level
lakes (natural): Senanayake Samudra, Nanthi Kadal, and lots of other small lakes
lakes (artificial reservoirs): Uda Walawe Reservoir, and possibly some more
lakes (deepest): unknown
rivers: Mahaweli Ganga 335 km, Aruvi Aru 164, Kala Oya 148, Kelani 145
canals: none, or unknown
waterfalls: Bambarakanda 263 m
caves: longest system: none, or unknown / deepest:
islands: Karaitiv, Mannar, Kayts, Punkudutivi, Delft
deserts: none
other natural features:
 
Additional remarks, especially on the statistical information
 
other important features:
apart from physical landmarks most of the above figures are changeable, in most cases they date from the 1990's
 
primary sources used for the general information:
BB CA EV PW WA WB WR, and some national statistical yearbooks
particulars concerning population data:
due to the unstable political situation the census of 2001 is not held in the Northern-Northeastern districts

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Latest modification of this page on 2004-03-07 by Jan Lahmeyer
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