Sri Lanka - Geography
Here, let us take a look at the Geography of Sri Lanka. Strategic location near major Indian Ocean sea lanes; Adam's Bridge is a chain of limestone shoals between the southeastern coast of India and the northwestern coast of Sri Lanka; geological evidence suggests that this 50-km long Bridge once connected India and Sri Lanka; ancient records seem to indicate that a foot passage was possible between the two land masses until the 15th century when the land bridge broke up in a cyclone. Mother's mean age at first birth is 25.6 years (2016 est.) (Note: data represents median age at first birth among women 30-34), whereas, the Maternal mortality ratio is 29 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)
Geographical data of Sri Lanka
| Location | Southern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of India |
|---|---|
| Geographic coordinates | 7 00 N, 81 00 E |
| Map references | Asia |
| Tarrain | mostly low, flat to rolling plain; mountains in south-central interior |
| Natural Resources | limestone, graphite, mineral sands, gems, phosphates, clay, hydropower, arable land |
| Natural Hazards | occasional cyclones and tornadoes |
| Irrigated Land | 5,700 sq km (2012) |
| Major rivers (by length in km) | |
| Major aquifers | |
| Land Boundaries | 0 km |
| Border Countries | |
| Coastline | 1,340 km |
| Climate | tropical monsoon; northeast monsoon (December to March); southwest monsoon (June to October) |
| Area | |
| Total Area | |
| Land Area | 64,630 sq km |
| Water Area | 980 sq km |
| comparative Area | slightly larger than West Virginia |
| Maritime Claims | |
| Territorial sea | 12 nm |
| Contiguous zone | 24 nm |
| Exclusive economic zone | 200 nm |
| Continental shelf | 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
| Elevations | |
| Highest point | Pidurutalagala 2,524 m |
| Lowest point | Indian Ocean 0 m |
| Mean elevation | 228 m |
| Land Use | |
| Agricultural land | 43.5% (2018 est.) |
| Agricultural land: arable land | arable land: 20.7% (2018 est.) |
| Agricultural land: permanent crops | permanent crops: 15.8% (2018 est.) |
| Agricultural land: permanent pasture | permanent pasture: 7% (2018 est.) |
| Forest | 29.4% (2018 est.) |
| Other | 27.1% (2018 est.) |
Population Distribution
The population is primarily concentrated within a broad wet zone in the southwest, urban centers along the eastern coast, and on the Jaffna Peninsula in the north
People and Society
In Sri Lanka, the different Ethnic groups are such that we have: Sinhalese 74.9%, Sri Lankan Tamil 11.2%, Sri Lankan Moors 9.2%, Indian Tamil 4.2%, other 0.5% (2012 est.)
| Population | |
|---|---|
| Pop growth rate | 0.39% (2024 est.) |
| Birth rate | 14.5 births/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
| Death rate | 7.5 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
| Health expenditure | 4.1% of GDP (2020) |
| Physicians Density | |
| Hospital bed Density | 4.2 beds/1,000 population (2017) |
| Total fertility rate | 2.13 children born/woman (2024 est.) |
| Gross reproduction rate | 1.04 (2024 est.) |
| Contraceptive prevalence rate | 64.6% (2016) |
| Est married women (ages 15-49) | 65.1% (2023 est.) |
| Literacy | age 15 and over can read and write |
| Education expenditures | 1.9% of GDP (2019 est.) |
| Net Migration rate | -3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
| Nationality | Sri Lankan | Sri Lankan(s) |
| Languages | Sinhala (official) 87%, Tamil (official) 28.5%, English 23.8% (2012 est.) |
| Religions | Buddhist (official) 70.2%, Hindu 12.6%, Muslim 9.7%, Roman Catholic 6.1%, other Christian 1.3%, other 0.05% (2012 est.) |
| Age Structure | |
| 0-14 years | 22.6% (male 2,537,918/female 2,423,615) |
| 15-64 years | 65% (male 6,954,869/female 7,336,897) |
| 65 years and over | 12.4% (2024 est.) (male 1,149,256/female 1,580,053) |
| Dependency Ratios | |
| Total dependency ratio | 53.7 |
| Youth dependency ratio | 35.4 |
| Elderly dependency ratio | 17 |
| Potential support ratio | 5.9 (2021 est.) |
| Median Age | |
| Total | 34.1 years (2024 est.) |
| Male | 32.2 years |
| Female | 35.8 years |
| Urbanization | |
| Urban population | 19.2% of total population (2023) |
| Rate of urbanization | 1.22% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.) |
| Major urban areas (Pop) | 103,000 Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte (legislative capital) (2018), 633,000 COLOMBO (capital) (2023). |
| Sex Ratio | |
| At birth | 1.05 male(s)/female |
| 0-14 years | 1.05 male(s)/female |
| 15-64 years | 0.95 male(s)/female |
| 65 years and over | 0.73 male(s)/female |
| Total population | 0.94 male(s)/female (2024 est.) |
| Infant Motality | |
| Total | 6.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.) |
| Male | 7.5 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Female | 6.1 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Life Expectancy at birth | |
| Total population | 76.8 years (2024 est.) |
| Male | 73.7 years |
| Female | 79.9 years |
| Drinking Water Sources | |
| Improved: urban | urban: 99.7% of population |
| Improved: rural | rural: 91.2% of population |
| Improved: total | total: 92.8% of population |
| Unimproved: urban | urban: 0.3% of population |
| Unimproved: rural | rural: 8.8% of population |
| Unimproved: total | total: 7.2% of population (2020 est.) |
| Sanitation facility acess | |
| Improved: urban | urban: 96.6% of population |
| Improved: rural | rural: 97.9% of population |
| Improved: total | total: 97.6% of population |
| Unimproved: urban | urban: 3.4% of population |
| Unimproved: rural | rural: 2.1% of population |
| Unimproved: total | total: 2.4% of population (2020 est.) |
| Major Infectious diseases | |
| Degree of risk | intermediate (2023) |
| Vectorborne diseases | dengue fever |
| Water contact diseases | leptospirosis |
| Animal contact diseases | rabies |
| Alcohol consumption per capita | |
| Total | 2.58 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Beer | 0.22 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Wine | 0.01 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Spirits | 2.32 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Other alcohols | 0.03 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Tobacco use | |
| Total | 22% (2020 est.) |
| Male | 41.4% (2020 est.) |
| Female | 2.6% (2020 est.) |
| Child marriage | |
| Women married by age 15 | 0.9% |
| Women married by age 18 | 9.8% (2016 est.) |
Demographic profile
All Important Facts about Sri Lanka
Want to know more about Sri Lanka? Check all different factbooks for Sri Lanka below.
