Census of Population and Housing 2012 Sri Lanka

Census of Population and Housing
2012
Department of Census & Statistics

Ministry of Policy Planning and Economic Affairs
ii
Prologue
Department of Census & Statistics has successfully completed the 14th Population & Housing Census
in 2012. This Census, conducted to cover the whole island after three decades i.e. since 1981, marks
an important juncture in the history of conducting Census in Sri Lanka. This publication is the
demographic and housing information report prepared based on the final information of the census on
Population & Housing of 2012.
The report, comprising 12 chapters, initially contains information on the history and importance of
Census and how the Census activities were organized. Secondly it deals with the administrative
structure of Sri Lanka and the third chapter is on the growth, distribution and trends of population in
the country. Henceforth, from 4th to 12th Chapters of the report gives the breakdown of the population
by age-sex distribution, status of marriage and fertility, urbanization, internal migratory trends,
physical or mental impairments, distribution of the population by race and religion, education,
economically active/ non active and information regarding houses inhabited by this population.
It is hoped that the contents of this report would be used by the national policy formulators,
administrators, researches and intellectuals for the purpose of uplifting the standard of life in this
country and also by school children and university students productively for educational purposes.
In accomplishing this task my heartfelt thanks go out to, all the officers of the Department of Census
and Statistic, the officers of other government institutions who have contributed to Census activity
while attending to their own duties, all enumerating officers who collected information and all
demographic experts for their suggestions and ideas. Similarly, I also owe a debt of gratitude to all the
persons in this country, who are the subject of this Census, for co-operating by providing the required
information to make this national endeavour a success.
Dr. A.J. Satharasinghe

Director General,
Department of Census & Statistics,
Sankyana Mandiraya,
306/71, Polduwa road,
Battaramulla.
30th July 2015
iii
iv
Acknowledgement
Considering the scope of the task, the persons who contributed to make the 14th Population and
Housing Census of the department a success are too numerous. Yet however, the contributions made
by certain persons and groups standout in their own right to be acknowledged in the report.
Thus, it is with a sense of admiration that we mention the leadership given by the retired former
Director General of the department and the Superintendent of Census 2012, Ms D.B.P.S. Vidyaratne
in accomplishing this task by taking up the sole responsibility of planning this Census that covered the
country in its entirety after 30 years, offering advice through the main operational committees and, by
introduction of new methods and technologies to facilitate the Census. Similarly, the retired former
Director General, Mr. D.C.A Gunewardene, who succeeded Ms Vidyratne and took over the direction
of Census operations during the period 2013 / 2014, has also earned his place in this
acknowledgement.
Further, the entire district administration, including the District secretaries, who functioned as District
Census Commissioners during the conduct of this Census, need special acknowledgement. Also
acknowledged here are the officers who co-operated in the conduct of Census activity representing
other government institutions as well as those institutions that rendered local and foreign assistance
for the completion of this Census.
The Additional Director Generals of the department who constantly co-operated with the Census
Superintendent with their technical assistance to make the Census a success, all Directors, Deputy
Directors and the Assistant Directors of the department, deserve to be acknowledged with gratitude.
All Senior Statisticians, Statisticians, Statistical Officers, Statistical Assistants, all officers of the
Information and Communication Technology division, including all officers of the Information
Communication Technology service, all officers of the Establishment branch, Administrative branch
and Accounts branch, all employees of the Press, Office assistants, Vehicle drivers and other
employees of the department of Census and Statistics who made contributions to successfully
accomplish different stages of the Census activity are also acknowledged. Let us also not forget to
acknowledge the services of officers of the department who were engaged in Census during the last
three years, but are now retired.
Special acknowledgement should also be made of the untiring efforts of the Directress of the
Population Census and Demographic division, Ms I. R. Bandara and all the staff in her division who
were entrusted with the responsibility of preparing the final report of the 2012 Census of Population
and Housing.
Finally, all Enumerating Officers, Grama Niladhari officers and the Sri Lankan public who
contributed to the successful completion of this Census by providing the required information,
deserve a special acknowledgement with thanks.
The English version of the Population and Housing report 2012 was composed and edited by Mr
Palitha Senanayake, hired translator.
vi
Contents
Page
Prologue
Acknowledgement
iii
v
List of Tables
xii
List of Diagrams
xv
Summary
1 History, Importance and the Census Process
xviii
2
2 Administrative Divisions in Sri Lanka
30
3 The Population Growth, its Distribution and Trends
40
4 Age Sex Composition of the population
54
5 Marital status and Fertility
74
6 Urbanization
100
7 National and International Migratory Trends
112
8 Physically or Mentally Impaired Persons
130
9 Distribution of population according to Ethnicity and Religion
138
10 Information on Education in Sri Lanka
166
11 Economically Active and In- active Persons
184
12 Information on Occupied Housing Units
202
vii
Enclosures
Page
Concepts and Definitions
222
viii
List of Tables
No.
Title
Page
Table 1.1
Number of training sessions conducted at district level with officers

participated therein
17
Table 2.1
Districts in the Sri Lanka as at Censuses, 1871 - 2012
34
Table 2.2
Distribution of A.G.A. Divisions, G.S. Divisions and Urban areas by

districts, 1981
Distribution of D.S. Divisions, G.N. Divisions, Urban areas and
Pradeshiya Sabha areas by districts, 2012
Total population as per each year of census, Intercensal growth and the
Average annual growth rate, 1871-2012
37
Table 3.2
Table 3.3
Province wise and district wise population, 2012

Growth in population by districts, 1981 2012
45
47
Table 3.4
The Population density as per the districts, 1981, 2001and 2012
49
Table 3.5
Population by districts and sectors of residence, 2012
52
Table 4.1
Total population, sex ratio and the percentage of females

(Census years 1946 -2012)
56
Table 4.2
60
Table 4.3
Percentage distribution of the total population by five year age groups,

1946 2012
Aging population and sex ratio by age groups, 1981 - 2012
65
Table 4.4
Median age of the population, 1946 - 2012
65
Table 4.5
Sex ratio by ethnicity, 1981 and 2012
68
Table 4.6
Myers Index by sex, 1981, 2001 and 2012
70
Table 4.7
Deviations of complete (total) age from 10.0 percent at terminal digits,

1981 and 2012
72
Table 4.8
Whipples Index by sex, 1981, 2001 and 2012
73
Table 5.1
Number of married persons by sex and type of marriage, 1981 and 2012
78
Table 5.2
Distribution of the population aged 15 years and above by marital status

and sex, 1981 and 2012
79
Table 5.3
Percentages of never married persons in the population aged 15 years and

above by age and sex, 1971, 1981 and 2012
80
Table 5.4
Percentages of married population (15 years and above) by age groups and
sex, 1971, 1981 and 2012
82
Table 5.5
Customary married persons as a percentage of ever married persons by

sector of residence and sex, 1971- 2012
85
Table 5.6
Percentages of widowed persons, 15 years and above by age and sex,

1971, 1981 and 2012
85
Table 5.7
Number of divorced/ separated persons per 10,000 population aged 15

years and above, 1971, 1981 and 2012
87
Table 2.3
Table 3.1
38
43
ix
No.
Title
Page
Table 5.8
Table 5.9
Mean age at marriage, 1953 - 2012

Mean age at marriage by sector, 2012
89
90
Table 5.10
Mean age at marriage by district, 1981 and 2012
91
Table 5.11
Mean age at marriage by ethnicity, 2012
93
Table 5.12
Percentage of currently married women between 15- 49 years of age,

1981 and 2012
94
Table 5.13
Percentage distribution of ever married women aged 15 years and

above according to the number of children born alive by sector, 2012
95
Table 5.14
Age specific fertility rates (ASFR), 1981 and 2012
96
Table 6.1
Urban population of the country over time, 1871 - 2012
103
Table 6.2
Urban population by districts, 2012
105
Table 6.3
Population and the population density in Colombo Municipal council

area during census years, 1881 - 2012
107
Table 6.4
Total population in the Colombo divisional secretariat by the Grama

Niladhari Divisions, 2012
109
Table 6.5
Total population in the Thimbirigasyaya divisional secretariat by Grama

110
Table 7.1
Life time migrants by the district of usual residency and district of birth,
2012
116
Table 7.2
Life time migrants by the three migratory streams by the district of

usual residency, 2012
117
Table 7.3
The main migratory streams of life time migrants who have migrated out
of their district of birth, 2012
119
Table 7.4
Internal Migratory patterns by the district of usual residency and the

district of previous residency, 2012
121
Table 7.5
In migrants to the District of usual residency and duration of residency,

2012
122
Table 7.6
The reasons for migration from the district of previous residency to the
district of usual residency, 2012
124
Table 7.7
Numbers of persons living abroad temporarily by sex, age group and

sector of residence, 2012
127
Table 7.8
The population temporarily living abroad, by reason for being abroad,

the country and sex, 2012
128
No.
Title
Page
Table 8.1
Number of physically or mentally impaired persons per 1000 in the

Population by their impairment, 2012
133
Table 8.2
The rate of impaired persons by sex and by age group ( per 1000 in
population), 2012
135
Table 8.3
The educational activity in which physically or mentally impaired persons

have been engaged in during the 30 days preceding census, 2012
136
Table 8.4
Economic activities of the physically or mentally impaired persons, 2012
137
Table 9.1
Distribution of the total Sri Lankan population by ethnicity, 2012
141
Table 9.2
Number of Sri Lankan population (in 1000s) by ethnicity,1911 - 2012
142
Table 9.3
Distribution of ethnicity by provinces (in percentages), 2012
143
Table 9.4
Distribution of population by ethnicity and district, 1981
144
Table 9.5
Distribution of population by ethnicity and district, 2012
145
Table 9.6
Distribution of the Sinhalese population by district, 1981 and 2012
147
Table 9.7
Distribution of the Sri Lanka Tamil population by district, 1981 and 2012
149
Table 9.8
Distribution of the Indian Tamil population by district, 1981 and 2012
151
Table 9.9
Distribution of the Sri Lanka Moor population by district, 1981 and 2012
153
Table 9.10
Distribution of the Burger population by district, 1981 and 2012
155
Table 9.11
Distribution of the Malay population by district, 1981 and 2012
156
Table 9.12
Distribution of the Sri Lanka Chetty population by district, 2012
157
Table 9.13
Distribution of the Indian population by district, 2012
158
Table 9.14
Distribution of the Other population by district, 1981 and 2012
159
Table 9.15
161
Table 9.16
Distribution of Sri Lankan population by religion and the sector of

residence, 2012
Distribution of population by religion and district, 1981
Table 9.17
Distribution of population by religion and district, 2012
163
Table 10.1
The education level of the population above 25 years of age by sex, 2012
170
Table 10.2
Distribution of population above 25 years of age by the level of education

and district, 2012
171
162
xi
No.
Title
Page
Table 10.3
Literacy rate by Sex and by the year of census, 1881 - 2012
177
Table 10.4
Language literacy by ethnicity, 2012
180
Table 11.1
Economically engaged population by sex and sector of residence, 2012
188
Table 11.2
Economically engaged population by sex and marital status, 2012
190
Table 11.3
191
Table 11.5
Economically engaged population by status of employment and sector,

2012
Number of economically engaged household heads by sex and by age,
2012
Unemployed population by sex and sector of residence, 2012
193
Table 11.6
Unemployed population by marital status and sex, 2012
195
Table 11.7
Population not engaged in economic activity by sex and sector of

residence, 2012
197
Table 11.8
Population not engaged in economic activity by province of residence

and sex, 2012
199
Table 11.9
Population not engaged in economic activity by age groups, 2012
200
Table 11.10
Population not engaged in economic activity by the task engaged in and

sex, 2012
201
Table 12.1
Number of occupied building units by the sector of residence, 1981 and

2012
205
Table 12.2
Percentage of housing units owned by a member of the household and

rented by the sector of residence, 1981 and 2012
207
Table 12.3
Number of housing units by nature of construction material, 1981 and

2012
207
Table 12.4
Percentages of dwelling houses with pipe borne water by the sector of

residence and district,1981 and 2012
210
Table 12.5
Percentages of dwelling units using fire wood and gas as cooking fuel by
district and sector of residence, 1981 and 2012
211
Table 12.6
Percentages of dwelling units that use electricity and kerosene oil for
lighting by district and sector of living, 1981 and 2012
214
Table 12.7
Percentages in solid waste disposing avenues by sector of residence, 2012
216
Table 11.4
192
xii
List of Diagrams
No.
Title
Page
Diagram 1.1
A sketch map depicting the division of a GN division in to

Census blocks
Diagram 1.2
Diagram 1.3
A sketch map prepared in line with Census blocks

The red label prepared for buildings
7
8
Diagram 1.4
Diagram 2.1
The Organization structure of the Census of Population and

Housing
Provincial level map of Sri Lanka
33
Diagram 2.2
Diagram 3.1
District level map of Sri Lanka

Population size and its growth, 1871-2012
36
44
Diagram 3.2
Distribution of population by districts, 2012
48
Diagram 4.1
Diagram 4.2
Diagram 4.3
Diagram 4.4
Diagram 4.5
57
58
58
59
60
Diagram 4.6
Sex ratio, 19462012

Population distribution by single years of age and sex, 1981
Population distribution by single years of age and sex, 2001*
Population distribution by single years of age and sex, 2012
Percentage distribution of the total population by broad age
groups, 1946 2012
Dependency ratios, 1946-2012
Diagram 4.7
Percentage of population above 60 years of age, 1946-2041
63
Diagram 4.8
Diagram 4.9
Diagram 4.10
Diagram 4.11
Diagram 4.12
The Index of Aging, 1946 2041

Sex ratio by age groups, 1981 and 2012
Sex ratio by sector of residence, 2012
Sex ratio by districts, 2012
Myers Index by sex, 1981, 2001 and 2012
64
66
67
69
71
Diagram 5.1
Marital status of the population aged 15 years and over by sex,

2012
80
Diagram 5.2
Percentages of never married females by age groups, 1971,

1981 and 2012
81
Diagram 5.3
Percentage of married female population by 5 year age groups,

1971, 1981 and 2012
83
Diagram 5.4
Marital status of population by ethnicity and sex, 2012
88
Diagram 5.5
Diagram 5.6
Mean age at marriage for females, 1981 and 2012

The Percentage distribution of live births happened to ever
married females aged 15 years and above by sector, 2012
92
95
Diagram 5.7
Total fertility rates by sector, ethnicity and educational

attainment, 2012
97
Diagram 5.8
Total fertility rate by district, 2012
98
Diagram 6.1
Colombo Municipal Council
62
107
xiii
No.
Title
Page
Diagram 7.1
Migratory and non- migratory population, 2012
120
Diagram 7.2
The net migratory rates by districts, 1981 and 2012
126
Diagram 8.1
The rate of physically or mentally impaired persons (per 1000

in the population) by district, 2012
134
Diagram 8.2
Impaired persons by sex and age group ( per 1000 in

population), 2012
135
Diagram 9.1
Percentage distribution of the Sri Lankan population by

ethnicity, 1981 and 2012
141
Diagram 9.2
Total population by district, 1981 and 2012
146
Diagram 9.3
Distribution of the Sinhalese population by district, 2012
148
Diagram 9.4
Distribution of the Sri Lanka Tamil population by district,

2012
Distribution of the Indian Tamil population by district, 2012
150
Diagram 9.5
Diagram 9.6
152
Diagram 9.7
Distribution of the Sri Lanka Moor population by district,

2012
Distribution of Sri Lankan population by religion, 2012
160
Diagram 9.8
Distribution of Sri Lankan population by religion, 1981 - 2012
160
Diagram 10.1
Percentages of pre-school attending children by age and sector

of residence, 2012
172
Diagram 10.2
Pre-school attending children by age and district, 2012
173
Diagram 10.3
Percentages of school attendance of children aged 5 to 14

years by district, 2012
174
Diagram 10.4
Percentages of school attendance of children aged 15-18

years by district, 2012
175
Diagram 10.5
Literacy of the population by sex and sector of residence, 2012
176
Diagram 10.6
Diagram 10.7
Literacy rate by district, 2012

Literacy rate by age and medium of language, 2012
178
179
Diagram 10.8
Computer literacy of the population by sector of residence,

2012
Computer literacy in Sri Lanka by sex and sector of residence,
2012
181
Diagram 10.9
154
182
Diagram 10.10
Computer literacy by age and district, 2012
183
Diagram 11.1
Categorisation of the population aged 15 years and above on

the basis of their engagement in economic activity, 2012
187
Diagram 11.2
Economically engaged population by sex and sector of

residence, 2012
188
Diagram 11.3
Diagram 11.4
Economically engaged population by age and sex, 2012

Economically engaged household heads by sex and age group,
2012
189
192
Diagram 11.5
Unemployed population by the province of residence, 2012
194
xiv
No.
Title
Page
Diagram 11.6
Unemployed population by level of education, 2012
196
Diagram 11.7
Diagram 11.8
Unemployed population by sex and level of education, 2012

Population not engaged in economic activity by sex and sector
of residence, 2012
196
198
Diagram 11.9
Population not engaged in economic activity by province of

residence, 2012
198
Diagram 12.1
Number of housing units by the year of construction, 20052011
205
Diagram 12.2
Distribution of percentages in dwelling units by the source of

drinking water, 2012
209
Diagram 12.3
The use of electricity and kerosene oil for lighting, 1981 and
2012
212
Diagram 12.4
Distribution of households with an exclusive toilet by district,

2012
Distribution of households use of electronic equipment by
Distribution of housing units with capacity to access internet
on their own by district, 2012
215
Diagram 12.5
Diagram 12.6
Diagram 12.7
Distribution of housing units with ability to access internet

through other facilities by district, 2012
217
218
218
xv
xvi
Summary
The 14th Population and Housing Census of Sri Lanka was held in the year 2012 by the Department of
Census & Statistics. The Census operations were conducted by the district administration with the
participation of a large number of Government officers and other officers in different organizations,
under the technical advice and guidance of the department.
Enumerating and collection of information, from the totality of a populace inhabiting the total area of
a country, based on their usual place of residence, at an appointed day, is a gigantic task by any
standards. Thus, it behoves a responsibility on the users of the information, to make the best and most
appropriate use of the information, so collected.
According to the final results of the Census on Population and Housing, the total population of Sri
Lanka is 20,359,439 persons and the population density is 325 persons per square kilo meter of the
country. When the distribution of this population is considered according to province level, two third
of this total population lives in the four provinces, Western (28.7 percent), Central (12.6 percent),
South (12.2 percent) and North-western (11.7 percent). The highest population is recorded in
Colombo district while the lowest population is recorded in Mullaitivu district. When the usual place
of residency of persons is considered in terms of sector of residence; urban, rural and estate, it is
revealed that the highest population resides in the rural sector.
Further, according to the demographic information revealed in the Census on Population and Housing,
48.4 percent of the total population are males while 51.6 percent are females. In addition, 25.3 percent
of this total population is under 15 years of age while 62.4 percent of the total population is between
15 - 59 years. Accordingly, the elderly population aged 60 years and over, is 12.4 percent of the total
population. In analysing the marital status of the population, aged 15 years and over, it is revealed that
50.7 percent are married while 30 percent have never been married. Similarly 3.9 percent of the total
adult population is recorded to have been widowed.
When population is analysed on the basis of ethnicity, it is revealed that the majority, 74.9 percent of
the total population is Sinhalese. Besides, Sri Lankan Tamils at 11.2 percent, Indian Tamils at 4.1
percent, Sri Lankan moor at 9.3 percent and other ethnicities at 0.5 percent, represent the total
population of Sri Lanka. When the total population is analysed on the basis of religion, a similar
pattern emerges and accordingly the majority of the population, 70.1 percent are Buddhist while the
next popular religion, Hinduism is patronised by 12.6 percent of the population. The believers in
Islam are recorded as 9.7 percent of the population.
xvii
According to the findings of the 2012 Census information, the percentage of married population by
gender, which was recorded as 55 percent for males and 59 percent for females respectively in the
1981 Census has increased to 67 percent for both the sexes by the year 2012. Similarly between the 31
years from 1981 to 2012, the never married percentage for males has recorded a reduction from 43
percent to 30 percent while the corresponding female percentage has come down from 32 percent to
22 percent.
The higher level of education attainment in Sri Lanka, being a developing country, is evident in the
reflection of the high literacy rate. Accordingly, the language literacy rate of the populace has
reported as 95.7 percent for the total population while the language literacy rate for males has
remained above that of the females. According to the data reported on computer use of persons, above
10 years of age, it is recoded that the computer literacy of the total population aged 10 years and
above is 24.2 percent as at the year 2012.
The Census of 2012 has collected data on internal as well as international migration. On internal
migration, the Western Province has recorded the highest incidence of inward migration. Further, on
inward migration, the most popular district has been Colombo district. On international migration of
the total population, it is found that the males recorded a higher incidence among those who stay
abroad for a period of 6 months or more.
The Census on Population and Housing has also paid attention to the urbanisation of the population,
or the incidence of the rate of increase in the population in areas considered urban. Accordingly,
18.2 percent of the total population of the country lives in urban areas.
Of the population above 15 years of age, which represent a three fourth of the total population, 51.6
percent are economically active while the balance 48.4 percent of that population belongs to the
economically inactive category. The Census on Population and Housing also report 1,617,924
impaired persons among the total population. When considering district level, Kandy, Nuwara-eliya
and Ratnapura districts have recorded a high presence of impaired persons among their populations.
On housing, the current Census on Population and Housing has reported the existence of 5,267,159
building units used as occupied units by the population. Of these, Gampaha district has reported the
highest number of building units occupied by persons while Mannar district has reported the least
number of such building units. Similarly, the Census has revealed that 80.9 percent of these dwelling
houses have safe sources of drinking water while 87 percent of them have been obtain electricity by
the national electricity grid.
xviii
xix
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History, Importance and the Census

process
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1.0
History, Importance and the Census process
The History
A Census on Population and Housing is the total enumeration of all persons who live in a welldefined territory at a particular time with the collection, analysis and publication of that countrys
demographic, social, economic and collecting information on occupied dwelling units. Since it is an
extremely complex and an expensive exercise, countries generally conduct population Census only
once in 10 years. However, planning for the conducting of Census has to be in regular intervals. The
UN recommends that it is more appropriate to conduct Census in a year that ends with either 1 or
zero. Sri Lanka has chosen to conduct its Census on Population and Housing on years that end with
1, but at times this pattern may have been disturbed due to numerous considerations.
Sri Lanka possesses a long history of conducting Census on Population and Housing and it was on the
27th March 1871 that the first legitimate Census had been conducted in this country. That,
incidentally, had been the first scientific (national) Census conducted in a South Asian region. In 1871
the population of Sri Lanka has been recorded as 2.4 million. Subsequent to 1871 Sri Lanka has
conducted its Census during the years 1881 ,1901,1911, 1921 and 1931, all on years ending with 1
but the Census due in 1941 had not been conducted due to World War 11. However, the conducting of
Census had resumed in 1946 followed by1953 and 1963 and then continued in years 1971, 1981, 2001
and 2012. The unsettled atmosphere that prevailed in the country during the latter half of 1980-1990
decade had prevented the conducting of Census on Population and Housing and as a result the Census
due in 1991 had not been conducted. Then in the year 2001 it had been possible to collect information
only from 18 out of the 25 districts of the country. Therefore, the significance of the14th Census
conducted in 2012 is intrinsically in its position of being the Census that covered the country, in its
entirety, since the year 1981. According to the Population Census of 2012 the total population of Sri
Lanka is recorded as 20,359,439 persons.
For the purpose of conducting Census of Population and Housing in Sri Lanka, the Department of
Census and Statistics had been established formerly in the year 1947. Thus, the series of Census
conducted prior to that, had been done under the colonial administration. The Census Ordinance of Sri
Lanka that empowered the conducting of Census had been enacted in 1868 and since then it has been
revised time to time with amendments to accommodate changing situations. This ordinance, while
making it mandatory upon every citizen to disclose correct information during a Census, also makes
the responsibility of safeguarding the confidentiality of such information legally binding upon the
Department of Census and Statistics. Similarly, it is the responsibility of all the citizens in the country
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to use the information disclosed in a Census, productively, positively and for the common good of the
entire population of Sri Lankans.
The importance of census
A Census on Population and Housing makes available the demographic, social and housing
information regarding the entire human population in a country at a specific day. Administratively, it
is the Census on Population and Housing that could provide information to the smallest administrative
unit of the country.
Further, it is this information of Census that forms the basis for development planning activity in the
country at both the regional and national levels. Census information is also used to monitor the
development activity initiated at the smallest administrative level and to prepare numerous national
and international indexes on population.
It is the Census information that provides the most credible information, to determine the size of a
countrys current population and its composition, to prepare projections on future population growth,
to prepare plans on education and on employment and to identify migratory trends. The researchers
and those who are engaged in educational activity will also find Census information, a reliable source
of primary data. In addition Census information will form the basis on which administrative areas and
electoral constituencies are demarcated.
Further, conducting a Census on population and housing requires the preparation of a frame that lists
out all the buildings and dwelling habitats in the country and that frame would form an indispensable
source of information for subsequent economic census activities and also in numerous sample surveys
conducted by the department under different subjects.
The Census Process
The principal stages of a Census
Of the many stages of activity involving the conduct of a Census, the following could be listed as the
4 main stages.
Stage 1. Preparation of maps depicting the smallest administrative units (GN divisions) and
Demarcate census block boundaries
Stage 2. Listing of all the building units.
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Stage 3. Enumeration and collection of data relating to persons and building/ dwelling units.
Stage 4. Analysis of data and the disseminate Census information.
These stages are described in greater detail below.
Stage 1- Preparation of maps depicting the smallest administrative unit (G N division)

and the demarcate census blocks
There were 14,022 GN divisions in the country by the year 2012 and the maps relating to all these GN
divisions were drawn under direction of the district staff of Department of Census and Statistics by
the respective Grama Niladharies. For instance a draft map (as shown in Figure1.1) was provided by
the cartography division of the Department of Census and Statistics to Grama Niladharies. Thereafter
the map was update with latest information while paying careful attention to ensure that neither
overlapping nor omission of areas take place between adjoining Grama Niladhari divisions. This
process has to be attended with diligence and care as the boundaries of the GN divisions are subject to
changes from time to time and also as the GN division forms the bedrock in data collection for the
Census. Having prepared/ drawn up the GN division, each GN division is subdivided in to census
blocks on the basis of approximately 150 building units per Census Block and then Census Block
level maps are prepared with more details (Figure 1.2). The demarcation of Census Blocks take in to
account the state of the area/land of the GN division while 150 building units are chosen as that is
considered to be the quantity a single enumerating officer could successfully handle in the course of
data collection.
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Diagram 1.1: A sketch map depicting the division of a GN division in to Census blocks
No. 67 B Holombuwa division
Diagram 1.2: A sketch map prepared in line with Census blocks
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Stage 2- The listing of all the building units
The next stage of the Census operation is to prepare a list of all the buildings in each census block.
This pre- prepared list is known as the F1 list and the listing in this is done by the Grama Niladhari of
the division. The buildings in the block are then categorised as housing units, collective living
quarters and non- housing units and the red label marked with the number given as per the FI list
would be pasted on the buildings (Figure 1.3). The listing activity stage of the Census has to precede
the information collecting stage of the Census. Thus the officer appointed to enumerate, in order to do
his/her duty, will identify the buildings of the area by linking the numbers in the lists with the red
label numbers that are affixed to the buildings in the area. The Grama Niladhari of the area, when
listing out the buildings of his/her area in the F1 list, will record the name of the owner of a particular
building, its address and whether that building unit is a housing unit, a collective housing unit or a
non- housing unit. This F1 list will be retained as the Census Frame for future activities of the
Census operation.
Diagram 1.3: The red label prepared for buildings
Census Conducting Procedure
According to the Census Ordinance, the Department of Census and Statistics is entrusted with the
entire technical responsibility of conducting a Census of Population and Housing in Sri Lanka. In
order to conduct this Census, the President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, in
keeping with the Census Ordinance, will appoint the Director General of the Department of Census
and Statistics as the Superintendent of Census proclaiming the same through a gazette notification.
The Department of Census and Statistics accordingly will take necessary action to plan and conduct
the Census on the date mentioned in the said gazette proclamation.
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In conducting the Census, the technical officers attached to the Department of Census and Statistics
will provide the technical know-how and the skills, while the Department will use the administrative
structure of the government to conduct field activities. Accordingly every District Secretary is
appointed as the District Commissioner of Census while every Divisional Secretary is appointed as
the Deputy Commissioner of Census. The officers who visit every house to collect information
during a Census are the temporary enumerating officers that are recruited, at the divisional level, for
the purpose. Those officers will enumerate and collect data under the guidance and supervision of the
Grama Niladhari of the division. The officers of the Department of Census and Statistics will provide
training on the process of conducting a Census to Grama Niladharies and these temporary officers.
The Organization Plan of the Census is given in Diagram 1.4.
Diagram 1.4: The Organization structure of the Census of Population and Housing
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Stage 3 - Collection of data from persons and houses
In 2012, for the first time in the history of Census, persons were enumerated in the usual place of their
residence. This is known as de-jure enumeration. In this the normal place of residence is defined as
A place where a person has been living continuously more than six or experts to stay for more than 6
months continuously at the time of Census.
The questions to be included in the questionnaire that is designed to collect data on persons and on
housing and how the answers to those questions should be recorded was decided by the questionnaire
sub- committee that designed the Census schedule (F3 schedule) at the Census planning stage. This
questionnaire has been pre-tested in every Divisional Secretariat of the country and the final (F3)
schedule has been prepared after incorporating the amendments relating to issues identified, making it
a schedule acceptable to all.
20th March of 2012 has been named as the Census date in 2012 and the dawn of 20th March, i.e. the
midnight of 19th March has been named as the Census Moment.
Accordingly the pre listing form (F1 form) with a Census Block containing the listing of 150 building
units as described above and a map giving directions of access to the units would be handed over to
each enumerating officer to collect data. The preparation of the GN division map was done by the
Grama Niladharies. Further the demarcation of Census Blocks and the preparation of F1 forms with
listing of building units is also the responsibility of the Grama Niladharies. However, the supervision
of these tasks was done by the Field Statistical Officers of the Department who are appointed as
Divisional Census Officers.
The collection and verification of data of this Census was done in two main rounds. The first round is
the information collecting round and for this the enumerating officers were given a period of three
weeks prior to the Census date i.e. from 27th February to 19th March 2012. During this period the
enumeration officer had to visit places of residence in the Census Block, collect data on persons who
are usually living in the units and collect housing information only on houses that are occupied, and
record such information in the Census schedule. This means that information on housing is not
collected from collective living quarters and Non-housing units.
Thereafter the verification round commences. At the verification and amendment round the
enumerating officer visited the same units that he did during the information collecting round and
correct information, on new born babies based on the Census moment, delete information from F3
form for those persons who have died before the Census moment and incorporate changes in data if
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any, that have taken place since the collection of data during prior three weeks March 20th and 21st
were allocated to this second round.
Enumerating the population that has no permanent place of abode
Census 2012 enumerated persons on their usual place of residence. Yet it is possible that for some
people in this country there is no particular place or house to live in. There are those, who spent the
day roaming and contend to take out the night on pavements or such make shift places. However, as
such persons are a part of the population of the country enumeration of those were also done during
the night of the Census. Further the Census Officers had gathered information in advance about such
persons and their probable places of abode from the Grama Niladhari of the area. Thus, considering
the practical difficulties, the enumeration of such persons was performed between 10.p.m. and 12
midnight on the 19th March 2012. Accordingly, the Census have recorded that there are 3418 persons
in this country who have no permanent place of abode.
The changes in the method of enumeration process in the 2012 Census
There are two main methods of eliciting information during a Census.
1) To enumerate persons at a place where physically they are found during the Census
enumeration (De-facto method)
2) To enumerate persons on their usual place of residence (De jure method)
The method used during the 2012 Census is the de-jure method whereas the method used on all the
previous Census has been the 1st method or the de-facto method. The use of the de-jure method this
time was influenced by the state of affairs, as well as the requirements, of the country. However this
change of method has brought to light certain practical difficulties in the de-facto, or Census as it is,
method. For instance the de-facto method requires the deployment of a large contingent of officers to
enumerate during the night of the Census day, quite in the open. This could leave room for
shortcomings in the enumeration work. Further, the development plans prepared for activities at the
district administrative level requires the number of persons usually residing in the respective
divisions. These reasons influenced Census 2012 to opt for the de-jure method in enumerating.
Therefore, comparatively, as against the above disadvantages of the de- facto method the de- jure
method could be said to possess a number of advantages. Among these advantages is the ability to
allow adequate time to the enumerating officers to collect data enabling them to obtain correct
information minimising the possibility of missing or duplicating of persons. Accordingly, places
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where people residing temporarily such as hospitals, tourist hotels, rest houses, holiday resorts,
airports and offices were not considered as places of usual residence.
Main tasks involved in a Census process
*Appointing Census steering committee and sub committees.
* Conducting district level workshops to identify requirements.
* Planning out the Census date and plan time frame for related activities accordingly.
* Familiarising with new technology and methods used in other countries.
* Updating the village list and preparation of the Census frame.
* Planning out the process of updating the maps used in the Census.
* Updating the occupation and Industry code list.
* Preparing proposals required to obtain assistance for Census activity from the United Nations
Population fund and other such agencies.
* Determining the enumerating process of the Census.
* Preparing the Census schedule.
* Conducting pre-test for the Census schedule.
* Preparing the administrative and legal frames required for Census activity.
* Conducting the discussion rounds with the data users.
* Planning out the computerized coding system.
* Planning the data capturing process analysing process.
* Planning out the pilot Survey on Census process.

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* Preparing the Census data dissemination programme
* Preparation and printing of instruction manuals required in Census activity in all three
languages (Sinhala, Tamil and English).
* Designing the training programmes for various officers, to be engaged in Census activity.
* Preparing the data archiving system.
* Initiating and preparation Census publicity programme
* Designing and printing of forms required in the administration and conduct of the Census.
* Recruitment and train of officers required for Census.
* Designing of post enumeration survey activity.
* Distribution of schedules and other material required at district level to conduct the Census.
* Preparation of pre listing and enumerating system in the Census.
* Designing the system to elicit data on 5 percent samples.
* Commencing of Census activity.
* Preparation and printing of Census reports.
* Concluding the Census work.
Estimating the expenditure on Census
Obtaining cabinet approval for the Census expenditure.
Obtaining the authority for payment.
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Conducting publicity activity
At the listing stage
At the enumerating stage
Collection of data and supervision
Supervision of the data collection stage
Supervision of the preparation of summary tables and despatch them to respective district
offices on the completion of Census.
Data computerization, editing and the preparation of tables
Identifying the new methods and technology in data processing.
Data scanning
Provision of data scanning facilities
Training of officers
Preparation of data editing instructions
Designing computer programmes and includes amendments to obtain data tables from pilot
survey data.
To work towards the obtaining of final data tables.
The data releasing stages
The issue of preliminary reports.
Issue of reports with data tables obtained from summaries.
To take action to issue the 5 percent Sample Survey report.
Issue of final data tables to the departments web site.
Issue of provincial level Census reports.
Issue of final Census report.
Issue of Census thematic reports under special topics
Conduct seminars to disseminate Census data.
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Census Schedules
Two types of schedules have been deployed to enumerate persons during the Census operation.
1) Schedule on Population and Housing Also known as the F3 schedule; this is the main
schedule used to collect information in persons according to the usual place of residence.
Information collected there from persons lined in all three types of units namely, housing
units, collective living quarters and also Non-housing units. However, information on houses
was collected only from houses which have been occupied by people.
2) Schedule on persons with no permanent abode This is identified as the F4 schedule and has
been used to collect information from persons with no permanent place of residence.
Given below are the primary headings under which the Census schedule F3 collected information.
Demographic information - Date of birth, Sex, Religion, Ethnicity, Marital status, Migratory
information, Impairments (physical and mental), Educational
status, Language literacy, Computer literacy, Economic activity
engaged in and Fertility.
Persons temporarily resident abroad Sex, age Country of residence, Reason for being abroad
Housing unit information - Structure of the unit, materials used to construct the walls, roof
and the floor, year of construction.
Household unit Information - Main source of drinking water, main source of lighting, sanitary
facilities, communication facilities and methods of having
access to internet facilities
Training of Census officers
Training of Census officers was conducted in a few stages. First, the Statistical Officers and the
officers above that rank of the department were trained as the principal training officers. Afterward
the Census awareness programmes were conducted with the participation of the senior officers of the
Department for District Secretaries and the Divisional Secretaries in all 25 districts uniformaly. For
this purpose power point presentations of the programs were made available in all three languages.
The conducting of district level training programs for Grama Niladharies was done by the trained
officers of the department. Thereafter the department officers conducted another training program at
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district level to train the enumerating officers. In this program the number of enumerators for a class
was restricted to 45 and all the training classes were aided by power point presentations. In 2001, due
to limitations in technology and facilities at that time, printed materials were used for these training
programs. All the divisional training programs were conducted under the auspices of the Divisional
Secretary of the respective division and the senior officers of the department participated in
supervisory capacity. Questions and issues raised by the prospective enumerating officers were
entertained, clarifications made and solutions were prescribed at these training classes. Given below
in Table 1.1 is the number of training programmes conducted at district level by the department.
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Table 1.1: Number of Training programmes conducted at district level with officers participated therein
District
No. of
Supervising
Enumerating
Deputy Census
Assistant
Other
Training
Staff
Officers
Commissioners
Census
Non-
Assistant
Regional
Other
Technical
Census
Census
Technical
Staff
Commissioners
Officers
Staff
programmes
Commissioners
Conducted
Total
Technical Staff
2562
16304
80046
356
356
1770
59
518
216
Colombo
224
1094
9768
14
14
70
20
58
130
Gampaha
239
1568
7871
14
14
70
32
26
Kalutara
138
865
4323
15
15
75
30
17
Kandy
183
1270
5545
21
21
105
27
Matale
69
550
1990
12
12
60
16
Nuwara-Eliya
83
553
2576
30
Galle
135
915
3946
20
20
90
26
Matara
105
678
3115
17
17
85
21
Hambantota
78
596
2306
13
13
65
15
10
Jaffna
77
483
2309
16
16
80
20
11
Mannar
23
153
664
30
12
Vavuniya
24
149
820
25
13
Mullaitivu
25
159
559
35
10
14
Kilinochchi
17
122
588
25
15
Batticaloa
69
391
1868
15
15
75
19
16
Ampara
78
565
2135
21
21
105
24
17
Trincomalee
46
282
1452
12
12
60
15
Kurunegala
219
1662
6392
31
31
155
35
91
602
2626
17
17
85
23
18
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Puttalam
20
Anuradhapura
115
742
3332
23
23
115
27
21
Polonnaruwa
46
320
1383
40
11
22
Badulla
110
598
3260
16
16
80
20
23
Moneragala
65
361
1920
12
12
60
17
24
Ratnapura
144
701
4602
18
18
90
25
25
Kegalle
94
605
2896
12
12
60
16
Other
65
320
1800
Note
1 A District Census Commissioner and a District Co-ordinating officer have been appointed for each district.
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2. Other officers including Accountants, Management Assistants and Office Assistants have been included as Non-technical officers.
Publicity activities
Publicity activity plays an important part in eliciting correct information from the public at a Census.
Publicity activities were designed targeting different social groups of the population. Given below are
the programs implemented in this respect.
Drawing competition for school children
Census publicity work commenced with the education of school children and school teachers. A
poster competition among school children was organized at the junior and senior levels with
grades from 6-9 representing junior and grades from 10 13 representing the seniors. A special
adjudicating team selected the first, second and third places and also another 40 winner in the two
categories of this competition. The presentation of cash prizes for the first three places in both the
categories were ceremonially awarded at the World Statistical Day held on 10/10/2010.
The posters that won the first, second and third places in the two categories are presented below.
Junior Section (Grades 6-9)
First place
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Second Place
Third Place
Senior Section (Grades 10-13)

First place
Second Place
Third Place
Census Publicity stickers

Steps were taken to paste Census publicity stickers in Sinhala and Tamil languages on more than 50
vehicles deployed in Census field activity. In addition arrangements were made to paste stickers in
public transport and the Ceylon Transport Board (CTB) took the initiative in distributing these
stickers to all public buses that travel through the length and breadth of the island.
Census Message
The Census massage was printed on the department letter heads and envelops. In addition, the Census
message was also printed on the caps, bags, pens and the plastic folders issued to enumerating
officers.
Census Message:
Census Book Mark
About 300,000 numbers of A4 size leaflets and book marks containing the Census message were
distributed at the Dayata Kirula exhibition held in 2010 at Pallekeley in Kandy.
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Census Calendars
Census message was printed on department calendars designed for the year 2011, the Government
desk calendars printed during that year and 200,000 pocket calendars. The pocket calendars were
distributed at the Dayata Kirula exhibition held in 2011. The winning posters of the school poster
competition were used in these pocket calendars.
Census Hand bill
In order to educate the general public at large on the Census and its relevance, a hand bill was printed
and distributed publicly. Depicted below are the Census hand bills printed and distributed.
Census information leaflet
The progress of the Census was publicised through the departmental website. However, at the listing
stage of the Census, an information leaflet was prepared and distributed among the general public
through the distribution network of Lankadeepa (Sinhala) and Thinakaran (Tamil) newspapers.
Census Posters
75,000 Census posters during the listing stage of the Census and 200,000 Census posters at the
enumerating stage of the Census were printed and distributed at the district level.
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Census Banners and Boards
2000 copies of 2 types of banners were printed and made available to the District officers through the
respective District secretariats. These banners were made for the purpose of displaying them at public
places frequented by people.
30 large boards were designed and displayed throughout the country with the sponsorship and
contribution of the United Nations Population Fund.
United Nations Population Fund provided financial assistance to construct 30 large boards with
census messages throughout the country to increase the awareness among people about the Census.
Media Seminars
During the period of the Census operation, three media seminars were conducted through the
Government media department and electronic and printed media were availed to educate the media
personnel.
The message of educating school children through the Department of Education
A message emphasising the importance of the Census was communicated to all the schools in the
island through the department of education and this made possible the education of the students
through the respective school principals with the view of instilling a sense of necessity in co-operating
with enumerating officers.
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Publicity activity through the Television
In order to educate the general public on the importance of disclosing correct information to the
enumerating officers, publicity programs and advertisements were carried out in the television media
at the listing and enumerating stages of the Census.
Computerising the Census data
During the Census of Population and Housing conducted in the year 1946, data entry of Census data
had been done using punch cards. This mechanism had been updated during the 1953 Census
operation. Since 1971, method of Census data entry had been developed with the remarkable
advances made in computer technology.
By 1981, computer technology had made further advances and a special computer, IBM 4331, had
been used in the processing of Census data. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
and the United Nations Foundation (UNFPA) Population Activities had made meaningful
contributions in this process. In 2001 computerisation of Census data had been done in two stages;
namely the hand coding stage and the preparation by computer stage.
However, since the manual data entry takes considerable time and human effort, the Census of 2012
introduced data scanning technology for the first time. This has paved the way for capturing data
through scanning digital imaging such as OMR /ICR technology incorporating specially data quality
control cheeks. The Census of 2012 has taken a further step in that direction by verifying the validity
of all the data and editing wherever/whenever necessary through the computer itself.
In the current social setting collecting information by visiting the houses could lead to difficult and
embarrassing situations. Also it may not be possible to meet people in person during day time as
people could be out of their houses engaged in employment/ livelihood during that time. As a solution
to this problem Census 2012 deployed e- census technology to collect information from 300 selected
dwelling units within the Colombo Municipal council limits as an exponential basis. In this,
arrangements were made to obtain the required information through the internet by introducing a
secret password to the household unit and then to ensure the confidentiality of the information so
obtained.
Further, in previous Census, the coding of the respondents employment and industry was done by the
staff manually whereas this time software for the purpose has been designed and accomplished by
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Information and Communication Technology (ICT) division of the department. Accordingly the
coding was done in the 5 percent sample and then estimated to the entire population.
Stage 4 Analysis of data and the issue of Census information
The issuing of Census information is done over a number of stages. The reason for this is the need to
scrutinise data about every 80,000 Census block subjecting those to a validation process, and that
takes considerable time. This means there is a time lag between the time of Census and issuing of the
final report and as a mitigating measure the Census information is released in the following 5 stages.
1st stage of release
Immediately after the collection of Census information the enumerating officers will prepare a
summary of the information collected from their respective Census blocks. Thereafter a Grama
Niladhari level summary of Census information will be prepared by collating the information of all
the Census blocks that falls under the particular Grama Niladhari division. Then, with the help of the
statistical officers stationed at the Divisional secretariat, the Grama Niladhari division reports will be
collated to make a Divisional Secretariat summary for each Divisional Secretariat. A similar exercise
is then performed at the District Secretariat level by the statistical officers attached to the District
Secretariat division in collating the information of all the Divisional Secretariats to prepare the
District level Census summary information. This District Census summary information will then be
submitted to the population Census division of the Department of Census and Statistics which will
then prepare the Census summary report for the country by collecting the summary reports of all the
25 districts. The current Sri Lanka 2012 Census summary report was published within one month of
the conclusion of the Census operation.
2nd stage of release
Two Census reports containing the population and housing information at Divisional Secretariat level,
prepared according to the summary tables produced by the enumerating officers, have been released
in October 2012.
3rd stage of release
At the initial stage of the Census it was decided to release a 5 percent sample report of the Census
information early for the benefit of the Census data users. A separate colour has been used to print the
Census schedules of these samples Census blocks and they had been subject to a scanning process for
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their validation. Subsequently the 5 percent sample report, with relevant details, has been issued in
March 2014.
4th stage of release
A considerable number of final Census tables and the provincial level reports have been released
through the departments website in December 2014.
5th Stage of release
On 12th December 2014 a seminar was held for 500 selected invitees to disseminate them on the key
findings of Population and Housing Census 2012. Simultaneously, at this seminar, a report with key
findings of Population and Housing Census has been released in three languages.
It is the duty of all the citizens in the country to make maximum use of the Census information.
Census information could be used to identify the problems associated with the increase or decrease in
the population, establishing the reasons for the concentration of population in certain areas of the
country, taking policy decisions in caring for the aging population, analysing the changes within the
family units due to changes in these society and the effects of such changes on persons and the society
at large. The decision makers as well as the general population of the country should take evidence
based decisions based on Population Census information be in the interest of country and the human
community as a whole.
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The Question and Topics included in the Census of Sri Lanka, 1871-2012
Years of Census
The Question Heads Included In The Census

Schedule
1871
1881
1891
1901
1911
1921
1931*
1946
1953
1963
1971
Name
Relationship to the householder
Sex
Date of birth
Age
Marital Status
Ethnicity
Religion
Citizenship
NIC No
Ability to speak Sinhala & Tamil
Ability to speak English
1981
2001
2012
Ability to speak Sinhala, English & Tamil
Literacy Rate
English Literacy Rate
Sinhala, English & Tamil Literacy Rate
Educational qualifications
School Attendance
Vocational & Apprenticeship qualifications
Demographic and Personal Information
Educational Information
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The Question Heads Included In The Census
Years of Census
Schedule
1871
1881
1891
1901
1911
1921
1931*
1946
1953
1963
1971
1981
2001
2012
Task engaged in
Main employment
xs
Additional employment
Industry
Employment status
Income
xs
Dependency
Period of unemployment
xs
Hunting for a job?
Job hunting period
Reason of not hunting for a job
District of birth
xs
xs
District of normal residency
xs
xs
Period of residency at normal residency
xs
xs
Previous residency
xs
xs
Period of residency in Sri Lanka
xs
xs
xs
Economic Information
Normal activity- non economic
Information on Migration & Residency
Marital status & Fertility

Marriage Date
st
Date of 1 Marriage, if previously married

st
Age at 1 marriage
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Period of 1st marriage
xs
1963
1971
1981
2001
2012
Census Years
Topis Included In The Census

1871
1881
1891
1901
1911
1921
1931*
1946
1953
previous marriages.
xs
Age at birth of first child
xs
Total live births
xs
xs
No. of children currently living
xs
Date of birth of the last child
Schedule
If married more than once, time interval of
Other Topics
Distance from normal residency to place
of employment or school
Source of transport to place of

employment or school
Member of the dwelling unit currently
temporarily abroad
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Note - x Collected from all the persons

xs Collected from a sample only
-
Information not collected
Detailed information collected from persons in Colombo Municipal council area while only enumeration of persons in other parts of the country.
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Administrative Divisions in
Sri Lanka
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31|P a g e
2.0
Administrative Divisions in Sri Lanka
During a population and housing census in Sri Lanka the information on persons is collected at the
administrative division level. Accordingly when demarcating census blocks for data collection care
has been exercised not to cut through the administrative boundaries including the boundaries of
Districts, Divisional secretariat divisions and Grama Niladhari divisions. Similarly in issuing census
information, the department website www.statistics.gov.lk has facilitated the issue of information at
National, District, Divisional secretariat divisions and Grama Niladhari divisional levels.
This chapter hopes to analyse briefly the evolution of the administrative divisions in Sri Lanka and
their impact on the census on population and housing held in the year 2012.
Division according to Provinces
The present administrative demarcations in Sri Lanka could be described as an evolutionary

development on the Colebrook reforms introduced in 1833 during the British colonial rule.
According to the declarations made on 01.10.1833 under the Colebrook reforms provincially Sri
Lanka had been divided in to 5 provinces for administrative purposes. Namely those are the Northern
Province, Southern province, Western province, Eastern province and the Central province.
Subsequently, due to the complexity in administrative and other activities, this division has been
subject to change in the following manner, based on the numeracy and geological differences in the
areas.
1) On 1st October 1845 the Western province has been re-demarcated as the Western and NorthWestern provinces.
2) On 6th September 1873 the North central province had been established by carving out, the
Nuwarakalaviya district (present Anuradhapura district) from the Northern Province,
Thamankaduwa from the Eastern province and the Demala pattuwa of Sathkorale from the
North-Western province.
3) On 5th February 1886 the Central province had been re-demarcated in to two provinces as the
Central province and the Uva province.
4) On 4th February 1889 the Western Province had been re-demarcated in to two provinces as the
Western province and the Sabaragamuwa province.
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5) Accordingly by 1889 Sri Lanka had been divided in to 9 provinces and since then except for
the minor changes in provincial boundaries from time to time, there had been no change in the
numeracy of the provinces. This division is depicted pictorially by the map in diagram 2.1
Diagram 2.1 : Provincial level map of Sri Lanka
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Division according to districts
The 1833 Colebrook reforms that made 5 administrative provinces contained 23 districts within those
5 provinces. The boundaries of these districts have been subject to change from time to time and
accordingly the numbers of district in the subsequent census have also changed. These changes are
depicted in table 2.1 below
Table 2.1 : Districts in Sri Lanka as at Censuses, 1871 - 2012
Census Years
1946
1953
1963
1971
1981
2001*
20
20
20
20
20
22
22
24
25
25
Colombo
X
X
Negombo
Gampaha
Kalutara
2012
1931
20
1911
22
1901
21
1891
18
1881
Total
1871
1921
Districts
Kandy
Matale
Nuwara-Eliya
Badulla
Galle
Matara
Hambantota
Jaffna
Mannar
Vavuniya
Mullaitivu
Kilinochchi
Batticaloa
X
X
Trincomalee
Kurunegala
Puttalam
Polonnaruwa
Moneragala
Chilaw
Anuradhapura
X
X
Ampara
X
X
Ratnapura
Kegalle
*In the year 2001 census was taken in only 18 districts while estimates were prepared for the balance 7 districts
34|P a g e
As depicted in table 2.1 only 18 districts had been subject to census activity in the year 1871.
Subsequently the districts of Negombo, Kalutara and Vavuniya had been established in the years
1875, 1876 and 1879 respectively. Accordingly at the time of the census in 1881 the number of
districts in the country had been 21. Then in 1887 the Puttalam district in the North- Western province
had been re-demarcated in to Puttalam and Chilaw districts. This had made the number of districts
increase to 22 and census of 1891 had been performed in all these 22 districts.
In the year 1896, the Negombo district, which was made out of Aluthkuru koralaya and Hapitigam
koralaya of the Colombo district in 1875 was re absorbed in to the Colombo district. Similarly in
1898 the Vavuniya district has been eliminated from the district map by fragmenting an absorbing the
fragmented areas in to other adjoining districts in the Northern Province. Thus in the year 1901 census
was performed on the basis that there are only 20 administrative districts in the country.
In 1953 the Polonnaruwa district was created by upgrading the Thamankaduwa divisional secretariat
division of the Anuradhapura district in to a district. During this time the two districts of Chilaw and
Puttalam has been amalgamated in to one administrative district. In 1959, Wellawaya, Buttala and
Wellassa divisions of the Badulla district have been made in to form the Moneragala district. On 10th
April 1961 the Ampara district has been established by bringing together certain sections of the
Batticaloa district. Due to these changes the census of 1963 had 22 administrative districts in its
records. The same position prevailed during the census of 1971.
Mullaitivu and Gampaha were recognised as districts in 1978 making the total number of districts in
the country to 24. The population and Housing census of 1981 covered the total of these 24 districts in
full. Even though there are no changes in the number of districts from 1971 to 1981 but there had
been some changes in the boundaries of the districts. In the census years of 2001 and 2012 the number
of districts are shown as 25 due to the creation of the Kilinochchi district in 1984 in the Northern
Province. Diagram 2.2 depicts the demarcations of districts in present day Sri Lanka.
Sub division of districts in to Divisional secretarial areas
In the administrative division of Sri Lanka, the districts now face their next sub division in the form of
Divisional secretarial areas. These areas were known as Assistant Government Agent area until 1991.
Every district has been subdivided in to Divisional secretarial areas and every Divisional secretarial
area in turn has been further sub divide in to Grama Niladhari divisions. These Grama Niladhari
divisions are made, of either a collection of small villages or, of a part of a larger village. The two
tables numbering 2.2 and 2.3 places this position in perspective by giving the number of Divisional
35|P a g e
secretarial areas, Grama Niladhari divisions, villages, Municipal councils, Town councils, Urban
councils and Pradeshiya Sabhas at the census years of 1981 and 2012.
Diagram 2.2 : District level map of Sri Lanka
36|P a g e
Table 2.2: Distribution of A.G.A. Divisions, G.S. Divisions and Urban areas by districts, 1981
1981
No. of
No. of
No. of
No. of
No. of
No. of
Government
Grama
Villages
Municipal
Urban
town
Agent
Sewaka
Councils
Councils
Councils
Divisions
Divisions
245
4,113
25,453
12
39
83
Colombo
121
188
Gampaha
13
389
836
Kalutara
10
230
630
Kandy
16
430
1,998
Matale
10
170
881
98
648
Galle
16
274
1,445
Matara
11
214
690
165
1,014
16
150
551
Mannar
33
581
Vavuniya
23
579
Mullaitivu
26
297
Batticaloa
87
667
12
108
467
Trincomalee
48
374
Kurunegala
17
510
4,141
Puttalam
10
178
1,001
Anuradhapura
16
189
3,402
Polonnaruwa
60
381
14
151
1,126
88
873
Ratnapura
13
175
1,586
Kegalle
10
196
1,097
District
Total
Nuwara-Eliya
Hambantota
Jaffna
Ampara
Badulla
Moneragala
Source: Census Report, 1981
37|P a g e
Table 2.3 : Distribution of D.S. Divisions, G.N. Divisions, Urban areas and Pradeshiya Sabha
areas by districts, 2012
2012
No. of
No. of
No. of
No. of
No. of
No. of
Divisional
Grama
Villages*
Municipal
Urban
Pradeshiya
Secretariat
Niladhari
Councils
Councils
Sabha Areas
Divisions
Divisions
331
14,021
36,822
23
41
271
Colombo
13
557
357
Gampaha
13
1,177
1,565
12
Kalutara
14
762
2,352
12
Kandy
20
1,187
2,833
17
Matale
11
545
1,344
11
491
1,199
Galle
19
895
2,423
17
Matara
16
650
1,662
15
Hambantota
12
576
1,380
10
Jaffna
15
435
1,251
13
Mannar
153
680
Vavuniya
102
421
Mullaitivu
136
607
Kilinochchi
95
350
Batticaloa
14
346
947
Ampara
20
503
737
17
Trincomalee
11
230
602
11
Kurunegala
30
1,610
4,533
19
Puttalam
16
548
1,328
10
Anuradhapura
22
694
2,633
18
Polonnaruwa
295
629
Badulla
15
567
1,960
15
Moneragala
11
319
1,346
10
Ratnapura
17
575
2,101
14
Kegalle
11
573
1,582
11
Districts
Total
Nuwara-Eliya
Source: MRCB Main Register on Census blocks

* villages not limited to a single GN division has been shown as separate villages under the relevant GN division
38|P a g e
According to table 2.2 and table 2.3, during the period between 1981 and 2012, the number of
Divisional secretariat areas in Sri Lanka have increased by 86 while the Grama Niladhari divisions
have registered an increase of 9,908 divisions. Similarly the numbers of Municipal Councils have
increased from 12 to 23 while the numbers of Town councils have increased from 39 to 41.
39|P a g e
The Population growth, its

Distribution and Trends
40|P a g e
41|P a g e
3.0
The Population growth, its distribution and trends
The Census of Population and Housing 2012 reveals a number of scenarios that the countrys
population has been subjected to during the period under consideration. The census 2012 was of
special significance to the country as it covered Sri Lanka in its entirety unlike the census held in the
years 1991 and 2001. Thus it is after a period of 31 years, since 1981, that the whole of Sri Lanka has
been subjected to a census in 2012. Thus, for purposes of comparison in analysing the census results,
the 1981 census results have been used as a reasonable and realistic basis. The alternative being the
census held in the year 2001 where the total population was computed by making estimates for the 7
districts where the census was not completed.
Growth of Population
The following table ( Table 3.1) gives the total picture of the population growth in Sri Lanka; the total
population, inter census growth and annual growth as a percentage; since the commencement of
population census in the country in year 1871.
42|P a g e
Table 3.1: Total population as per each year of census, Intercensal growth and the
Average annual growth rate, 1871-2012
Census Date
Total Population of
Intercensal Growth
Average Annual
Growth Rate
Sri Lanka
Number
27 March 1871
2,400,380
17 February 1881
2,759,738
359,358
15.0
1.4
26 February 1891
3,007,789
248,051
9.0
0.9
01 March 1901
3,565,954
558,165
18.6
1.7
10 March 1911
4,106,350
540,396
15.2
1.4
18 March 1921
4,498,605
392,255
9.6
0.9
26 February 1931
5,306,871
808,266
18.0
1.7
19 March 1946
6,657,339
1,350,468
25.4
1.5
20 March 1953
8,097,895
1,440,556
21.6
2.8
08 July 1963
10,582,064
2,484,169
30.7
2.6
09 October 1971
12,689,897
2,107,833
19.9
2.2
17 March 1981
14,846,750
2,156,853
17.0
1.7
17 July 2001
18,797,257
3,950,507
26.6
1.2
20 March 2012
20,359,439
1,562,182
8.3
0.7
( per cent)
Note : Under census 2001, total estimated population for the country which is calculated based on the estimated population of
Jaffna, Mannar, Vavuniya, Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi districts of Northern Province, Batticaloa, Trincomalee districts of
Eastern Province, where enumeration was not taken place is given.
According to Tale 3.1 above, the highest annual growth rate of 2.8 percent for population growth has
been registered in the year 1953. Since then there had been a gradual decline in this growth rate of the
total population and it is recorded as 0.7 percent in the current census.
Even though the decline in the natural population growth rate and the increase in the external
migratory rate have impacted on the net population growth rate, the population of the country, in
terms of numbers, have registered an increasing trend.
43|P a g e
Diagram 3.1 : Population size and its growth, 1871-2012
44|P a g e
Distribution in population according to provinces and districts
Table 3.2: Province wise and district wise population, 2012

Total Population
Province & District
No.
Sri Lanka
Western Province
20,359,439
100.0
5,851,130
28.7
Colombo
2,324,349
11.4
Gampaha
2,304,833
11.3
Kalutara
1,221,948
6.0
Central Province
2,571,557
12.6
Kandy
1,375,382
6.8
Matale
484,531
2.4
Nuwara-Eliya
711,644
3.5
Southern Province
2,477,285
12.1
1,063,334
5.2
Matara
814,048
4.0
Hambantota
599,903
2.9
1,061,315
5.4
Galle
Northern Province
Jaffna
Mannar
Vavuniya
583,882
2.9
99,570
0.5
172,115
0.9
Mullaitivu
92,238
0.5
Kilinochchi
113,510
0.6
Eastern Province
1,555,510
7.6
Batticaloa
526,567
2.6
Ampara
649,402
3.2
Trincomalee
379,541
1.9
North-Western Province
Kurunegala
Puttalam
North-Central Province
2,380,861
11.7
1,618,465
7.9
762,396
3.7
1,266,663
6.2
Anuradhapura
860,575
4.2
Polonnaruwa
406,088
2.0
1,266,463
6.2
Uva Province
Badulla
815,405
4.0
Moneragala
451,058
2.2
1,928,655
9.5
Sabaragamuwa Province
Ratnapura
Kegalle
45|P a g e
1,088,007
5.3
840,648
4.1
In considering the distribution of population provincially, the western province has the highest
population concentration with 28.7 percent of the countrys total population resident in the province
as against the Northern province which has only 5.4 percent of the countrys total population resident
in that province, which is the least population concentration.
Similarly, district wise the highest population is recorded from Colombo with 11.4 percent of the
countrys total population, while Mullaitivu in the Northern Province records the least population of
0.5 percent of the countrys population.
District wise increase in population
In considering the district wise population increase, the current census data could be compared with
the data of the census 1981 and also with the data of census 2001, albeit census 2001 recorded actual
data relating to only 18 of the 25 districts in the country.
According to data given in Table 3.3 the highest rate of population increase in the country has taken
place in the dry zones Anuradhapura district of the North Central province. However, generally it is
the districts in the wet zone that is popular among the residents of the country for recording high
concentrations in population. Gampaha and Kalutara districts in the Western province record an
increase in their populations mainly due to their rate of urbanization and commercialisation which
invites migration from other districts. In analysing the data relating to the three inter census periods
given in table 3.3, a fact that clearly emerges is that, other than in the three districts of Hambantota,
Kalutara and Anuradhapura the average annual rate of increase in population in all other districts have
shown a decreasing trend.
The increase in population is observed to be particularly low in the districts of Badulla and Nuwara
Eliya and this could be explained as being due to estate population of these districts migrating out due
to employment prospects and also being due to persons who previously sought shelter in these areas
due to security reasons migrating back to their district of residence after the dawn of peace.
As persons displaced in the other districts of the Northern Province due to terrorist disturbances have
migrated to Vavuniya district, the population in the Vavuniya district has almost doubled between
1981 and 2012 and that when converted to average annual increase in population for the district
results is an unusual annual increase rate above 1 percent during the 31 year period. Further it could
also be observed that the population in Jaffna and Mannar districts have recorded a corresponding
decrease in their populations between 1981 and 2012 as population of these areas have been effected
by terrorist disturbances and migrated out.
46|P a g e
Table 3.3: Growth in population by districts, 1981- 2012
Total Population
Districts
1981(1)
Sri Lanka
2001(2)
Average Annual Growth Rate (%)

2012
1981-2001
1981-2012
2001-2012
14,846,274
18,797,257
20,359,439
1.16
1.02
0.75
Colombo
1,675,847
2,239,696
2,324,349
1.43
1.05
0.35
Gampaha
1,367,813
2,060,470
2,304,833
2.01
1.68
1.05
823,964
1,065,635
1,221,948
1.26
1.27
1.28
Kandy
1,032,335
1,276,202
1,375,382
1.04
0.92
0.70
Matale
352,860
439,031
484,531
1.07
1.02
0.92
Nuwara-Eliya
583,716
702,689
711,644
0.91
0.64
0.12
Galle
805,403
989,769
1,063,334
1.01
0.90
0.67
Matara
642,235
760,990
814,048
0.83
0.76
0.63
Hambantota
421,277
525,913
599,903
1.09
1.14
1.23
Jaffna
734,474
583,882
-0.74
Mannar
105,276
99,570
-0.18
Vavuniya
93,694
172,115
1.96
Mullaitivu
73,886
92,238
0.71
Kilinochchi
90,778
113,510
0.72
Batticaloa
329,343
526,567
1.51
Ampara
383,275
592,596
649,402
2.14
1.70
0.86
Trincomalee
250,771
379,541
1.34
1,198,795
1,458,385
1,618,465
0.96
0.95
0.97
Puttalam
485,619
709,002
762,396
1.86
1.45
0.68
Anuradhapura
575,546
742,535
860,575
1.25
1.30
1.38
Polonnaruwa
253,411
358,804
406,088
1.71
1.52
1.16
Badulla
620,839
778,422
815,405
1.11
0.88
0.43
Moneragala
269,684
396,521
451,058
1.89
1.66
1.21
Ratnapura
779,927
1,016,221
1,088,007
1.30
1.07
0.64
Kegalle
678,456
784,371
840,648
0.71
0.69
0.65
Kalutara
Kurunegala
1.Jaffna and Kilinochchi data is given based on current district boundaries.

2. Under Census 2001, total estimated population for the country which is calculated based on the estimated
population of Jaffna, Mannar, Vavuniya, Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi districts of Northern Province, Batticaloa
and Trincomalee of Eastern Province, where enumeration was not taken place is given.
Note: Population at the Census 2012 was enumerated based on their places of usual residence and therefore in
this report, district-wise population in Censuses of 1981 and 2001 are presented by their places of usual
residence to make the comparison more meaningful.
47|P a g e
Diagram 3.2 : Distribution of population by districts, 2012
48|P a g e
The Population density
What is meant by population density is the average number of persons living within one square kilo
meter of a particular area. This data was obtained during the census of 1981, 1991, 2001 and 2012 and
those are tabulated below in table 3.4.
Table 3.4 : The Population density as per the districts, 1981, 2001 and 2012
Population Density
(Persons per 1 km2)
District
1981
2001
2012
230
300
325
Colombo
2,605
3,330
3,438
Gampaha
994
1,539
1,719
Kalutara
516
677
775
Kandy
554
667
717
Galle
487
613
658
Matara
516
600
641
Jaffna
401
629
Kegalle
412
466
499
Nuwara-Eliya
354
412
417
Kurunegala
254
316
350
Ratnapura
246
314
336
Badulla
227
276
288
Puttalam
165
246
265
Matale
180
226
248
Hambantota
164
211
240
Batticaloa
134
202
Ampara
86
140
154
Trincomalee
98
150
Polonnaruwa
77
117
132
Anuradhapura
82
112
129
94
Vavuniya
36
92
Moneragala
49
72
82
Mannar
53
53
Mullaitivu
39
38
Sri Lanka
Kilinochchi
Note: Population density for the whole country was computed on the basis of estimates made for total population in 2001.
49|P a g e
In general, the population density in a country increases corresponding to the increase in the total
population. The population density that was 230 persons per square kilo meter in 1981 census has
increased to 325 by the 2012 census. In comparison to the census of 2001, the population density has
increased by 25 persons between 2001 and 2012 from 300 persons to 325 persons.
Similarly when you focus on the population density on district basis, it could be seen that the districts
of Colombo, Gampaha and Kalutara in the Western province, Galle and Matara districts in the
Southern province, Kandy district in the Central province, Jaffna district in the Northern province
have all recorded comparatively high densities in population. In Colombo district, where there is a
high concentration of people, the population density which had been 2,605 persons in 1981 has
increased to 3,330 persons by the census of 2001 and has increased further to 3,438 persons by census
of 2012. Gampaha district in the Western province is the second in terms of population density and
according to the census of 2012 the population density in Gampaha district is 1,719 persons. The
districts, Kalutara, Galle, Matara, Kandy and Jaffna have also recorded population densities in excess
of 600 persons.
According to 1981 census and as depicted in table 3.4, the population densities of all the districts
listed below the Batticaloa district in the table, recorded a less than 100 population density, whereas in
the current census it is only in the districts of Mullaitivu, Mannar, Moneragala, Kilinochchi and
Vavuniya that have recorded population densities less than 100 persons per square km.
In 2012 census Mullaitivu district has recorded the lowest population density per square km and it is
38 persons.
Distribution of population by sectors of residence
Broadly there are three sectors of residence in Sri Lanka which are traditionally considered to possess
characteristics distinguishably different to each other and those are the Urban, Rural and Estate
sectors. Urban sector is made up of Municipal council and Town council areas. Estate sector is
comprised of commercial lands that are in extent of 20 acres or above and where more than 10
labourers are employed. All such commercial lands are defined as estates and those form the estate
sector in Sri Lanka. Rural sector is comprised of all other areas that do not come under the above two
sectors; urban and estate.
However, even though the statistics are presented on the basis of these definitions it is increasingly
felt that these definitions and the categorisations accordingly, are in need of revision in the current
50|P a g e
context of things. The main reason for this being the existence of areas with urbanized characteristics
in the country that do not fall within the Municipal or Town council areas.
However, at a census taking the total population of the country and its distribution is categorised in
the three sectors of Urban, Rural and Estate in keeping with the above definitions. Thus, according to
table 3.5 of the 2012 census, the urban population of Sri Lanka is 18.2 percent of the total population
of the country and numerically it stands at 3,704,470 persons. In comparison to census 1981 this is an
increase of about 500,000 persons above the 3,192,489 persons recorded therein. Table 3.5 also gives
the distribution of population district wise. Of this urban population, 61.4 percent of them live in
Municipal council areas while the balance 38.6 percent live in urban council areas.
The rural population in Sri Lanka is 77.4 percent of the total population and the majority of the people
of the country live in this sector. The population in the districts such as Polonnaruwa, Kilinochchi and
Mullaitivu, in the absence of an urban sector, are considered to live 100 percent in the rural sector.
The Estate sector population of Sri Lanka is 4.4 percent of the countrys total population. The highest
percentage of estate sector population is recorded in the Nuwara Eliya district and it is recorded as
53.5 percent of the districts population. In Badulla district the estate sector population is 18.9 percent
of the districts population. Similarly in the districts of Kandy, Kegalle and Ratnapura the estate sector
population is recorded to exceed 6 percent of the respective district populations.
According to table 3.5 Colombo district is the district with the highest urbanized population in the
country with 78 percent of its population reported to be living in the urban sector. The Colombo
district urban sector population however accounts for almost half, or 48.6 percent of the total
urbanized population in the country. Similarly in the districts of Batticaloa, Ampara, Trincomalee and
Mannar the urbanized population is reported as 28.7 percent, 23.6 percent, 22.4 percent and 24.5
percent respectively. This represents approximately a quarter of the total population in those districts.
The urban population reported in the districts of Jaffna and Vavuniya in the Northern Province also
exceed 20 percent of the population of those two districts. In other districts however, the urbanized
population exceeds 10 percent of the districts population only in districts such as Gampaha, Galle,
Kandy, Matale and Matara.
The lowest urbanized population is reported from the two districts of Kurunegala and Kegalle. The
urbanized population of these two districts are less than 2 percent of their total population,
respectively.
51|P a g e
Table 3.5: Population by districts and sectors of residence, 2012
Sector
District
Total
%
Rural
Population
3,704,470
18.2
15,753,322
77.4
901,647
4.4
100.0
1,802,904
77.6
513,534
22.1
7,911
0.3
2,304,833
100.0
360,221
15.6
1,943,418
84.3
1,194
0.1
Kalutara
1,221,948
100.0
109,069
8.9
1,075,246
88.0
37,633
3.1
Kandy
1,375,382
100.0
170,544
12.4
1,119,221
81.4
85,617
6.2
Matale
484,531
100.0
60,276
12.4
405,176
83.6
19,079
3.9
Nuwara-Eliya
711,644
100.0
40,151
5.6
290,913
40.9
380,580
53.5
1,063,334
100.0
133,398
12.5
911,159
85.7
18,777
1.8
Matara
814,048
100.0
96,570
11.9
694,948
85.4
22,530
2.8
Hambantota
599,903
100.0
31,709
5.3
568,194
94.7
Jaffna
583,882
100.0
117,575
20.1
466,307
79.9
99,570
100.0
24,417
24.5
75,153
75.5
Vavuniya
172,115
100.0
34,816
20.2
137,299
79.8
Mulaitivu
92,238
100.0
92,238
100.0
Kilinochchi
113,510
100.0
113,510
100.0
Batticoloa
526,567
100.0
151,226
28.7
375,341
71.3
Ampara
649,402
100.0
153,338
23.6
496,064
76.4
Trincomalee
379,541
100.0
85,123
22.4
294,418
77.6
1,618,465
100.0
30,342
1.9
1,580,556
97.7
7,567
0.5
Puttalam
762,396
100.0
66,952
8.8
693,844
91.0
1,600
0.2
Anuradhapura
860,575
100.0
50,595
5.9
809,980
94.1
Polonnaruwa
406,088
100.0
406,072
100.0
16
Badulla
815,405
100.0
69,800
8.6
591,707
72.6
153,898
18.9
Monaragala
451,058
100.0
442,710
98.1
8,348
1.9
1,088,007
100.0
99,451
9.1
888,845
81.7
99,711
9.2
840,648
100.0
15,993
1.9
767,469
91.3
57,186
6.8
Number
Sri Lanka
20,359,439
100.0
Colombo
2,324,349
Gampaha
Galle
Mannar
Kurunegala
Ratnapura
Kegalle
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Urban
Population
Estate
Population
53|P a g e
Age Sex Composition of the

Population
54|P a g e
55|P a g e
4.0
Age Sex composition of the population
The Age Sex relativity composition of a population presents a clearer picture of a particular
populations diffusion in terms of Sex and Age. The population pyramid depicts the changes in the
composition of a population due to births, deaths and migratory trends in that population. The Age
Sex relativity composition is of significance in terms of social and economic developments of a
country as it shows the different ages in the population that represents the working age population,
child population and elderly population.
The 2012 census collected data on the birth month and year of persons in order to compute the age of
the population. In the case of respondents who were not aware of their month and year of birth the
enumerators estimated their year of birth with the help of material such as the, national Identity card,
certificate of birth, horoscope, birth certificates of the children or other such appropriate evidence.
The data relating to the sex of the population was collected through the census schedules.
Table 4.1 : Total population, sex ratio and the percentage of females
(census years 1946 - 2012)
Sri Lanka total

Census Year
Female
population
Sex Ratio ***
percentage
1946
6,657,339
113.0
46.9
1953
8,097,895
115.5
47.3
1963
10,582,064
108.2
48.0
1971
12,689,897
106.1
48.5
1981
14,846,750
104.0
49.0
2001*
16,929,689
99.1
50.2
2012
20,359,439
93.8
51.6
* 18 districts only
*** Sex ratio is the number of men for every 100 women
In the history of census, counting from the first census conducted in 1871 up to the census of 1981,
the percentage of males in the population has recorded to be exceeding the female percentage of the
population. The percentage of female population, that was 46.9 percent in the 1946 census grew to be
49 percent in the 1981 census and then to reach 51.6 percent by the 2012 census.
56|P a g e
Diagram 4.1: Sex ratio, 1946 - 2012
* 18 districts only
The highest Sex ratio in the history of census, 115.5 has been recorded in the year 1953. However the
sex ratio has gradually declined over the years and in 2012 it represents a value of 93.8. This increase
in the number of females in relation to males in the recent years could be explained as being due to
the higher life expectancy rate among females and the reduction of maternal mortality at the point of
child birth. The Sex ratio that consistently reported a value above 100 till 1981 records a value below
100 for the first time in the census year 2001 at 99.1. This could also be expressed in a simpler terms
by stating that for every 100 females of the Sri Lankan population there were 99 males in the year
2001.
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Diagram 4.2 : Population distribution by single years of age and sex, 1981
Diagram 4.3 : Population distribution by single years of age and sex, 2001*
* 18 districts only
58|P a g e
Diagram 4.4 : Population distribution by single years of age and sex, 2012
The three pyramid diagrams above show how the Age Sex composition of the population has evolved
over three census years spanning. The pyramid diagram of 4.2 shows that the Sri Lankan population
by the year 1981 has passed the higher stationary stage(the stage of high birth and death rates known
as the higher stability level of population), which is the 1st phase of demographic transition. Due to the
high numbers in the child population during the year 1981 the base of the pyramid in diagram 4.2 is
broad with its turret pointed.
This situation is closer to phase II of the demographic transition of the population and it could be
described as pre expansive stage.
By the year 2012 the working population and the elderly population has increased in relation to the
child population. The shape in this pyramid resembles quite closely to a pyramid that is late
expanding. This situation is in the proximity of post expansion phase which is Phase III of the
demographic transition of population.
The data on age sex composition will continue to change with increase in elderly (aged) population
and with that the picture of the pyramid also is expected to change until the pyramid resembles more
of a barrel than a pyramid. It is forecasted that this situation could be a reality for Sri Lankan
population by the year 2041. This situation known as the Low stationary level of the population
(with low birth and death rates) and is the phase IV of the demographic transition of population.
59|P a g e
Table 4.2 : Percentage distribution of the total population by five year age groups, 1946 2012
Age Group
1946
1953
1963
1971
1981
2001*
2012
Total
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
00-04
12.9
14.9
15.2
13.1
12.5
8.5
8.6
05-09
12.2
13.4
13.7
13.2
11.3
8.8
8.6
10-14
12.1
11.4
12.6
12.7
11.4
9.0
8.1
15 - 19
10.2
8.7
9.7
10.7
10.8
9.7
8.1
20 - 24
9.6
9.5
8.4
10.0
10.2
9.4
7.5
25 - 29
8.7
8.8
7.0
7.5
8.6
7.9
7.6
30 - 34
6.8
6.4
6.3
5.8
7.6
7.6
8.1
35 - 39
7.0
6.6
6.2
5.7
5.7
7.4
6.9
40 - 44
4.8
4.6
4.6
4.6
4.7
6.9
6.7
45 - 49
4.8
4.6
4.3
4.3
4.1
6.1
6.3
50 - 54
3.0
3.4
3.4
3.3
3.6
5.4
6.0
55 - 59
2.5
2.3
2.6
2.8
2.8
4.0
5.2
60 and over
5.5
5.4
6.0
6.3
6.6
9.2
12.4
* 18 districts only
Note: Percentages have been rounded off to the nearest decimal
Diagram 4.5 : Percentage distribution of the total population by broad age groups, 1946 2012
* 18 districts only
60|P a g e
The results of census 2012 show a significant demographic evolution in the age composition in the
population when compared with the results of the preceding census years. That is the gradual
reduction in the child population and the corresponding increase in the elderly population. By the
census year 2012 the child population is 25.2 percent of the total population and this percentage,
compared to the year 1981 where the child population had been decreased by 10 percent of the total
population, register a considerable decrease. Corresponding to this reduction there had been an
increase in the aged population, 60 years and over, in the year 2012 registering at 12.4 percent of the
total population. This is, approximately a two fold increase in the aged population of census1981.
Thus, if this trend in the increase in elderly population is to continue it is forecasted that by the year
2041 the elderly population will double again and reach 24.8 percent of the total population**.
During the inter census period between 1981 and 2012, the young population (the working
population/ Labour force) has registered a gradual increase from 58.2 percent of the population to
62.4 percent of the population. The existence of a sizeable population segment that has the potential to
make an impact on the countrys economic development, will auger well for the countrys economy.
Demographically such situations are known as situations of demographic dividend. Therefore, a
demographic dividend is a situation, in which a countrys population age composition, in its structure,
reaches an optimum level to facilitate the countrys economic progress.
In a situation where a country is experiencing a demographic dividend the increase in its child
population could be marginal while its working population is relatively high. However, in this period
of demographic transition there is lesser number of child dependents, to take care of the working age
population. Thus, a situation of that nature demands more innovative and appropriate policies to
sustain the social and economic progress with regard to future dependency of the population.
This is a demographic transition stage and an increase in the growth rate of the dependent population,
i.e. children and elder, could bring about a negative demographic dividend. The demographic
dividend experienced in Sri Lanka however, with its current low rate of growth in the child and
elderly population is expected to last 40 years, from 1990 to 2030, and hence national plans should be
a foot to make the maximum from this current demographic dividend.
** De Silva, W.I., 2007, A Population projection of Sri Lanka for the Millennium, 2001- 2101: Trends and
Implications, Institute of Health Policy, Colombo
61|P a g e
The Dependency ratios
Dependency on a population could be two fold; child and elderly. Child dependency ratio is the
number of children below 15 years of age per every 100 members of the working age (between 15 and
59 years of age) population. Similarly the number of elderly (60 years and over) per every 100
members of the working population is called the Elder dependency ratio. The Total dependency ratio
is the total number of dependents, i.e. the number of persons below 15 years of age and the number of
persons above 60 years of age in a population, per every 100 working age persons in that population.
Diagram 4.6 : Dependency ratios, 1946 - 2012
*18 districts only
In considering the preceding census years, it could be observed from diagram 4.6 that there is a
pattern in the changes experienced over the years in Child dependency ratio, Elder dependency ratio
and the Total dependency ratio. The highest point of the Total dependency ratio is recorded in 1963
and it is recorded as 90.5. In that year the Child dependency ratio is 79.0 while the Elder dependency
ratio has been 11.4. From the year 1963 onwards the Total dependency ratio has declined steadily till
2001 but has registered an increase again thereafter. The Total dependency ratio in 2012 is 60.2 and
that is composed of an Elder dependency ratio of 19.8 and a Child dependency ratio of 40.4. Thus
from 1981 to 2012 the child dependency ratio has registered a steady decline from 60.5 to 40.4 while
the elder dependency ratio has increased from 11.4 to 19.8.The feature to note here is that though
there is an increase in the elderly population the net result of this period is a decline in the total
dependency ratio from 71.9 to 60.2 and this is a reduction in the total dependency ratio by 11.7
percent.
62|P a g e
Aging of the population, 1946 - 2041
The demographic process of aging of the population has taken place simultaneously to the decline in
the fertility rate of population. The decreases of fertility and mortality, the negative rate of the net
international migration and the increase in the life expectancy have all contributed to an increase in
the aging process of the population.
Diagram 4.7 : Percentage of population above 60 years of age, 1946 - 2041
*18 districts only
The population above 60 years of age in Sri Lanka is 2.5 million by the year 2012 and represents 1/8th
of the total population. The aging population has remained around 5 percent to 7 percent of the total
population during the inter census period of 1946 to 1981 and from there onwards the aging process
has registered an increase. Consequently, though it has taken approximately fifty years for the elderly
population to record its first doubling; i.e. from 1953( 5.4. percent) to 2003 (10.8 percent)it is
expected that the second doubling will take a comparatively lesser number of years. The elderly
population which was 6.6 percent of the total population in 1981 has increased to 12.4 percent by the
year 2012. On the assumption that the rate of increase in the elderly population remains constant, it
has been projected that by the year 2041 the elderly population in Sri Lanka would be 24.8 percent of
the total population**.
** De Silva W.I.,2007 A Population projection of Sri Lanka for the millennium 2001,2101; Trends and
Implications, Institute of Health Policy, Colombo.
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In other words one in every 4 persons in the Sri Lankan population would be an elderly person.
Further it could well be expected that the highest rate in the growth of the elderly population will be
recorded within the coming two decades.
The Index of Aging
The Aging index will present the number of elderly persons in the population per every 100 children
below the age of 15. This index could be deployed to elucidate different stages of the demographic
transition process.
Diagram 4.8 : The Index of Aging, 1946 2041
*18 districts only
Diagram 4.8 clearly shows the structural changes that have taken place in the Aging composition. The
Aging index that was 14.5 in the year 1946 has reached 49.1 in the year 2012. This is a more than 3
fold increase in the aging index. Analytically, though the index has registered a 4.3 percent increase
for the 35 year period from 1946 to1981 the increase for the consequent 31 year period from 1981 to
2012 has been 30.3 percent. Accordingly a turning point in the aging index has come around in the
year 1981. Thus, it is projected that the increase in elderly population will continue to the future in
relation to the child population and by the year 2041 the Aging index will reach 163**. That is, that
there will be 163 elderly persons per 100 children in the population.
** De Silva W.I.,2007 A Population projection of Sri Lanka for the millennium 2001,2101; Trends and
Implications, Institute of Health Policy, Colombo
64|P a g e
The Sex ratio of the elderly in 1981 had been recorded as 113.7 while in 2012 it has reached 79.4.
This indicates that female member representation in the elderly population has become higher than the
male representation over the years.
Table 4.3 : Aging population and sex ratio by age groups, 1981 - 2012
Year
60-74 Aged Population
75+ Aged Population
Male
Female
Sex Ratio
Male
Female
Sex Ratio
1981
413,800
359,547
115.1
108,600
99,861
108.8
2012
891,038
1,072,575
83.1
224,613
332,347
67.6
Demographically, the aging population is separated in to two groups for the purpose of monitoring
and study. Accordingly, those between the ages of 60 and 74 years are called the Young elderly
population while those above 75 and over are called the Old elderly population.
The Sex ratio of the Young elderly (60 -74 ages) is 83.1 while the Sex ratio of the Old elderly (75and above ages) is recorded as 67.6, as per the current census. Accordingly the majority among the
elder population is Females. The Sex ratio of the elderly population will have a bearing on the life
style of the elderly population.
Table 4.4 : Median age of the population, 1946 - 2012
Census Year
Total Yrs.
Male
Female
Yrs.
Yrs.
1946
21.3
22.1
20.5
1953
20.8
21.7
19.9
1963
19.4
20.0
18.4
1971
19.7
20.0
19.3
1981
21.4
21.5
21.4
2012
30.0
30.0
31.0
Table 4.4 shows how the median age of the population has changed over the years. During the inter
census period of 1981 and 2012 the median age of the total population has changed by 8.6 years
representing a female change of 9.6 years and a male change of 8.5 years. In the period prior to 1981
the median age of males had been higher than that of females. Thus, if the change in the aging trend
65|P a g e
that was established in 1981 is to continue, the median age of the Sri Lankan population would reach
the 40 year mark by the year 2041.
Diagram 4.9 : Sex ratio by age groups, 1981 and 2012
The Sex ratio of children below the age of 1 year had been 103.9 in the year 1981 and has come down
to 100.8 by 2012. Similarly the Sex ratios of children in the age groups of 1 to 4 years, 5 to 14 years
has come down from 103.7 to 101.9 and from 103.9 to 102.1, respectively. The Sex ratio of the young
population between 15 to 29 years has recorded a decrease from 101.3 to 95.1. This decrease,
considered in relation to the median age of marriage of the young marriage eligible population, would
tend to have an impact on the marriage of that group in the population. The Sex ratio of the middle
aged population( ages 30-59) that was 104.8 in 1981 has come down to 93.0 in the year 2012.
With regard to the population above 60 years of age, the sex ratio has recorded a steady decrease from
1981 to 2012. Thus, by the year 2012 the number of males per every 100 females has come down to
79. This is also reflected in the higher widowed rate of females against the widowed rate of males
among elderly population. In the age group of adults above 75 years of age the Sex ratio has come
further down to 67.6 indicating that the higher representation in the elderly population is for females
as the life expectancy of females remain higher than the males. Accordingly the society should be
mindful of the fact that there is a greater number of elderly females devoid of male companionship in
the society, and that they deserve adequate social recognition and protection.
66|P a g e
Another feature of this is the presence of more females than men in the 15 to 59 year age group where
the Sex ratio is s to 93.8. This is the working population of the total population and accordingly
attention should be paid in mobilizing the excess female labour force appropriately.
Diagram 4.10 : Sex ratio by sector of residence, 2012
The Sex ratio when analysed according to Sector of residence shows that the highest sex ratio is
present in the urban sector at 94.5 with the lowest in the estate sector at 92.4. Accordingly there are
more females than males in the estate sector and that ratio is in excess of the national sex ratio
reported.
When the Sex ratio is considered according to ethnicity in Table 4.5 below it could be observed that
by the year 1981 period all ethnic communities had more men to every 100 women whereas according
to the census of Population and Housing 2012, all ethnic communities are having less men per every
100 women.
67|P a g e
Table 4.5 : Sex ratio by ethnicity, 1981 and 2012
Ethnicity
Sex Ratio
1981
2012
Sri Lanka
104.0
93.8
Sinhalese
103.7
94.1
Sri Lankan Tamil
106.5
92.3
Indian Tamil
101.3
91.5
Sri Lankan Moor
104.5
94.6
97.4
Other
Sex ratio by Districts
The Diagram 4.11 below depicts the Sex ratio according to districts. The highest sex ratio of 101.1 is
reported from the Mannar district suggesting that there are more males than females in the district.
Other than Mannar all other districts recorded a value less than 100 for the sex ratio. The lowest sex
ratio of 88.5 is reported from the Jaffna district. The overall sex ratio between 1981 and 2012 has
decline from 104 to 93.8. This change could be due to the womens life expectancy increased together
with the reduction in maternal mortality. Thus, serious attention should be paid to preparing necessary
plans to increase the life expectancy rate of men.
68|P a g e
Diagram 4.11 : Sex ratio by districts, 2012
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Age accuracy indices by sex
Accuracy of the primary data on age and sex which is collected at a census operation, can be
evaluated by means of several indices. This exercise will also help to establish an idea about the
degree of accuracy and reliability of the census data.
Myers Index
Myers index has been designed to provide a measure of preference for (assembling towards) or the
avoidance of (deviating from) specific terminal digits (units digit), when considering the complete
age.
Myers index can be divided into ranges indicating the different levels of accuracy of data.
Myers index is less than 6 (low range)
Data with a high degree of accuracy (the data are very slightly affected by heaping/ There is
less tendency to assemble towards units digit to deviate from such numbers.)
-
Myers index is between 6 and 20 (continuous range) :

Data with a less degree of accuracy (Data are under the influence of heaping/ tends to
assemble towards units digit or to deviate from such numbers)
Myers index over 20 ( high range)
Data with poor accuracy (data are obviously affected by heaping/ greater tendency to
assemble towards units digit or to deviate from such numbers)
(Ueda, 1980)
Table 4.6 : Myers Index by sex, 1981, 2001 and 2012
Percent
Myers Index
Sex
Change
1981
2001*
2012
(1981-2012)
Both sex
9.7
2.7
1.7
82.4
Male
8.7
2.7
1.8
79.6
Female
11.2
3.0
1.7
85.0
* 18 districts only
70|P a g e
In the census of 2012, the Myers index on the total population is 1.7. On the female population the
index reflected 1.7 while on the male population the reflection was 1.8. These results when compared
with the results of 1981 shows that the values of readings have dropped down by more than 6 points.
This confirms that the data presented by the male and female population during the 2012 census is of
high accuracy and that those who have declared a false age are negligible in the context of the final
results. When compared with the year 1981 the total decrease in the Myerss index is 82.4 percent
while for male and female populations it is 79.6 percent and 85.0 percent respectively. These
indications confirm that the Age data relating to Sex of the population in the 2012 population and
housing census is of high accuracy.
Diagram 4.12 : Myers Index by sex , 1981, 2001 and 2012
*18 districts only
71|P a g e
Table 4.7 : Deviations of complete(total) age from 10.0 percent at terminal digits,
1981 and 2012
One Digit Value
1981
2012
Male
Female
Male
Female
Myers Index
8.7
11.2
1.8
1.7
+2.4
+2.9
+0.2
+0.1
-0.6
-1.1
+0.2
+0.1
+0.1
-0.3
+0.2
+0.1
-0.3
0.0
-0.1
-0.1
-0.7
-0.8
0.0
0.0
+0.9
+1.2
-0.1
-0.1
-0.6
-0.6
-0.3
-0.3
-1.2
-1.4
-0.1
0.0
+1.0
+1.4
-0.2
-0.2
-1.2
-1.4
+0.3
+0.4
The positive values in the above table indicate heaping at the ages ending with the respective digits,
when the age is declared by persons at census. Negative values indicate the disliking from the
respective digits. 0.0 indicates that there is neither a heaping nor a distancing from the one digit
number. Both the male and female results of census 2012 indicate a heaping towards values 0, 1, 2
and 9 and disliking from values 3,5,6,7 and 8. The 0.0 in the above table against 4 for both sexes and
against 7 for females indicate that data collected on age where the last digit is 4 for both sexes and 7
for females is completely accurate. It could be noted that when compared with results of census year
1981 the departures have narrowed numerically.
Whipples Index
This index is capable of confirming the accuracy of data relating to age and male/femaleness in a
census. The index is designed to detect (indicate) the effect on the accuracy of data relating to age,
from concentration or heaping in terminal digits 0 and 5, at the data collecting stage of the census.
The heaping on terminal digits 0 and 5 of ages is measured by Whipples Index.
72|P a g e
The degree of accuracy is reflected by the following summarized categories of the index.
Indications of 105 and below
: Highly accurate data
Indications between 105 and 109.9
: Fairly accurate data
: Approximately accurate data
: Rough data
Indications between 174.9 and above : Very rough data

(U.N. Statistics)
Table 4.8 : Whipples Index by sex, 1981, 2001 and 2012
Sex
Whipples Index
1981
2001*
2012
Both Sex
118.6
97.0
100.2
Male
116.7
97.5
100.3
Female
120.5
96.4
100.0
* 18 districts only
Whipples index that indicated a value of 118.6 in 1981 has reached 100.2 in the year 2012.When
population pyramids from 1981 to 2012 are considered, in the 1981 population pyramid the ages that
ends with 0 and 5 shows a tendency to heaping. In 2012 the Whipples index for women is100.0 while
for men it is 100.3. Thus these indicators confirm that the age data in the 2012 census contains a high
degree of accuracy. The reason for this could be the calculation of age by inquiring and recording the
date of birth in the census queries.
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Marital Status and Fertility
74|P a g e
75|P a g e
5.0
Marital Status and Fertility
In addition to demographic data on sex, age, ethnicity etc., the data on marital status and fertility of
every person in the population is an equally vital subject on which data is collected in a census of
population and housing. Marital status of a population is a demographic feature that has a bearing on
biological, social, economic, legal and religious factors of that population.
Thus, marital status in a population could be considered as the primary factor that influences growth
of that population. Marital status, while impacting on the fertility rate of a population directly,
influences the mortality rate and the migratory rate of that population indirectly. In addition, the
marital status of a population could also be reflected in social and economic factors such as the level
of education and the labour force participation of that population.
In Sri Lanka there are three conventional legal systems of marriage, called the General marriage law,
the Kandyan marriage law and the Muslim marriage law, in operation. The general law that has
evolved on Roman, Dutch and English laws, is enforced on the low country Sinhalese, Tamils as well
as on ethnic and religious mixed marriages. Kandyan Sinhalese have an option of getting married
either under the Kandyan marriage law or the general marriage law. Muslim marriage law is
applicable to the Muslims living in the country.
Though two main types of marriages exist in the world namely monogamy and polygamy,
polygamous marriages are almost none- existent in Sri Lanka. The minimum age for marriage under
the General and Kandyan laws is 18 years of age. However, under the Muslim law, women are
entitled to marry after completing 12 years and even women less than 12 years of age could marry
with the permission of the Kwasi board (courts). Registering of a marriage is not compulsory and
when a marriage takes place according to Buddhist, Hindu or Christian customs such marriages are
recognised as legitimate marriages for all purposes.
This chapter will offer an analytical review of the marital status data collected during the census of
Population and Housing 2012 and also a comparative study of the current census information against
the information of previous censuses.
Prior to census of Population and Housing 2012, a census covering the whole island was taken only in
1981. The 2001 census covered only 18 out of the 25 districts as some districts were inaccessible due
to terrorist activity. Those are, the districts of Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mannar, Mullaitivu and Vavuniya
76|P a g e
in the Northern Province and Batticaloa and Trincomalee in the Eastern province. Even though
2001census collected valuable information covering parts of the districts of Batticaloa and
Trincomalee, census 2001 could not be considered to project a realistic picture of the countrys
demography, in its entirety at the time, due to its inability to cover areas inhabited by Tamils and
Muslims of the country. Therefore, for the purpose of comparative study and for establishing
evolutionary patterns, census data of 1981 and, if necessary the census data of 1971, have been used
against the current data of census of Population and Housing 2012.
The Marital status according to the census definition
From the questions posed during 2012 census of Population and Housing at every adult person (above
15 years of age) in the population, on his/ her marital status, the current position of the populations
marital status could be ascertained. Thus in keeping with the census definition every adult person in
the population could be categorised as belonging to any one of the groups below.
1. Never married
2. Married (Registered)
Those who have never been married during their life time.
Those who are continuing to be married and who have
registered their marriage.
3. Married (customary)
Those who are continuing to be married but have not

registered their marriage and instead declare that they have
been customarily married (Included in this category are
those who have been widowed but at present live together,
on their own accord, with another person).
4. Widowed
Those who have been widowed due to death of spouse and

does not have a married life of any sort at present.
5. Divorced
Those who have been divorced from the spouse and stay
single at present.
6. Legally separated
Those who have been married legally but currently stay

separated legally or through a court order but not divorced.
7. Separated (not legally) Those who have been legally married but stay separated at
present on their own accord without being divorced or
legally separated.
The general law in Sri Lanka permits one person to stay married at any time only with one person.
The Muslim law however permits a Muslim male to take four females as his wives at any one time. In
practice however, the incidence of polygamy even among the Muslim males, who constitute 4.5
percent of the total population of the country, is sparse.
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The most appropriate way to verify the accuracy of the married information collected at the census is,
by matching the number of women who declared themselves married for census data against the
number of men who declared themselves married for the same purpose.
Table 5.1 shows the number of persons recorded as married (legally and customary) during the
censuses of Population and Housing 1981 and 2012. In this, as could be observed, there is a general
proclivity to have greater number of married women as against the married men in the census
information. Accordingly, as for the 2012 census data, the number of women who declare to be
married exceed the number of men who declare to be married by 483,547.
Table 5.1: Number of married persons by sex and type of marriage, 1981 and 2012
1981
2012
The No. of
Marital
Status
Male
Female
Females
exceeding the
The No. of
Male
Female
Males
All Marital
Females
exceeding the
Males
No.
2,709,285
2,784,876
75,591
2.8
2,439,496
2,493,608
54,112
2.2
269,789
291,268
21,479
8.0
4,921,044
No.
5,404,591
483,547
9.8
5,183,280
456,791
9.7
221,311
26,756
13.8
Statuses
Registered
4,726,489
Marriages
Customary
194,555
Marriages
To explain this excess, a few assumptions may have to be made. Among those could be that either the
husbands of some women are living abroad due to employment etc. or, due to cultural norms
prevalent in Sri Lanka women do not wish to admit that their husbands do stay away from them due to
whatever reason.
Table 5.2 shows the distribution of the Sri Lankan adult population (aged 15 years and above)
according to marital status and sex as per the census of Population and Housing 1981 and census of
Population and Housing 2012.
78|P a g e
Table 5.2: Distribution of the population aged 15 years and above

by marital status and sex, 1981 and 2012
1981
Marital Status
Male
2012
Female
Male
No.
No.
All Marital Statuses
4,905,730
100.0
4,714,422
100.0
Never Married
2,085,222
42.5
1,525,309
Married
2,709,283
55.2
Widow
90,516
Divorced
Legally Separated
Separated( not legally)
No.
Female
%
No.
7,266,234
100.0
7,961,539
100.0
32.4
2 ,179,099
30.0
1,748,503
22.0
2,782,228
59.0
4,921,044
67.7
5,401,061
67.9
1.9
377,199
8.0
97,532
1.3
695,415
8.7
11,546
0.2
17,658
0.4
14,847
0.2
26,328
0.3
9,163
0.2
12,028
0.3
11,135
0.2
19,778
0.2
42,577
0.6
70,454
0.9
* No data has been collected in 1981 under heading Separated (not legally)
Comparatively, there is no remarkable difference in the percentage of number of adult persons (15
years and above) who have been divorced, separated or widowed during the 31 years from 1981 to
2012.
Yet there is a decrease in the percentage of never married persons during these 31 years causing the
male percentage to come down from 43 to 30 and the female percentage from 32 to 22. Further, the
percentage of married persons that was 55 for males and 59 for females in 1981 has increased to
hover around 68 percent for both sexes by the year 2012.
Diagram 5.1 depicts the marital status of the population as per the Census of Population & Housing
2012.
79|P a g e
Diagram 5.1: Marital status of the population aged 15 years and over by sex, 2012
Never married persons
As per the census of Population and Hosing 1971, 1981 and 2012 the percentage of never married
persons (above 15 years of age) in the population in different age groups is given in table 5.3.
Table 5.3: Percentages of never married persons in the population aged 15 years and above by
age and sex, 1971, 1981 and 2012
Male
Female
Age Group
1971
1981
2012
1971
1981
2012
All Age Groups 15 years and
43.7
42.5
30.0
31.3
32.4
22.0
15-19
99.4
99.0
97.7
89.4
90.1
89.4
20-24
86.6
83.5
81.3
53.2
55.3
56.8
25-29
53.2
51.5
47.9
24.6
30.4
24.4
30-34
25.6
24.9
20.3
10.9
15.8
10.2
35-39
13.4
12.6
9.5
5.8
8.9
6.7
40-44
9.2
8.3
6.7
4.7
5.9
5.7
45-49
8.0
6.9
5.8
4.1
4.5
5.4
50-54
7.5
6.4
5.4
4.5
4.2
5.8
55-59
7.2
6.1
4.9
4.4
3.8
6.3
60-64
7.5
6.5
4.9
4.8
4.5
6.8
65 and over
7.5
6.8
5.1
4.5
4.8
5.3
over
80|P a g e
When observing the changes in the percentages of never married persons in the inter census periods
1971-1981 and 1981- 2012, the trend over the past 40 years shows that the number of never married
males in every age group have been decreasing.
However, there is an observable difference in the data for never married males and females in the post
1971 era. That is that the young females in the age group of 25 to 34 have shown a tendency to stay
away from marriage during the decade from 1971 to 1981. According to the census of Population and
Housing data of 2012 however, this position has changed in the post 1981 era to fall in line with the
pre 1971 status. Again when you observe the increase in the above 55 year age group of never
married females in the census of Population and Housing 2012, it becomes clear that the majority of
these young females who were not married between 1971 and 1981 have still not been married by the
year 2012.
Diagram 5.2 shows the percentage change in female- never married population with age by age
groups for the census years 1971, 1981 and 2012.
Diagram 5.2: Percentages of never married females by age groups, 1971, 1981 and 2012
81|P a g e
Married Persons
Table 5.4 gives the percentages of married persons in the population by age groups as per the
censuses of population and housing 1971, 1981 and 2012.
Table 5.4 : Percentages of married population (15 years and above) by age groups and
sex, 1971, 1981 and 2012
Age Group
Male
Female
1971
1981
2012
1971
1981
2012
53.6
55.2
67.7
59.1
59.0
67.8
15-19
0.6
0.9
2.3
10.4
9.7
10.4
20-24
13.3
16.2
18.5
45.9
43.7
42.4
25-29
46.2
48.0
51.4
73.4
67.9
73.9
30-34
73.4
74.3
78.6
85.8
81.2
87.2
35-39
85.0
86.2
89.1
88.9
86.1
89.5
40-44
88.7
89.9
91.4
86.9
86.1
88.5
45-49
89.1
90.5
92.0
83.5
83.6
86.0
50-54
88.2
90.0
92.0
76.1
78.6
82.0
55-59
86.9
89.1
92.0
69.7
72.7
76.9
60-64
83.8
86.3
91.0
58.0
63.6
70.4
65-65+
76.3
79.3
85.4
40.7
47.0
55.4
15 years and over all

Age Groups
Corresponding to the decrease in never married persons in the male population from 1971 to 2012, the
percentage of married persons in the male population has shown an increase during the 41 year period
from 1971 to 2012. This trend has been more observable during the years from 1981 to 2012. The
percentage of married persons in the male population, that was 55 percent in the year 1981, has risen
by 12 percentage points by the year 2012 and it is observed that nearly 68 percent of the male
population has been married according to Census of Population and Housing, 2012.
When changes in percentages of female married persons are considered by age groups, there has been
an increase in the female married population of all ages from 59.1 percent in 1971 to 67.8 percent by
2012. However, it is noticeable that this overall increase in the percentage of female married
population is due to an increase mainly in the female married population above 45 years of age during
the past 41 years.
82|P a g e
As depicted in diagram 5.3 it is clear that the percentages of married female population in the age
between 15-44 years, has registered a decline during the 10 years of 1971 to 1981. However, this
trend has been reversed during the period from 1981 to 2012 where the married female population
percentage has been almost restored to what it was in the pre- 1971 era.
Diagram 5.3 : Percentage of married female population by 5 year age groups, 1971, 1981 and
2012
When marital status of the population is considered according to census 1971, 1981 and 2012, there is
a particular age group in the population (20-24) that exhibits an extraordinary feature. That is, in a
scenario where the marital statuses of all age groups have increased over the years, the married status
of young women in the age group of 20 to 24 years has recorded a decrease over this period. This age
group has recorded a small decreasing trend of married percentage between 1970 to 2012 period,
whereas none of the other male and female age groups in the population have recorded a decrease in
83|P a g e
their rates. The fact that young females have been in the pursuit of higher education in greater
numbers during recent years in addition to basic education, could be assumed as the reason for this
unique feature.
More than 90 percent of the male population has reached married status when they reach the age of
44 and thereafter the percentage continues to be in that region for the male elderly population. Yet in
the case of females the percentage drops fairly drastically towards the age groups of 60-64 and 65 and
above, i.e. 70 percent and 55 percent. The reason for this could again be the higher life expectancy
rate of females as they outlive their male companions as they advance in age, attaining widowhood.
Customary Marriages
There has been a marked decrease in the customary marriages during the period from 1971 to 2012.
According to 1971 and 1981 census the customary marriage percentage among the married population
had been 18 percent and 10 percent respectively. Yet in the year 2012 the customary marriage
percentage has reached a 4 percent low of the total married population.
When the marital status findings of the 2012 census is analysed according to the sector of residence it
could be observed that the highest percentage of customary married persons are in the estate sector.
The percentage of customary married person in the estate sector is 7 percent while in the urban and
rural sectors the customary married percentage is 3.5 percent and 4 percent respectively.
Beyond this feature of the customary marriage, when different age groups are considered, the highest
percentage of customary married persons ( 16 percent) are found among the age groups of less than
15 years and 15 to 19 years. This exceptionally high percentage of customary marriage is unique to
this particular age group.
The tendency for high customary marriage in the estate sector could be explained as being due to, the
low education level among the estate population, the difficulty in obtaining facilities for marriage
registration in the estate sector and the need to reach 18 years of age to register a marriage under the
general laws of Sri Lanka.
84|P a g e
Table 5.5 : Customary married persons as a percentage of ever married persons by sector of
residence and sex, 1971- 2012
Sri Lanka
Urban
Rural
Estate
Census Years
Male
Female
Male
Female
Male
Female
Male
Female
1971
18.4
18.8
11.7
12
20.3*
20.6*
1981
10.0
10.5
6.4
6.6
11.0*
11.5*
2012
3.8
3.6
3.4
3.1
3.8
3.5
6.5
6.8
* Includes the estate sector
Widowed Persons
Table 5.6 shows the percentages of males and females, aged 15 years and over in the population, who
declared their marital status as widowed in the census of 1971, 1981 and 2012.
Table 5.6 : Percentages of widowed persons, 15 years and above by age and sex,
1971, 1981 and 2012
Widowers
Age group
Widows
1971
1981
2012
1971
1981
2012
1.4
1.2
1.3
5.4
5.2
8.7
15-19
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.1
0.1
0.1
20-24
0.1
0.1
0.0
0.5
0.5
0.2
25-29
0.2
0.2
0.1
1.2
1.1
0.5
30-34
0.5
0.3
0.1
2.3
2.0
1.0
35-39
0.9
0.6
0.2
4.3
3.9
1.9
40-44
1.3
1.0
0.4
7.5
7.0
3.5
45-49
2.2
1.8
0.6
11.5
11.1
6.2
50-54
3.6
2.9
1.1
18.6
16.4
10.0
55-59
5.2
4.2
1.8
25.2
22.8
14.8
60-64
8.0
6.5
3.0
36.7
31.4
21.2
65-65+
15.6
13.3
8.6
54.4
47.7
38.4
All Age Blocks

15 Years and over
According to the above table 5.6 the tendency to become widowed in the married population for all
ages has clearly come down steadily over the years from 1971 to 2012. While the benefit of the drop
85|P a g e
in mortality rate is reflected in this, it could also be observed that, as expected the widowed
percentage increases with the advancement in age. Similarly it is also a feature that for every age
group the number of female widows is higher compared to the male widowers.
Especially for the age group from 35 to 59 years, the increase in female widowed persons is almost
ten times the widowed males. The reason for this, most probably, could be that the tendency among
males to get married again after being widowed is greater than the tendency for the same among
females.
Divorced persons/ Persons separated from spouse
According to the census of population and housing 2012 there are 14,847 aged 15 years and over
divorced males and 26,328 divorced females in the adult population of the country. It could be
assumed that the reasons for this increase of divorced females in the population is the lower mortality
rate among females as against males and the greater proclivity among males as against females to get
married again after being divorced.
Similarly it could also be observed that even among persons who have been legally separated and not
legally separated, the number of females is greater than that of males. In this however, since those
who are legally allowed to be separated and not legally separated are not permitted to re- marry,
males marrying again could not be cited as a reason for the increase of females in this particular
category.
In the census conducted during the years 1971 and 1981 no data has been collected on persons
separated ( not legally) and it is in 2001 that data has been collected on this category for the first time.
Thus it could be observed that even during the census years 1971 and 1981 the number so divorced/
separated from the husband is greater than those who have been separated/ divorced from the wife.
Persons divorced/ separated from spouse in the age 15 years and over population are given in table
5.7. Even though there is a slight increase in the percentage of divorced persons from 1971 to 1981,
by the year 2012 the percentage tend to come down to the pre 1971 position. Yet the percentage of
persons separated by law is observed to be decreasing over the period.
According to the census of 2012, 58 male for every 10,000 males and 88 females for every 10,000
females live separately from the spouse even though they have not sought to be separated from their
spouses.
86|P a g e
Table 5.7 : Number of divorced/ separated persons per 10,000 population aged 15 years and
above, 1971, 1981 and 2012
Separated
Census Years /Sexuality
1971 Male
Female
1981 Male
Female
2012 Male
Female
Divorced
Legal
Not legal
22
21
32
31
32'2
23
19
37
26
20
15
59
33
25
88
Note: census 1971 and census 1981 have not collected data on separated (not legally) category
Marital status according to ethnicity
The results on the data collected from different ethnicities on their marital status during the 2012
census are depicted in Diagram 5.4.
87|P a g e
Diagram 5.4 : Marital status of population by ethnicity and sex, 2012
In the case of males, all ethnicities show a similar pattern in the distribution of percentages for
different positions within the marital status except the Tamil community whose distribution in
percentage is somewhat different. Among the Tamil males the percentage of registered marriages are
comparatively low (the percentage among other communities is generally 65 percent while for the
Tamils it is 60 percent of the total married male Tamil population). The customary marriages among
Tamil males are higher compared to other ethnicities thereby creating this deficiency in the registered
marriages for Tamil males. The customary marriage percentage is 2.7 generally for all ethnicities
whereas for Tamils it is 5.2 percent. Even among Tamil females the distribution of different positions
of the marital status tends to take different turn with other women recording a high percentage of
widowed persons.
88|P a g e
Singulate Mean Age at Marriage (SMAM)
Mean age at the first marriage or Singulate mean age at marriage-SMAM is a summary index of the
distribution of ages of males and females at the time of marriage in a population. The index reflects
the average number of years, which a group of people who enter marriage at the age of 50, would
remain as bachelors, taking in to account the patterns of marriage that currently exists. The mean age
arrived this way, could be used as an estimate of the mean age at which persons in the population get
married.
Table 5.8 below shows the mean age at which people have been getting married during the past 60
year period, as revealed from the information collected at Censuses held from 1953 to 2012.
Table 5.8 : Mean age at marriage, 1953 - 2012
Mean Age at Marriage

Census Year
Male
Female
Difference
1953
27.2
20.9
6.3
1963
27.9
22.1
5.8
1971
28.0
23.5
4.5
1981
27.9
24.4
3.5
2012
27.2
23.4
3.8
From the above it could be observed that there is no tangible change in the age at which males get
married over the past 60 year period, and that it has been fluctuating between the ages of 27.2 and 28
years. An important feature in this is that the mean age at which Sri Lankan males get married in 2012
has reached the same mean age at which they got married in 1953.
For females the mean age at marriage has been on the increase during the 28 years from 1953 to 1981
and the increase has been 3 years from 20.9 to 24.4. However, thereafter from 1981 to 2012 the
mean age at marriage for females has decreased by one year from 24.4 to 23.4 years. Accordingly
though the difference in ages of males and females at the time of marriage had been over 6 years in
1953, the difference has steadily reduced over the 60 year period to 4 years. Thus it could be seen that
the reason for this change in the age difference between males and females at marriage, is the increase
in the mean age at marriage of the females.
89|P a g e
Mean age at the first marriage- Regional differences
Table 5.9 shows the mean age at marriage of males and females in the sector of their residence i.e.
urban, rural and estate. Accordingly, those who spent the highest number of years as bachelors, for
both males and females, live in the urban sector. The rural sector takes the second place in this order
of highest mean age at marriage with the estate sector displaying a preference to give their young in
marriage at an early age.
Table 5.9 : Mean age at marriage by sector, 2012

Mean Age at marriage (years)
Divisions
Male
Female
Difference
Sri Lanka
27.2
23.4
3.8
Urban
28.1
24.8
3.3
Rural
27.0
23.1
3.9
Estate
26.2
22.8
3.4
90|P a g e
Table 5.10 : Mean age at marriage by district, 1981 and 2012
District
1981
2012
Male(years)
Female(years)
Male(years)
Sri Lanka
27.9
24.4
27.2
23.4
Colombo
28.9
25.4
28.0
24.9
Gampaha
28.3
25.0
27.5
24.3
Kalutara
28.8
25.4
27.2
23.7
Kandy
28.6
25.4
27.8
23.9
Matale
27.7
24.0
27.0
22.5
Nuwara-Eliya
27.8
24.3
27.2
23.2
Galle
28.9
26.1
27.3
23.5
Matara
29.2
26.7
27.6
23.5
Hambantota
28.1
24.8
26.9
22.6
Jaffna
28.1
24.9
28.8
26.4
Mannar
25.4
21.9
27.2
24.1
Vavuniya
26.7
22.3
27.6
24.5
Mullaitivu
26.2
21.9
25.8
22.7
26.3
23.1
Batticaloa
25.8
21.1
26.2
23.0
Ampara
26.7
21.8
26.7
23.0
Trincomalee
26.1
21.3
25.6
22.3
Kurunegala
27.0
24.0
26.9
22.9
Puttalam
25.5
22.2
25.8
22.2
Anuradhapura
26.2
22.2
26.1
21.9
Polonnaruwa
27.4
22.3
25.9
21.8
Badulla
27.6
24.3
27.2
22.7
Moneragala
27.2
22.4
26.4
21.7
Ratnapura
28.0
24.3
27.2
22.9
Kegalle
28.4
25.5
27.5
23.6
Kilinochchi
Female(years)
- Kilinochchi was not a separate district during census 1981
The above table 5.10 gives the difference in age of the population at the time of marriage by the
district of residence in comparative terms between the years 1981 and 2012 as per the census results
of those years.
As illustrated by diagram 5.5 below, considering the 1981 census data, it is the females in the Matara
district that have entered marriage at the oldest age compared to other married females in the country.
91|P a g e
They have remained bachelors for 26.7 years of their lives while the females of the Batticaloa district
have entered marriage before other females in general in the country at 21.1 years making Batticaloa
the district with the lowest mean age at marriage for females in the country in 1981.
In 2012 it is the females in the Jaffna district that have remained bachelors over and above females of
the country in other districts. They have entered marriage at the mean age of 26.4 and this is 3 years
more than the mean age (23.4 years) for the whole country. Similarly the females in the Moneragala
district have recorded the lowest mean age at marriage at 21.7 years.
Diagram 5.5 : Mean age at marriage for females, 1981 and 2012
Mean age at marriage ethnic differences
According to the information revealed at the 2012 census of Population and Housing the mean age at
marriage by ethnicity is given in table 5.11.
92|P a g e
Table 5.11 : Mean age at marriage by ethnicity, 2012
Male ^Years&
Female ^Years &
Sinhalese
27.3
23.4
Sri Lankan Tamil
27.4
24.4
Indian Tamil
26.5
23.2
Sri Lankan Moor
26.4
22.7
Other
27.7
23.4
Ethnicity
It is observed that the males and females of the Sri Lanka moor community have a tendency to enter
marriage quite early compared to other ethnicities in the country. Among the females, the highest
mean age at marriage is recorded among Tamil females who enter marriage at the age of 24-25.
Fertility
Fertility of the population is the primary factor that effects the changes of a countrys population. The
basis of fertility is the number of children born alive. In Sri Lanka, where child bearing primarily
takes place within the family establishment, the fertility of the population depends on the number of
ever married women of child bearing age (15 to 49 years of age) in the population.
As per the census of population and housing 1981 and 2012, the number of women in child bearing
age (15 to 49 years of age) is given in Table 5.12. Accordingly in 1981, 58 percent of the women in
the 15 to 49 year age group have been married while in 2012 the married percentage of women in the
15 to 49 year age group has risen to 67 percent.
93|P a g e
Table 5.12 : Percentage of currently married women between 15- 49 years of age,
1981 and 2012
1981
Age Group
2012
No.
No.
15-19
76,559
3.5
85,392
2.4
20-24
332,468
15.1
335,158
9.3
25-29
432,418
19.7
598,450
16.7
30-34
451,338
20.6
734,555
20.4
35-39
359,352
16.4
646,905
18.0
40-44
291,177
13.3
617,503
17.2
45-49
251,242
11.4
574,175
16.0
Age 15- 49 Married Females
2,194,554
100.0
3,592,138
100.0
Age 15-49 Total Females
3,800,063
Marriage Percentage
5,355,092
57.8
67.1
Composition of the age distribution of married women in child bearing age in population has changed
between 1981 and 2012. Comparatively the percentage of married females in under 29 year age
groups have decreased in the year 2012 as against the percentages in 1981.
In order to calculate fertility indicators, at the national and regional level, information was collected
during the census of population and housing 2012 only from ever married females in the age group of
15 to 49 on child births that have happened to them. Accordingly questions were posed as to the
number of child births that have happened to them, the number of those children living at the time of
the 2012 census and the year and month of the last child birth from every female in that age group
who have ever been married in their life time.
From that information, percentage distribution of live births that have happened to ever married
females by the sector of their residence were given in Table 5.13.
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Table 5.13 : Percentage distribution of ever married women aged 15 years and above, according
to the number of children born alive by sector, 2012
No. of ever
Percentage of Live Births
Married
Sector
Females Aged
Total
7+
15 Years and
above
All Sectors
6"213"036
1000
7'1
20'6
28'4
20'5
10'0
5'5
3'1
4'8
Urban
1"092"930
1000
8'0
21'7
30'7
20'0
9'0
4'7
2'5
3'4
Rural
4"851"501
1000
7'0
20'6
28'1
20'3
10'0
5'6
3'2
5'1
Estate
268"605
1000
5'1
16'8
23'1
27'5
13'7
6'7
3'1
4'0
From the census of Population and Housing, 2012 information it is revealed that slightly over 7
percent of the ever married females of 15 years and above have never had live births in their life time,
while majority of the Sri Lankan females have had only two child births during their life time. Yet
when the estate females are taken in to consideration it is observed that a majority percentage of them
have had three child births during their lifetimes.
The percentage distribution of live births, happened to ever married females of 15 years and above by
each sector, is depicted in diagram 5.6.
Diagram 5.6 : The percentage distribution of live births happened to ever married females aged
15 years and above by sector, 2012
100.0
%
80.0
39.6
44.2
55.0
60.0
40.0
30.7
28.1
23.1
20.0
0.0
21.7
20.6
8.0
7.0
Urban
0
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Rural
3orabove
16.8
5.1
Estate
Accordingly, in the estate sector 55 out of every 100 ever married females have had either three or
more child births during their lifetimes. Further, the census information also reveals that in the urban
and rural sectors only 40 and 44 out of every 100 ever married females respectively have had either 2
or more child births.
Age specific fertility rates
Age specific fertility rate is the number of live births happened to 1000 females in a particular age
group. Age specific fertility rate shows the commencing and concluding age of females in child birth
and also by comparing the age specific fertility rate over a particular time range the frequency of child
birth and the patterns of child birth could also be observed.
Table 5.14 gives the age specific fertility rates of females in the reproductive age group according to
the census of 1981 and 2012.
Table 5.14 : Age Specific Fertility Rates (ASFR), 1981 and 2012
Fertility Rate
Age Group
(Per 1000 Women)

1981
2012
15-19
38
36
20-24
177
107
25-29
226
147
30-34
204
118
35-39
90
58
40-44
28
16
45-49
According to the 1981 and 2012 census information the maximum fertility was reported among
females in the age group of 25 to 29. Every 1000 females in this age group has had 226 child births as
per the 1981 census and 147 child births as per the 2012 census .
Minimum age specific fertility rate has been reported from the females in the age group of 45 49
years. In the Census of population and housing 2012, only two females for every 1000 females in this
age group have had child births. This minimum fertility rate is mainly due to the declining
reproductive capacity in this age and also because majority of females have completed their
reproductive needs by the time they reach this age.
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Total Fertility rate
Total Fertility rate is the total number of child births a female will have by the time she completes her
reproductive age, if she experiences child births according to the prevailing age specific fertility rate.
Diagram 5.7 depicts the comparisons of total fertility rates of females between the sectors of
residence, ethnicities and educational statuses as revealed by census 2012.
Diagram 5.7 : Total fertility rates by sector, ethnicity and educational attainment, 2012
Census information 2012 reported the total fertility rate of females living in the estate sector as 3.0
and this is considerably high in comparison to the females in the urban and rural sectors. Total fertility
rate as per ethnicities show a considerably high rate for Sri Lankan Moor community with 3.3, an
increase of 0.9, against other ethnicities. Females of Sinhalese and Sri Lanka Tamils have the
minimum fertility rate of 2.3.
The results obtained by analysing the total fertility rate take a different pattern than the one that was
expected. When females with different levels of education are considered, it could be observed that
females who have never been to a school, record the least fertility rate. Females with some education
score high on fertility while females with high education score moderately yet higher than the
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uneducated females. The reason for this could be the success of family planning programs conducted
targeting low income as well as low education groups in the society.
Total fertility rate differences between districts
Diagram 5.8 depicts the comparison of the total fertility rate by the district of usual residence.
Diagram 5.8 : Total fertility rate by district, 2012
The above diagram is drawn to show the total fertility rates, which females in each of the districts are
expected to achieve by the time they complete their reproductive ages. The differences by districts are
quite clear.
While the highest total fertility rates are shown in the districts of Trincomalee, Nuwara-Eliya and
Anuradhapura in that order, rates lower than the replacement fertility rate of 2.1 has been evident
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from the districts of Colombo, Jaffna and Gampaha in that order. When the fertility results of the two
districts with the highest total fertility and the lowest total fertility is compared, i.e. Trincomalee and
Colombo, it could be observed that a female in Trincomalee would have one more child birth during
her reproductive years as against a female in Colombo.
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URBANIZATION
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6.0
Urbanization
Any society is bound to experience long term as well as short term changes. Generally, the long term
changes occur on the basis of 6 over bearing factors and those are the industrialization, modernization,
urbanization, commercialization, westernization and globalization. What is meant by urbanization in a
country is the rate of increase in the population in areas defined as urban in that country. As a result of
industrialization in the European countries, job opportunities occurred centrally followed by the need
for collective facilities. This made people who traditionally resided in rural areas to migrate to
industrialised areas. This process creates towns and cities attracting more and more people as facilities
improved cyclically when they are centrally patronised. Further, it brings in its wake
commercialization and modernization giving rise to urbanization. Urbanization then is the collection
of mutually dependent dynamisms that sets a cyclical motion. This is the onset of urbanization and
often the rest of the world recognised this concept for its collective dynamism.
However, there is a difference in the way urbanization takes place in developed countries and how it
happens in developing countries. That is, in developed countries urbanised areas were created
targeting economic development while in developing countries over urbanization happens around
administrative centres due to want of development. Thus when urbanization takes place around
administrative centres it not only fails to realise the benefits of urbanization but creates complicated
administrative issues for the country. Therefore, in majority of the developing countries what is
observable are these urbanised chimeras. Shanties and ghettos with bulging cities are an effect of this
unhealthy urbanization. Therefore, a country should have a balanced and comprehensive policy on
urbanization aimed at its economic and social wellbeing.
In urbanization, in South Asian countries, an observable feature is that in majority of the countries
urbanization is not only not complimentary to the development of the country but it often acts to
counter development. The total rural population in Sri Lanka is 15,753,322 persons. This is a high
77.4 percent of the countrys total population. Consequently the urban population of the country is
3,704,470 persons representing a low 18.2 percent of the countrys total population. Accordingly Sri
Lanka, compared to counties in the region, is somewhat behind in urbanization even though the
country is rated high in its humanistic socio development as against these same countries in the
region.
The state of urbanization in a country or its nature is a reflection of the economic development of that
county and the standard of living of its people. The best and the most reliable source of information
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available to study this process of urbanization in the country is the population and census data. Even
though there could be limitations in the preparation of data due to changes in definitions on
urbanization not being timely, the census data is quite adequate for the purpose of pursuing
urbanization in Sri Lanka.
The Growth of the urban population
The profile of urbanization in a country depends on how it is defined. Currently areas considered
urban in Sri Lanka are the municipal council area and the urban council areas of the country. Table
6.1 shows the increase in the urban population of the country over time.
Table 6.1: Urban population of the country over time, 1871 - 2012
Census Years
Urban Population
1881
281,065
10.2
1891
321,413
10.7
1901
414,025
11.6
1911
542,945
13.2
1921
637,870
14.2
1931
737,272
13.9
1946
1,023,042
15.4
1953
1,239,133
15.3
1963
2,016,285
19.1
1971
2,848,116
22.4
1981
3,192,489
21.5
2001
2,467,301
13.1*
2012
3,704,470
18.2
* Estimated figure
Before 1987, prior to the introduction of the Provincial council system in 1987, urbanised sector
comprised Municipal council areas, Town council areas and also the urban council areas. On the
introduction of the provincial councils however, these urban council areas were incorporated in to the
Pradeshiya Sabha areas. Subsequently according to the revised definitions some of those Pradeshiya
Sabhas were absorbed in to rural sector while certain others were brought under town councils. In this
situation certain urban councils lost their urban status.
At the time of conducting 2012 census there were 56 areas in the country categorised as urban. Of
these 56 areas 26 were very small towns with a total population in all those 26 towns less than 25,000
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persons (against a population of 3.7 mn. in the 56 areas). The urban areas with a sizeable population
are the municipal council areas of Colombo, Kaduwela, Dehiwala, Mt. Lavinia, Moratuwa, Negambo
and Kotte and the town council areas of Kesbewa and Maharagama. More than 50 percent of the
countrys urban population live in these 9 areas (out of 56).
Urbanization according to districts
According to the current definition of urbanization and also on current demarcations of CMC and TC
areas the urbanization level of the country is a low 18.2 percent of the total population. However, had
the demarcations of urban areas been more realistic the countrys urbanization level may have been
higher than what it is at present. Table 6.2 gives the percentages of urbanised population by district
and province. A study of the data on urbanization would reveal the inherent inconsistencies therein.
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Table 6.2: Urban population by districts, 2012

Province
District
Western Province
Central Province
Southern Province
Northern Province
Eastern Province
North
Western
Total Population
Urban Population
Sri Lanka
20,359,439
3,704,470
18.2
Colombo
2,324,349
1,802,904
77.6
Gampaha
2,304,833
360,221
15.6
Kalutara
1,221,948
109,069
8.9
Kandy
1,375,382
170,544
12.4
Matale
484,531
60,276
12.4
Nuwara-Eliya
711,644
40,151
5.6
1,063,334
133,398
12.5
Matara
814,048
96,570
11.9
Hambantota
599,903
31,709
5.3
Jaffna
583,882
117,575
20.1
Mannar
99,570
24,417
24.5
Vavuniya
172,115
34,816
20.2
Mullaitivu
92,238
Kilinochchi
113,510
Batticaloa
526,567
151,226
28.7
Ampara
649,402
153,338
23.6
Trincomalee
379,541
85,123
22.4
Kurunegala
1,618,465
30,342
1.9
Puttalam
762,396
66,952
8.8
Anuradhapura
860,575
50,595
5.9
Polonnaruwa
406,088
Badulla
815,405
69,800
8.6
Moneragala
451,058
1,088,007
99,451
9.1
840,648
15,993
1.9
Galle
Province
North Central Province
Uva Province
Sabaragamuva
Ratnapura
Province
Kegalle
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2012 census information has revealed that 50 percent of the urban population (1,802,904) lives in the
district of Colombo. People prefer to live in Colombo due to the convenience in proximity to
economic and administrative centres and the availability of infrastructure facilities including health
and education. 77.6 percent or 3/4th of the Colombo population lives in urban areas. Of this urban
population 44 percent lives in the Colombo MC area while 20 percent, 15 percent, 13 percent and 8
percent lives in the MC areas of Kaduwela, Dehiwala/ Mt. Lavinia, Moratuwa and Sri
Jayawarenepura Kotte respectively.
Even though all districts in the country, except Polonnaruwa, Moneragala, Mullaitivu and
Kilinochchi, have areas that portray urbanised characteristics, the populations living in those areas are
considered inadequate by Colombo standards. This however has created certain inconsistencies in the
countrys urbanization distribution.
According to the census data, a population of 28.7 percent in the districts of Batticaloa, 23.6 percent
in the district of Ampara and 22.4 percent in the district of Trincomalee in the Eastern province and
24.5 percent in the district of Mannar, 20.2 percent in the district of Vavuniya and 20.1 percent in the
district of Jaffna in the Northern province, lives in urban areas of the country and that is 1/5th or 20
percent of the total population in those districts. On the other hand only 1.9 percent of the population
in the districts of Kurunegala and Kegalle lives in urban areas of those districts.
Colombo Municipal Council
Approximately 15 percent of the total urban population of the country lives in the Colombo Municipal
council area. The land area of the CMC is 37.3 square Kilo meters and comprises two Divisional
secretariat divisions Colombo, with 35 Grama Niladhari divisions, and Thimbirigasyaya, with 20
Grama Niladhari divisions. Colombo CMC area has 5 electorates and for administrative purposes it
has been divided in to 47 wards and 15 postal zones.
Table 6.3 gives the population in Colombo and the population density in Colombo during the
preceding census years illustrating the steady increase in the population within the Colombo
Municipality area. However, since in 2012 census enumeration was done on the basis of normal
residency the population in 2012 appears to have decreased by 86,000 persons between 2001 census
and 2012 census.
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Diagram 6.1: Colombo Municipal Council
Table 6.3: Population and the population density in Colombo Municipal council area
during census years, 1881 - 2012
Area
Population Density
Census Year
Population
1881
110,502
24.47
4,516
1891
126,825
24.47
5,183
1901
154,691
25.90
5,973
1911
211,274
30.92
6,833
1921
244,163
33.51
7,287
1931
284,155
33.67
8439
1946
362,074
34.39
10,529
1953
426,127
34.65
12,298
1963
511,644
34.70
14,745
1971
562,160
37.29
15,075
1981
587,647
37.29
15,759
2001
647,100
37.29
15,407
2012
561,314
37.29
13,364
(Km )
(People per 1Km2)
Source: Population and Housing report 1981

(Data for 2001 and 2012 are as per the Population & Housing reports for the respective years.)
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Table 6.4 gives the total population in the Colombo Municipal Council by the two divisional
secretariats of Colombo and Thimbirigasyaya and also by the Grama Niladhari division in each of
those divisional secretariats. Accordingly the Colombo divisional secretariat has a population of
323,257 persons while the Thimbirigasyaya divisional secretariat has a population of 238,057 persons
making up the Colombo Municipal council population.
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Table 6.4 : Total population in the Colombo divisional secretariat by the Grama Niladhari
Divisions, 2012
Grama Niladhari Division
Total Population
Male
Female
323,257
162,798
160,459
7,829
4,017
3,812
Mattakkuliya
28,003
14,029
13,974
Modara
17,757
8,794
8,963
Madampitiya
12,970
6,505
6,465
8,809
4,367
4,442
Aluthmawatha
13,625
6,602
7,023
Lunupokuna
12,423
6,352
6,071
Blue Mandel
13,802
6,740
7,062
East Kotahena
6,385
3,024
3,361
West Kotahena
9,409
4,617
4,792
Kochchikade North
9,339
5,005
4,334
Jinthupitiya
8,110
3,901
4,209
Masangus Avenue
8,516
4,303
4,213
New Bazaar
13,436
6,753
6,683
Grandpass South
17,588
8,739
8,849
Grandpass North
8,904
4,433
4,471
Nawagampura
6,821
3,459
3,362
Maligawatte West
11,524
5,774
5,750
Kettarama
13,683
6,907
6,776
Aluthkade East
10,053
4,987
5,066
Aluthkade West
7,517
3,914
3,603
Kochchikade South
7746
4,062
3,684
Pettah
1,924
1,854
70
Fort
1,473
1,065
408
Galle-Face
3,789
1,880
1,909
Slave Island
3,795
1,868
1,927
Hunupitiya
6,883
3,335
3,548
Suduwella
3,915
2,007
1,908
Keselwatte
7,221
3,637
3,584
Panchikawatte
8,467
4,195
4,272
Maligawatte West
8,968
4,363
4,605
Maligakande
8,526
4,530
3,996
Maradana
4,591
2,424
2,167
Ibbanwala
2,617
1,027
1,590
Weakanda
6,839
3,329
3,510
Total
Sammanthranapura
Mahawatte
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According to table 6.4, the Grama Niladhari division with the highest population in the Colombo
Municipal council is Mattakkuliaya Grama Niladhari division. Numerically it is 28,003. The lowest
population is recorded from the Grama Niladhari division of Fort with a population of 1,473. An
extraordinary feature with regard to the Pettah Grama Niladhari division is that there are only 70
females living in that division of 1854 males. Accordingly the ratio of women to men in that GS
division is unusually high 1 to 26.
In the case of the other divisional secretariat division comprising the Colombo MC, Thimbirigasyaya,
the highest population is recorded from the Grama Niladhari division of Borella north with a
population of 21,326 persons. The lowest population is recorded in the Grama Niladhari division of
Borella south with a population of 5,127 persons. However, again an exceptional situation of
inequality in male female ratio is reported from Borella north where there are 5908 more males than
females in the division.
Table 6.5: Total population in the Thimbirigasyaya divisional secretariat by Grama

GramaNiladhari Division
Total Population
Male
Female
Total
238,057
118,660
119,397
Collpetty
6,711
3,549
3,162
Bambalapitiya
7,564
3,621
3,943
Cinnamon Gardens
9,914
4,703
5,211
Kuppiyawatte West
6,954
3,468
3,486
Kuppiyawatte East
10,577
5,498
5,079
Dematagoda
18,602
9,356
9,246
Wanathamulla
17,355
8,547
8,808
Borella North
21,326
13,617
7,709
Borella South
5,127
2,566
2,561
Gothamipura
6,498
3,213
3,285
Narahenpita
11,194
5,503
5,691
Thibirigasyaya
12,675
5,949
6,726
Milagiriya
7,389
3,214
4,175
Havelock Town
7,455
3,464
3,991
Kirula
20,237
9,576
10,661
Kirulapone
17,846
8,818
9,028
Wellawatte North
14,967
7,131
7,836
Wellawatte South
10,826
5,059
5,767
Pamanada West
12,451
5,658
6,793
Pamankda East
12,389
6,150
6,239
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National and International

Migratory Trends
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7. 0
National and international Migratory patterns
Change of residence from one administrative area to another within the country is known as internal
migration while change of residence from the recognized borders of one country to another is known
as international migration. Internal migration is a primary factor effecting the balance and
redistribution of a countrys population and it could also lead to imbalances in the distribution of
human and physical resources in a country. International migration on the other hand is one among
the primary factor that could cause a change in a countrys population. Thus, it is important to study
the nature of migrations, their extent and direction and the factors effecting migrations.
The illustrated information on the countrys population, its re-diffusion and migration is available
only at the population and housing census conducted every 10 years. During the population and
housing census of 2012 the information with regard to internal migration and temporary residence
abroad was elicited on the basis of the following questions.
1. The district of birth: When a person is born, the district or country in which the mother of that
person is resident, is considered the district or country of birth of that person.
2. The period of residence in the district of usual residency (years): If a person is resident in the
district of his usual residency since birth, that fact is recorded, and if not, the date on which a
person commenced his residency in the district of his usual residency and the duration of
residency was recorded. If a person has been resident away and has come back to reside in the
district /country of his birth, the duration of his residency was recorded not from birth but from
the time he has come to reside in the current district.
3. The district of previous (last) residency: Whether the previous residence was in the same
district where the person usually resided was recorded. If the district/ country of previous
residence was elsewhere, the name of that district/country was recorded.
4. The reason for migrating to this usually residing district : Under this, the reason for migrating
to this usually residing district was inquired and recorded such as Marriage, Employment,
Education, Displacement, Resettlement, Development projects, due to a requirement of a family
member or any other reason.
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5. A member of the household residing abroad, other than on permanent residency, for a
period exceeding 6 months: Under this, information such as, the male/femaleness of the person
staying abroad, the country in which the person is staying and the reason for staying abroad etc.,
were collected.
According to census definition, the persons usual residency district is the district to which that
persons place of living or his usual residency at census enumeration. If a person has more than one
place of residency, the district in which that person stays most days of week, is taken as the district of
his usual residency.
The patterns and features of internal migration in Sri Lanka
In Sri Lanka, internal migration has made a significant contribution in unequal distribution of
population across the district for many decades. The direction, pattern, volume and steam of migration
have been influenced by a number of socio-economic and political factors.
Three patterns of internal migration are presented. They are the inflow of persons in to a district or a
province could be termed In migration while the outflow from a district or province could be termed
the Out migration. The difference between these two forms of migrations could be termed the Net
migration. In the case of this net migration, it could either be positive net migration or negative net
migration.
Life time migration
A life time migrant is one whose usual residence is a place other than the place of birth. Such life time
migrants will be compiled based on the information obtained on the district of usual residency of a
person and on the district of his birth. A non-migrant is the one whose usual residence is same as the
place of birth.
In a census, often it is one person who will give information regarding a household on behalf of all the
residents in that household. In that situation it is possible that this respondent would answer certain
questions, especially those regarding relatives or non- related persons in the household, by conjecture.
Further, the answer to a particular question will depend on how the respondent perceives that question
and hence may not be the right answer. For instance though what is expected as the district of birth is
the district in which the mother permanently lived at child birth, the respondent may state the district
in which the hospital where child birth took place is situated or the district where the mother
temporarily stayed impending child birth.
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In Sri Lanka 16.9 percent of the population, or one in every six persons, is a life time migrant.
According to the table 7.1 the highest number of life time migrants is found in the districts of
Colombo (615,558) and Gampaha (596,472). Similarly the lowest number of life time migrants is
reported from the Batticaloa district (23,087).
Table 7.1: Life time migrants by the district of usual residency and district
of birth, 2012
District of Usual
Residency
Population of
District of Usual
Residency
Population
born in the
District
Usually Resident
Population born in
the District
Life time migrants
Number
Sri Lanka
20,359,439
20,320,972
16,916,180
3,443,259
16.9
Colombo
2,324,349
2,101,129
1,708,791
615,558
26.5
Gampaha
2,304,833
1,854,617
1,708,361
596,472
25.9
Kalutara
1,221,948
1,155,918
1,011,654
210,294
17.2
Kandy
1,375,382
1,542,367
1,184,941
190,441
13.8
Matale
484,531
508,326
391,980
92,551
19.1
Nuwara-Eliya
711,644
813,921
632,694
78,950
11.1
1,063,334
1,183,527
961,898
101,436
9.5
Matara
814,048
989,770
735,978
78,070
9.6
Hambantota
599,903
635,845
518,762
81,141
13.5
Jaffna
583,882
676,167
551,873
32,009
5.5
99,570
111,686
79,871
19,699
19.8
Vavuniya
172,115
118,039
94,673
77,442
45
Mullaitivu
92,238
88,916
58,634
33,604
36.4
Kilinochchi
113,510
101,448
75,082
38,428
33.9
Batticaloa
526,567
535,855
503,480
23,087
4.4
Ampara
649,402
617,753
563,050
86,352
13.3
Trincomalee
379,541
367,710
325,769
53,772
14.2
1,618,465
1,669,443
1,422,889
195,576
12.1
Puttalam
762,396
705,130
624,155
138,241
18.1
Anuradhapura
860,575
801,233
689,925
170,650
19.8
Polonnaruwa
406,088
334,260
280,488
125,600
30.9
Badulla
815,405
915,168
728,656
86,749
10.6
Moneragala
451,058
417,172
353,831
97,227
21.6
1,088,007
1,141,039
972,798
115,209
10.6
840,648
934,533
735,947
104,701
12.5
Galle
Mannar
Kurunegala
Ratnapura
Kegalle
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The highest number of life time migrants is recorded from the districts of Vavuniya (45 percent),
Mullaitivu (36.4 percent) and Kilinochchi (33.9 percent) in the Northern Province and Polonnaruwa
(30.9 percent) in the North Central province in comparison to the usual resident population of a
district.
It is important to study the migratory flow patterns that result when life time migrants migrate in to,
and out of, a particular district. Table 7.2 and table 7.3 give the three main migratory flows when
migrants migrate in to, and out of, each district.
Table 7.2: Life time migrants by the three migratory streams by the district of usual residency,
2012
Migrants to the District of usual Residency
District
Lifetime
in
migrants
to district
2nd Largest stream
Largest stream
%
Colombo
615,558
Matara
11.3
3rdLargest stream
%
Galle
10.9
Kandy
9.9
9.9
Kandy
15.9
Matara
7.7
Gampaha
596,472
Colombo
26
Kalutara
210,294
Colombo
35.3
Kandy
190,441
Nuwara-Eliya
17.4
Matale
11.4
Colombo
11
Matale
92,551
Kandy
37.7
Kurunegala
12.7
Anuradhapura
8.2
78,950
Kandy
41.3
Badulla
17.4
101,436
Matara
30
Nuwara-Eliya
Galle
Kurunegala
Galle
Colombo
Kegalle
6.1
14
Kalutara
13.9
25
Matara
78,070
Galle
25.8
Hambantota
Colombo
12
Hambantota
81,141
Matara
45.1
Ratnapura
10.3
Galle
9.8
30.1
Mullaitivu
23.6
Vavuniya
7.2
Puttalam
13.9
Kilinochchi
8.9
Jaffna
32,009
Kilinochchi
Mannar
19,699
Jaffna
29
Vavuniya
77,442
Jaffna
34.1
Mullaitivu
15.6
Kilinochchi
9.9
Mullaitivu
33,604
Jaffna
33.5
Kilinochchi
11.4
Vavuniya
9.9
Kilinochchi
38,428
Jaffna
51.4
Kandy
Batticaloa
23,087
Ampara
24.3
Trincomalee
12.7
8.7
Jaffna
Mullaitivu
Ampara
86,352
Kandy
19.9
Badulla
15.9
Kegalle
8.4
11.3
8.4
Trincomalee
53,772
Jaffna
12.7
Kandy
10.6
Anuradhapura
Kurunegala
195,576
Kandy
13.6
Gampaha
13.1
Puttalam
Puttalam
138,241
Kurunegala
27.7
Gampaha
15.3
Mannar
11.9
Anuradhapura
170,650
Kurunegala
18.6
Kandy
15.9
Matale
11.4
Polonnaruwa
125,600
Kandy
20.3
Badulla
Moneragala
86,749
17
Kegalle
12.2
Matale
10.1
Kandy
16.7
Moneragala
13.7
Badulla
30.6
Hambantota
17.6
Matara
10.8
Ratnapura
115,209
Hambantota
14.3
Matara
14.2
Colombo
13.9
Kegalle
104,701
Kandy
18.2
Kurunegala
14.3
Colombo
12.9
117|P a g e
97,227
NuwaraEliya
9.2
12.1
Table 7.2 shows that, apart from the districts of Colombo, Gampaha, Kandy, Trincomalee,
Kurunegala and Ratnapura, nearly 50 percent of the migration in to all other districts has happened
from the 3 main migratory flows in to the districts. For instance table 7.2 shows 58.9 percent of the
persons who migrated in to the Kalutara district have flowed in from the three districts of Colombo,
Galle and Matara.
Colombo and Gampaha districts could be recognised as the main central points of in migration. It
could be discerned from table 7.3 that except for the districts of Vavuniya, Mullaitivu and
Kilinochchi, migration has taken place mainly in to Colombo and Gampaha districts from all other
districts. Similarly the majority of the out migrants from all the districts have migrated mainly in to
three districts.
118|P a g e
Table 7.3: The main migratory streams of life time migrants who have migrated out of their
district of birth, 2012
Migrants from District of birth to Other Districts

District of
Birth
Lifetime
out
migrants
2nd Largest stream
Largest stream
%
3rd Largest stream
Colombo
392,338
Gampaha
39.6
Kalutara
18.9
Kandy
5.3
Gampaha
146,256
23.8
14.5
Kegalle
7.3
Kalutara
144,264
Colombo
Colombo
37.4
Puttalam
Gampaha
15.7
Galle
9.8
Kandy
357,426
Colombo
17.1
Gampaha
13.3
9.8
Matale
116,346
18.7
Anuradhapura
16.7
12.2
Nuwara-Eliya
181,227
Kandy
Colombo
Matale
Gampaha
20.9
Kandy
18.3
Gampaha
15.2
Galle
221,629
Colombo
30.3
Gampaha
15.5
Kalutara
15.1
Matara
253,792
Colombo
27.5
Hambantota
14.4
Gampaha
13.4
Hambantota
117,083
Colombo
19.6
Moneragala
14.6
124,294
Colombo
24.6
Matara
Vavuniya
16.7
Jaffna
21.3
Kilinochchi
15.9
Mannar
31,815
Puttalam
51.5
Vavuniya
13.7
Vavuniya
23,366
Anuradhapura
23.9
Mullaitivu
14.2
Colombo
Kilinochchi
13.2
Mullaitivu
30,282
Vavuniya
39.8
Jaffna
25
Kilinochchi
10.6
Kilinochchi
26,366
Jaffna
36.6
Vavuniya
29
Mullaitivu
14.5
Batticaloa
32,375
Ampara
20.7
Colombo
15.3
Ampara
54,703
Trincomalee
41,941
Colombo
Gampaha
13.4
Kurunegala
246,554
Gampaha
80,975
Gampaha
Anuradhapura
111,308
Gampaha
20.4
Polonnaruwa
53,772
Gampaha
16
Colombo
186,512
Colombo
21
Moneragala
63,341
Badulla
Ratnapura
168,241
Kegalle
198,586
Puttalam
Badulla
Moneragala
16
Trincomalee
5.8
13
Gampaha
12.5
Batticaloa
10.3
Anuradhapura
11.1
Colombo
10.7
23.9
Puttalam
15.5
Kurunegala
29.3
Anuradhapura
Colombo
12.9
31.5
Colombo
12.3
Kurunegala
Gampaha
10.1
14.1
13.7
Kurunegala
15
10.8
16
18.7
Colombo
17.4
Gampaha
Colombo
29
Gampaha
15.4
Kalutara
Gampaha
20.2
Colombo
17.4
Kurunegala
10.6
1.1
11.7
The district of usual residency and the district of birth are used to estimate lifetime migration. Those
who have been resided in other district, but have come back to reside in the district of birth at the time
of census enumeration are not counted as migrants. As a result of that it is possible that the recorded
number of life time migrants is less than number of actual lifetime migrants. When migration is
considered against the district of previous residency and since all those who have ever changed their
residence belongs to the life time migrant category, by studying this, it is possible to identify different
migratory patterns. Diagram 7.1 gives the migratory and non-migratory persons according to their
usual resident district and the previous district of residency.
119|P a g e
Diagram 7.1: Migratory and non- migratory population, 2012
The age- sex distribution of non-migrant population and migrant population for 2012 has shown in the
pyramid (Diagram 7.1). It is clearly shown that there is a relatively small proportion of children and
school going population (age less than 19 years) among the migrant population for both sex when
compared to the non-migrant population. Age distribution of migrant population in Sri Lanka shows
dominance of working age groups especially in age group 25-39 years. Female migrants are more
among the migratory population below the age of 24 years.
According to the revelations of the 2012 census, 20.2 percent of the population of Sri Lanka, in other
words either about 4 million persons or 1 out of every 5 persons in the population has changed the
district of his residence at least once.
120|P a g e
Table 7.4: Internal Migratory patterns by the district of usual residency and
the district of previous residency, 2012
District of usual
Residency
Out
In Migration
Net Migration
Migration
Colombo
485,956
641,922
155,966
Gampaha
174,590
613,070
438,480
Kalutara
157,139
226,289
69,150
Kandy
354,897
223,640
-131,257
Matale
119,860
96,228
-23,632
Nuwara-Eliya
191,029
88,403
-102,626
Galle
226,584
117,580
-109,004
Matara
256,135
94,343
-161,792
Hambantota
124,766
94,786
-29,980
Jaffna
98,235
112,230
13,995
Mannar
43,056
39,461
-3,595
Vavuniya
209,738
89,652
-120,086
Mullaitivu
70,512
83,789
13,277
Kilinochchi
59,112
106,288
47,176
Batticaloa
51,537
28,222
-23,315
Ampara
65,493
91,454
25,961
Trincomalee
52,123
77,093
24,970
Kurunegala
256,333
222,962
-33,371
Puttalam
103,049
142,855
39,806
Anuradhapura
134,369
181,463
47,094
Polonnaruwa
68,942
126,818
57,876
191,895
102,814
-89,081
74,320
100,586
26,266
Ratnapura
179,270
131,179
-48,091
Kegalle
205,744
121,557
-84,187
Badulla
Moneragala
According to the table 7.4, Colombo has shown the largest volume of both in and out migrants in the
country. The highest net migration is reported from Gampaha district. The highest negative net
migration is reported from Matara district while Southern province has reported a high negative net
migration. The net migration for the Vavuniya district is negative 120,086. That is, that the number of
migrants who have left the district is far greater than the migrants who have come in to the district.
121|P a g e
Table 7.5 : In migrants to the district of usual residency and duration of residency, 2012
District of usual
Migratory
Residency
Population
Duration of Residence( Years)

Less than 05
Years
Between 05-09
10 Years and
Years
above
No.
No.
No.
3,954,684
1,352,689
34.2
545,452
13.8
2,056,543
52.0
Colombo
641,922
200,720
31.3
101,416
15.8
339,786
52.9
Gampaha
613,070
196,690
32.1
104,044
17.0
312,336
50.9
Kalutara
226,289
69,013
30.5
42,251
18.7
115,025
50.8
Kandy
223,640
70,463
31.5
34,460
15.4
118,717
53.1
Matale
96,228
24,482
25.4
12,930
13.4
58,816
61.1
Nuwara-Eliya
88,403
22,890
25.9
11,845
13.4
53,668
60.7
117,580
36,714
31.2
18,638
15.9
62,228
52.9
Matara
94,343
29,715
31.5
15,480
16.4
49,148
52.1
Hambantota
94,786
29,883
31.5
14,949
15.8
49,954
52.7
112,230
53,006
47.2
12,185
10.9
47,039
41.9
Mannar
39,461
28,415
72.0
2,781
7.0
8,265
20.9
Vavuniya
89,652
38,839
43.3
7,524
8.4
43,289
48.3
Mullaitivu
83,789
80,515
96.1
399
0.5
2,875
3.4
Kilinochchi
106,288
106,163
99.9
70
0.1
55
0.1
Batticaloa
28,222
12,157
43.1
4,461
15.8
11,604
41.1
Ampara
91,454
20,702
22.6
9,235
10.1
61,517
67.3
Trincomalee
77,093
35,006
45.4
7,917
10.3
34,170
44.3
Kurunegala
222,962
66,787
30.0
33,765
15.1
122,410
54.9
Puttalam
142,855
33,713
23.6
16,316
11.4
92,826
65.0
Anuradhapura
181,463
46,601
25.7
20,406
11.2
114,456
63.1
Polonnaruwa
126,818
23,008
18.1
10,836
8.5
92,974
73.3
Badulla
102,814
33,714
32.8
15,011
14.6
54,089
52.6
Moneragala
100,586
21,985
21.9
11,008
10.9
67,593
67.2
Ratnapura
131,179
35,927
27.4
18,302
14.0
76,950
58.7
Kegalle
121,557
35,581
29.3
19,223
15.8
66,753
54.9
Total
Galle
Jaffna
When the duration of residency is considered for the district of usual residency, table 7.5 shows that
more than 60 % of those who have migrated in to the districts of Polonnaruwa, Moneragala, Ampara,
Puttalam, Anuradhapura, Matale and Nuwara-Eliya have done so more than 10 years ago. In the
districts of Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu and Mannar in the Northern Province 99.9 percent, 96.1 percent
and 72.0 percent respectively of the in migrants, have settled in those districts within a period less
122|P a g e
than 5 years. It could be mainly due to displacement or resettlement after the conflict. Similarly the
number of in migrants is considered with the duration of residency, it could be seen that 339,786 and
312,336 in migrants have come to the Colombo and Gampaha districts respectively, more than 10
years ago. It is more than 50 percent of the total in migrations to Colombo and Gampaha districts.
123|P a g e
Table 7.6: The reasons for migration from the district of previous residency to the district of usual residency, 2012
Reasons for Migration (%)
District of usual
Migratory
Residency
Population
Marriage
Employment
Education
Displacement
3,954,684
31.7
20.4
5.4
3.3
8.9
2.2
18.8
9.3
Colombo
641,922
22.8
42.8
10.5
0.9
0.2
0.1
17.2
5.6
Gampaha
613,070
29.2
30.6
4.3
1.1
0.4
0.4
21.5
12.5
Resettlement after
Displacement
Total
Development
Requirement of a
Projects
Other
Family Member
Kalutara
226,289
36.8
13.7
3.5
1.6
1.4
0.5
22.4
20.1
Kandy
223,640
42.1
14.5
10.7
1.2
0.3
0.4
19.9
10.9
Matale
96,228
46.8
12.5
3.2
2.1
0.4
2.0
23.0
9.9
Nuwara-Eliya
88,403
47.5
17.9
4.7
6.9
0.7
0.6
16.5
5.2
Galle
Matara
Hambantota
117,580
47.0
14.4
6.3
1.1
0.3
0.2
19.1
11.7
94,343
49.5
10.2
7.8
1.3
0.2
0.1
19.5
11.4
94,786
45.1
13.0
2.8
1.2
0.4
3.8
19.3
14.4
112,230
3.6
3.9
4.3
7.6
70.1
0.2
7.7
2.6
Mannar
39,461
5.4
10.1
2.2
9.3
66.0
0.2
6.0
0.9
Vavuniya
89,652
7.3
10.4
2.8
36.9
28.5
1.7
10.3
2.0
Mullaitivu
83,789
1.2
3.6
0.7
0.5
88.3
2.0
3.5
0.2
Kilinochchi
106,288
0.6
2.1
0.5
0.3
95.6
0.1
0.7
0.2
Jaffna
Batticaloa
28,222
24.2
21.8
13.9
16.5
3.1
0.1
16.6
3.9
Ampara
91,454
26.3
13.7
5.1
3.7
1.6
20.4
21.8
7.4
Trincomalee
77,093
19.7
15.0
3.3
4.7
33.2
3.4
17.3
3.4
Kurunegala
222,962
45.6
12.5
4.6
1.3
0.3
0.8
20.4
14.5
Puttalam
142,855
30.8
16.2
3.0
17.6
1.2
1.4
21.7
8.1
Anuradhapura
181,463
36.3
14.0
3.6
3.4
0.8
8.1
24.1
9.6
Polonnaruwa
126,818
31.1
11.9
1.7
1.7
0.8
17.6
25.5
9.7
Badulla
102,814
42.6
16.5
6.7
1.5
0.4
1.5
20.5
10.2
Moneragala
100,586
40.4
18.9
2.1
1.6
0.7
4.8
25.0
6.6
Ratnapura
131,179
44.7
17.0
4.4
1.0
0.4
1.6
23.0
8.0
Kegalle
121,557
53.3
10.3
3.9
0.9
0.3
0.2
17.3
13.8
124|P a g e
When the reasons for migration is analysed Marriage has been identified as the most prominent
factor that has made persons migrate from one district to another. In addition the migration as a result
of employment also figures prominently. The highest number of persons that have migrated on the
grounds of marriage i.e. 179,125 persons, have done so to the Gampaha district while the highest
migration on the grounds of employment, i.e. 274,475 persons, has been to the Colombo district. In
the Northern Province, the districts of Jaffna, Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi have shown high
percentages of migration due to the resettlement of displaced persons in those districts. At the time of
census, 25.4 percent and 19.3 percent of the migrants due to displacement have been resident in the
districts of Vavuniya and Puttalam respectively. The population that migrated on the grounds of
education have migrated in to the districts of Colombo, Gampaha, Kandy and Kurunegala.
The Net migratory rate by district, 1981 and 2012
Diagram 7.2 presents a comparative picture of the net migratory rate of persons between the years
1981 and 2012 according to the district of usual residency. Since the district of Kilinochchi was
created after 1981 only results of 2012 are available for that district. The number of net migrants for
every thousand of the population in each district is known as the Net migratory rate of the district.
According to diagram 7.2 the highest negative net migratory rate (-697.7) was recorded from the
district of Vavuniya while the next highest negative rate (-198.7) has been reported from Matara.
Similarly from the districts of Nuwara-Eliya, Badulla, Galle and Kegalle a high negative net
migratory rates have been reported and those values are -144.2,-109.2,-102.5 and -100.1 respectively.
During the period from 1981 to 2012 the districts of Nuwara-Eliya, Badulla and Hambantota show a
tendency to augment their negative net migratory rates. The districts of Polonnaruwa, Moneragala and
Anuradhapura showed a high positive net migratory rate in the year 1981, but those districts have
shown a comparatively lesser positive net migratory rates in the year 2012.The districts of Vavuniya,
Mannar and Ratnapura that indicated a positive net migratory rates in the year 1981, have turned out
to be districts with a negative net migratory rates in the year 2012. On the other hand the districts of
Kalutara and Jaffna that was in negative net migratory status in the year 1981 have turned out to show
positive net migratory rates in the year 2012.
125|P a g e
Diagram 7.2: The net migratory rates by districts, 1981 and 2012
126|P a g e
The population that temporarily living abroad
This analysis is presented on the basis of information of persons temporarily living abroad for a
period exceeding 6 months. During the census, information was collected from households on persons
who have been temporarily living abroad for a period exceeding 6 months. However, when all the
members of a particular household had been living abroad, that information has not been included for
this purpose, since it is not possible to collect information on such persons. Similarly when persons
have gone abroad through illegal avenues or through avenues beyond acceptability, the particular
household would be reluctant to disclose such information and hence, in considering all such instance
it is surmised that the information here could be underestimated.
However, according to the census information 2012 the number of persons temporarily living abroad
for a period exceeding 6 months is 604,540 persons. Of this number of 59 percent were males.
Table 7.7: Numbers of persons living abroad temporarily by sex, age group
and sector of residence, 2012
Sector
All Ages
by Sex
Total
Age Category (Years)

Less Than 18
Between
60 &
18 - 59
above
604,540
29,218
565,460
9,862
Male
354,462
15,653
333,582
5,227
Female
250,078
13,565
231,878
4,635
Urban
140,384
8,216
128,476
3,692
Male
94,429
4,555
87,705
2,169
Female
45,955
3,661
40,771
1,523
432,880
18,491
408,447
5,942
Male
249,959
9,856
237,131
2,972
Female
182,921
8,635
171,316
2,970
Estate
31,276
2511
28,537
228
Male
10,074
1,242
8,746
86
Female
21,202
1,269
19,791
142
Rural
When considering the population temporarily living abroad, 92.6 percent or 565,460 persons, are in
the age group between 18 59 years of age. Similarly, of these persons abroad in the age group
between 18 -59 years 72 percent are from the rural sector. When all the age groups in the estate sector
are considered, it could be seen that in every age group more females have gone abroad temporarily
than males.
127|P a g e
Table 7.8: The population temporarily living abroad, by reason for being abroad, the country
and sex, 2012
Reasons for being Abroad (%)
Country of
residence
For Employment
Total
Male
Female
Total
Male
207,159
42,095
27,101
14,994
48,918
20,993
27,925
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
3.2
4.9
0.8
1.0
1.1
0.7
1.6
2.7
0.8
11.6
12.4
13.5
10.8
4.0
3.7
4.6
9.7
9.6
9.9
19.7
21.6
20.5
23.1
4.1
3.7
4.8
13.2
14.3
12.3
Oman(Musket)
1.7
1.7
1.6
2.0
0.7
0.6
0.9
1.8
1.5
2.0
Jordan
3.3
3.6
1.4
7.0
0.6
0.5
1.0
1.9
1.5
2.2
Kuwait
14.2
15.8
9.1
25.8
2.3
1.8
3.3
7.9
6.9
8.7
Lebanon
1.8
2.0
0.7
4.0
0.4
0.3
0.5
1.0
0.9
1.1
Cyprus
1.5
1.6
0.7
2.9
0.7
0.8
0.5
0.7
0.6
0.8
12.9
14.1
20.2
5.1
3.1
3.3
2.8
8.9
11.8
6.7
Bahrain
1.5
1.6
1.1
2.3
0.5
0.5
0.6
1.5
1.0
1.9
Australia
3.0
1.5
1.7
1.2
15.8
15.7
16.1
7.3
6.4
8.0
U.S.A
1.8
1.0
1.2
0.7
9.2
9.2
9.2
3.7
3.4
3.9
UK
3.6
1.7
2.1
1.1
22.3
24.7
18.1
7.1
6.5
7.6
Italy
7.4
7.4
8.6
5.6
4.5
3.9
5.5
10.6
9.7
11.3
Other
13.1
10.7
12.7
7.7
30.7
30.3
31.5
22.9
23.1
22.6
South Korea
U.A.E.(Dubai,
Male
604,540
513,527
306,368
100.0
100.0
2.9
Female
Other
Total
Total
Total
For Education
leFema
Abu-Dhabi)
Saudi Arabia
(Riyadh)
Qatar(Doha)
Note: Figures have been rounded to the nearest decimal
54.2 percent of the male population that is temporarily abroad for reasons of employment are resident
in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and emirates while 66.0 percent of the female population that is abroad is
found to be resident in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and emirates. However, of the population that is
temporarily resident abroad for educational purposes, 47.4 percent is reported to be in Australia,
United Kingdom and the United States of America.
Few Middle East countries, such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Emirates have become popular
destinations for Sri Lankan temporarily labour migrant. Out of the male Sri Lankan population
temporarily living in abroad, 54.2 percent males are found to be in Kuwait, Sandi Arabia and Emirates
while from the female population temporarily living in abroad it is about 66.0 percent. However only
128|P a g e
47.4 percent of total population temporarily living in abroad has gone for countries like USA, UK and
Australia for educational purposes.
129|P a g e
Physically or Mentally
Impaired persons
130|P a g e
131|P a g e
8.0
Physically or mentally impaired persons
A healthy and able population is a pre requisite for a country that is upwardly mobile and at the same
time the social wellbeing of a society could be judged by how the disabled in that society is looked
after. Hence it is necessary to be educated on persons in the population impaired in either physical or
mental functions. It is only then that appropriate and comprehensive policies could be formulated in
their interests.
Information on physically or mentally impaired persons were collected during the 14th census of Sri
Lanka. This was done by addressing a questionnaire (6 questions) to the children, young and elderly
alike with the view of ascertaining whether they experience a physical or mental difficulty of any
form in their day to day activities. These questions were meant to find out whether the person
experience difficulty in managing his/her day to day activities due to impairments in vision,
audibility, walking, climbing steps, memory retrieval, concentration, dressing up, bathing and in
exchanging ideas. This impairment information was collected under the three categories of no
difficulty difficult and nothing at all and the information collected under the two categories of
difficult and nothing at all was counted upon to present the total number of persons mentally or
physically impaired.
In collecting this information, only responses from the population above 5 years of age were
considered since the responses of children under 5 years of age cannot be considered with a degree of
reliability.
Mentally or physically impaired persons above 5 years of age
According to the population and housing information of 2012 there are 1,617,924 impaired persons in
the total population who have either a mental or a physical impairment. The majority of these persons
(996,939) have impairments in their vision while the next common difficulty in the population is in
walking; 734,213 persons. Those who have audible deficiencies are reported as 389,077 persons of
the population. According to this information the number of physically or mentally impaired persons
per 1000 in the population is 87 persons.
Table 8.1 gives the number of impaired persons per 1000 in the population according to the type of
their impairment.
132|P a g e
Table 8.1: Number of physically or mentally impaired persons per 1000 in the
Population by their impairment, 2012
Impairment
Rate
No.
(Per 1000 persons)
1,617,924
87
Sight
996,939
54
Hearing
389,077
21
Walking
734,213
39
Memory
343,689
18
Self-Containing
197,575
11
Communication Problems
180,833
10
Impaired Population
When these physical or mental impairments are analysed according to age groups as in table 8.2, it is
discernible that half of the population above 75 year of age is impaired in one way or the other. The
incidents of impairment evidently decrease with the less old populations. Hence in the age group of
70- 74 years the impairment is one in every three persons while in the age group of 60 to 69 years it is
one in every four persons. Similarly impaired persons in the age groups of 5 to 14 year and 15 to 29
years is less than 20 persons per every 1000 in the population and in the labour force age group of
the population ( 15 59) the impairment rate is found to be 62 persons per every 1000. When the
population above 50 years of age is considered, the rate of impairment among the female population is
found to be higher than that of the male population.
The diagram 8.1 shows the rate of physical or mentally impaired persons per 1000 in the population
district wise. Accordingly the highest number of impaired persons (101) is reported from the Kandy
district. The next highest numbers are from Ratnapura and Nuwara-Eliya where the number is 100.
Colombo district records the lowest rate for physically or mentally impaired persons with a rate of 70.
Similarly, comparatively low rates are reported from Batticaloa and Ampara districts where the rate is
72 and 75 respectively
133|P a g e
Diagram 8.1: The rate of physically or mentally impaired persons

(per 1000 in the population) by district, 2012
134|P a g e
Table 8.2: The rate of impaired persons by sex and by age group
(per 1000 in population), 2012
Physical or Mental
Male
Impairments
Age Block
No.
Total
Rate
No.
Female
Rate
No.
Rate
1,617,924
86.9
695,263
77.4
922,661
95.7
5- 9
31,545
18.0
16,991
19.3
14,554
16.8
10 - 14
27,527
16.8
14,910
18.0
12,617
15.6
15 - 19
29,668
18.0
15,174
18.5
14,494
17.6
20 - 24
27,810
18.1
15,050
20.3
12,760
16.1
25 - 29
29,331
18.9
16,192
21.8
13,139
16.2
30 - 34
37,773
23.0
20,231
25.4
17,542
20.8
35 - 39
44,790
31.8
22,559
32.9
22,231
30.7
40 - 44
79,712
58.6
35,173
53.2
44,539
63.8
45 - 49
125,424
97.5
54,906
88.8
70,518
105.6
50 - 54
158,085
129.6
68,472
117.8
89,613
140.4
55 - 59
177,281
166.6
76,374
152.5
100,907
179.1
60 - 64
199,663
217.5
84,588
198.8
115,075
233.7
65 - 69
183,472
289.7
75,126
264.7
108,346
310.0
70 - 74
158,864
385.2
64,236
353.2
94,628
410.4
75 - 79
140,525
496.2
53,331
458.2
87,194
522.8
80 & More
166,454
608.0
61,950
572.4
104,504
631.3
Diagram 8.2 : Impaired persons by sex and age group (per 1000 in population), 2012
rate(per1000
persos)
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
Male
135|P a g e
Female
75 - 79
70 - 74
65 - 69
60 - 64
80 iy by<
Age group
55 - 59
50 - 54
45 - 49
40 - 44
35 - 39
30 - 34
25 - 29
20 - 24
15 - 19
10 - 14
5- 9
The status of education of the physically and mentally impaired persons
In the sphere of education, a noticeable feature is that according to table 8.3; 30,308 of the 88,740
impaired persons in the school going age group (5 to 19 years) are not engaged in educational activity.
This should be of concern, especially when it is revealed that 6,404 of the 31,545 children or 20.3
percent children in the primary education age group (5-9 years) are not receiving any form of formal
education. There are 2,142 impaired children attending pre- schools. Similarly 2,076 of these persons
above 10 years or more are studying to obtain a degree or a higher level in education while 2,445 of
these persons are reported to be undergoing vocational and technical training.
Table 8.3: The educational activity in which physically or mentally impaired persons
have been engaged in during the 30 days preceding census, 2012
Education activity engaged in
Total
Age
Block
Impaired
Population
Pre
Aged 05yrs.
school
School
Graduate
Technical
and above
Vocation
or above
Total
Other
Educational
Activities
Not engaged
in any
Educational
Activity
1,617,924
2,142
54,311
2,076
2,445
8,266
1,548,684
5-9
31,545
2,142
22,582
417
6,404
10 - 14
27,527
19,283
776
7,460
15 - 19
29,668
11,508
32
539
1,145
16,444
20 - 24
27,810
938
1,161
722
1,084
23,905
25 - 29
29,331
324
359
566
28,082
30 - 34
37,773
120
192
424
37,037
35 - 39
44,790
97
181
349
44,163
40 - 44
79,712
102
166
428
79,016
45 - 49
125,424
89
157
621
124,557
50 - 54
158,085
81
111
717
157,176
55 - 59
177,281
42
10
571
176,658
60 - 64
199,663
26
595
199,042
65 - 69
183,472
499
182,971
70 - 74
158,864
74
158,790
75 - 79
140,525
140,525
80 or
166,454
166,454
More
136|P a g e
The Economic activities of physically or mentally impaired persons
As shown in table 8.4 the number of impaired persons 15 or more years of age is 1,558,852. Of these
453,091 persons (or 29.1 percent) are engaged in some form of economic activity while 1,105,761
persons (or 70.9 percent) are not engaged in any economic activity. Of the 453,091 persons engaged
in economic activity 442,138 persons are formerly employed while 10,953 or the remaining persons
are formerly unemployed but engaged in some economic activity representing only 2.4 percent of the
economically engaged impaired persons.
Of the impaired population that is not engaged in any economic activity 408,253 persons are engaged
in household work while 530,306 persons are not in a position to be engaged in any work due to old
age. These two categories represent 36.9 percent and 48 percent respectively of the economically not
engaged impaired population.
Table 8.4: Economic activities of physically or mentally impaired persons, 2012

Economic Activity
No.
Impaired persons
1,558,852
100.0
453,091
29.1
1,105,761
70.9
Total No.
453,091
100.0
Employed
442,138
97.6
10,953
2.4
Total No.
1,105,761
100.0
Students
22,018
2.0
Household Chores
408,253
36.9
Income receivers
10,850
1.0
Pensioners
78,333
7.1
530,306
48.0
Community Service
4,376
0.4
Children non- schooling
3,683
0.3
47,942
4.3
aged 15 Years & above

Number economically active
Number not engaged in
Economic activity
Economically Active
Unemployed
Economically non- active
Unable to Work/ Old
Other Non- economic Activities
137|P a g e
Distribution of population according

to Ethnicity and Religion
138|P a g e
139|P a g e
9.0
Distribution of population according to Ethnicity and Religion
Ethnicity
The population of Sri Lanka is comprised mainly of the Sinhalese population with a few other
ethnicities. In the Census of Population and Housing 2012 the population of Sri Lanka has been
reported under 8 ethnicities. Namely those are the Sinhalese, Sri Lankan Tamil, Indian Tamil, Sri
Lanka Moor, Burger, Malay, Sri Lanka Chetti and Bharatha. The ethnicities that do not fall under any
of these 8 categories have been classed as Others. Further in cases where the ethnicity of a person
has been of mixed origin, the ethnicities of such persons have been determined on the ethnicity of the
father.
In all the censuses held in the country since 1871, information had been collected on the ethnicity of
the population. However, the terminology used had been different at times and hence in the census
from 1871 to 1901 the word nationality had been used while in the 1911 census the word ethnicity
had replaced nationality. In the census records up to 1891 the population had been recorded under 8
categories. Those categories are Sinhalese, Tamil, Moor, Burger, Eurasian, Malay and European and
other. In the census conducted from1901 to 1971 the Sinhalese population had been bisected to Low
country Sinhalese and Up country Sinhalese. However in the census held since then this division
has been removed and the Sinhalese had been reported as one ethnicity. Similarly the moor
community too had been bisected in to Sri Lanka Muslims and Indian Muslims. In the 2012
population and housing census the Sri Lanka Muslims has been re-classified as Sri Lanka Moor.
Due to the steady decrease in the European and aboriginal populations over the years, those
categories, though reported as separate ethnicities up to 1963, have been classed under Others since
then.
Table 9.1 and diagram 9.1 gives the diffusion of the total Sri Lankan population according to
ethnicities as per the data collected at the Population and Housing Census 2012.
140|P a g e
Table 9.1: Distribution of the total Sri Lankan population by

ethnicity, 2012
Ethnicity
No.
Sri Lanka
20,359,439
100.0
Sinhalese
15,250,081
74.9
2,269,266
11.2
839,504
4.1
1,892,638
9.3
Burgher
38,293
0.2
Malay
44,130
0.2
Sri Lanka Chetty
5,595
0.0
Bharatha
1,717
0.0
18,215
0.1
Sri Lanka Tamil

Indian Tamil
Sri Lanka Moor
Other
Diagram 9.1: Percentage distribution of the Sri Lankan population by ethnicity

, 1981 and 2012
In diagram 9.1 above, 5 ethnicities, Burger, Malay, Sri Lanka Chetty and Other, have been classed
under Others. According to the revelation of the 2012 population and housing census 3/4th of the Sri
Lankan population is Sinhalese while Sri Lanka Tamils represent only 11.2 percent of the population.
Sri Lanka moor is the 3rd highest population in Sri Lanka and they represent 9.3 percent of the total
population.
141|P a g e
Table 9.2 shows how the Sri Lankan population has evolved from 1911 to 2012 with changes in the
numerical strength of different ethnicities.
Table 9.2: Number of Sri Lankan population (in 1000s) by ethnicity, 1911 - 2012
Year
Ethnicity
1911
Sri
Lanka
LowCountry
Sinhalese
UpCountry
Sinhalese
Sri Lanka
Tamil
Indian
Tamil
Sri Lanka
Muslim
Indian
Muslim
European
Burgher
&
Eurasian
Malay
Sri Lanka
Chetty
Bharatha
Veddhas
Other
1921
(4)
1931
(5)
1946
1953
1963
19471
1981
2001(3)
2012
14,846.80
16,929.70
20,359.40
10,974.4(2)
13,876.2(2)
15,250.1(2)
4,106.40
4,498.60
5,306.00
6,657.30
8,097.90
10,582.00
12,689.90
1,716.90
1,927.10
2,216.20
2,902.50
3,469.50
4,470.30
5,425.80
998.6
1,089.10
1,256.80
1,718.00
2,147.20
3,042.60
3,705.50
528
517.3
598.9
733.7
884.7
1,164.70
1,424.00
1,886.90
732.1
2,269.10
531
602.7
818.5
780.6
974.1
1,123.00
1,174.90
818.7
855
839.5
233.9
251.9
289.6
373.6
464
626.8
828.3
1,046.90
1,339.30
1,892.60
32.7
33
36.3
35.6
47.5
55.4
27.4
(1)
(1)
(1)
7.6
8.1
9.2
5.4
6.5
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
26.7
29.4
32.3
41.9
46
45.9
45.4
39.4
35.3
38.2
13
13.4
16
22.5
25.4
33.4
43.5
47
54.8
44.1
10.8
5.6
2.2
1.7
5.3
4.5
5.2
2.4
0.8
0.4
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
12.7
22
27.4
41.1
32.2
19.5
15.5
28.4
23.9
18.2
Source: Statistical Abstract 2013

Note: Information relating only to 2012 have been presented as per Census of population & Housing, 2012
(1) Included under Other
(2)Low country Sinhalese and Up-country Sinhalese have been amalgamated
(3) Data have been provided only for the 18 districts in which complete census were held in 2001.
(4) Presented in proportion to the population census of 1921
(5) 442 persons with unspecified sex and ethnicity have been included in the incomplete census of 1931
According to the above table there has been a steady growth over the years in the Sinhalese and Sri
Lanka Tamil populations. The Indian Tamil population has also increased at a steady rate up to 1971
and thereafter there had been a decline. The Sri Lanka moor community has recorded a phenomenal
growth over these years from 1911 to 2012 but the Indian Muslim community has recorded a
moderate growth till 1963 after which it had declined steadily to be classified under Others since
1981. The European community too had been classified under Others due to its traditionally low
142|P a g e
numbers. The Burger and Eurasian population has increased moderately till 1953 and has declined
thereafter only to record a slight increase in the past decade but yet remains low. The Malay
population has steadily increased till 2001 but has declined during the last decade. The Sri Lanka
Chetty and Bharatha communities had not been counted as a separate community till 2001 and they
both record a decline during the period of 2001 to 2012. The aboriginal community has recorded a
decline in their numbers over the years becoming insignificant eventually to be classified under
Others from 1971.
Diffusion of the population by the provinces
According to the table 9.3 below, in all provinces except the Northern Province and the Eastern
province the Sinhalese community is in the majority while the other ethnicities too have been
adequately represented indicating a multi ethnic character. In the Northern and Eastern provinces the
Sri Lanka Tamils are in the majority. In the Eastern province however the percentage differences in
populations between Sri Lanka Tamil, Sri Lanka moor and the Sinhalese communities are marginal.
Table 9.3: Distribution of ethnicity by provinces (in percentages), 2012
Ethnicity %
Province
Sinhalese
Sri
Indian
Sri
Lanka
Tamil
Lanka
Lanka
Moor
Chetty
Tamil
Burgher
Malay
Sri
Bharatha
Other
Western
84.2
5.8
1.0
7.9
0.4
0.5
0.1
0.0
0.2
Central
66.0
4.9
18.9
9.9
0.1
0.1
0.0
0.0
0.1
Southern
95.0
1.0
0.7
2.9
0.0
0.3
0.0
0.0
0.0
Northern
3.0
93.1
0.7
3.1
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
23.2
39.2
0.3
36.9
0.3
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.1
85.7
2.8
0.2
11.0
0.1
0.1
0.0
0.0
0.1
Central
90.9
0.9
0.1
8.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.1
Uva
80.8
2.4
12.3
4.3
0.1
0.1
0.0
0.0
0.1
86.4
3.7
5.5
4.3
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
Eastern
NorthWestern
North-
Sabaragamuva
Source: Census of Population and housing, 2012
The fluctuations in the ethnic populations at district level between 1981 and 2012 could be observed
in comparative terms from table 9.4 and table 9.5 below,
143|P a g e
Table 9.4: Distribution of population by ethnicity and districts, 1981

District
Sri Lanka
Ethnicity
Total
Sinhalese
Sri Lanka Tamil
Indian Tamil
Sri Lanka Moor
Burger
Malay
Other
14,846,750
10,979,568
1,886,864
818,656
1,046,927
39,374
46,963
28,398
Colombo
1,699,241
1,318,835
170,590
19,824
139,743
19,688
22,233
8,328
Gampaha
1,390,862
1,279,512
48,182
5,919
37,826
8,423
8,675
2,325
829,704
723,483
9,744
33,659
61,159
431
762
466
Kandy
1,048,317
778,801
52,791
98,436
109,779
2,122
2,755
3,633
Matale
357,354
285,354
20,579
24,912
24,995
272
574
668
Nuwara-Eliya
603,577
254,375
76,449
257,478
12,163
696
1,136
1,280
Kalutara
Galle
814,531
769,343
7,271
11,056
25,678
288
186
709
Matara
643,786
608,516
4,683
13,875
16,122
205
79
306
Hambantota
424,344
412,055
2,500
284
4,899
82
4,445
79
Jaffna
830,552
6,659
790,385
19,980
12,958
383
72
115
Mannar
106,235
8,683
54,474
13,850
27,717
36
35
1,440
Vavuniya
95,428
15,794
54,179
18,714
6,505
25
34
177
Mullaitivu
77,189
3,992
58,209
11,215
3,651
95
19
Batticaloa
330,333
11,255
233,713
4,074
78,829,
2,292
46
124
Ampara
388,970
146,943
77,826
1,411
161,568
697
168
357
Trincomalee
255,948
85,503
87,760
5,372
75,039
1,169
831
274
1,211,801
1,125,912
14,920
6,616
60,791
562
1,259
1,741
Kurunegala
Puttalam
492,533
407,067
32,282
2,289
49,000
440
954
501
Anuradhapura
587,929
535,834
8,026
719
41,777
228
338
1,007
Polonnaruwa
261,563
238,965
5,267
124
16,636
59
109
403
Badulla
640,952
443,024
37,520
129,498
26,600
613
1,419
2,278
Moneragala
273,570
253,572
5,346
8,859
5,312
70
193
218
Ratnapura
797,087
677,510
19,094
84,740
13,791
342
412
1,198
Kegalle
684,944
588,581
15,074
45,752
34,389
156
229
763
Source: Statistical Abstract, 2013
144|P a g e
Table 9.5: Distribution of population by ethnicity and districts, 2012

District
2012
Total
Sinhalese
Sri Lanka Tamil
Indian Tamil
Sri Lanka Moor
Burgher
Malay
Sri Lanka Chetty Bharatha
Other
Sri Lanka
20,359,439
15,250,081
2,269,266
839,504
1,892,638
Colombo
2,324,349
1,778,971
235,090
24,289
249,609
38,293
44,130
5,595
1,717
18,215
13,306
14,444
915
690
Gampaha
2,304,833
2,086,469
81,245
9,137
97,621
10,784
7,035
12,720
3,861
568
2,428
Kalutara
1,221,948
1,060,107
23,035
23,217
113,320
1,188
689
36
43
313
Kandy
1,375,382
1,023,488
69,210
85,111
191,570
2,384
2,444
91
33
1,051
Matale
484,531
391,305
24,279
23,238
44,786
386
392
22
11
112
Nuwara-Eliya
711,644
282,053
32,563
377,637
17,652
761
543
75
11
349
Galle
1,063,334
1,003,722
13,953
6,146
38,790
256
106
12
341
Matara
814,048
767,580
8,772
12,127
25,254
131
58
11
109
Hambantota
599,903
582,301
2,105
120
6,629
146
8,164
17
418
Jaffna
583,882
2,284
577,338
1,807
2,162
126
23
23
22
97
99,570
2,305
80,103
692
16,436
12
11
10
Vavuniya
172,115
17,138
141,144
1,979
11,748
58
40
Mullaitivu
92,238
8,927
79,107
2,281
1,821
49
11
41
Kilinochchi
113,510
1,331
110,494
1,030
629
23
Batticaloa
526,567
6,797
380,930
2,078
133,854
2,814
28
59
Ampara
649,402
252,458
112,457
846
281,702
1,036
187
711
Trincomalee
379,541
101,483
116,646
1,227
158,771
966
356
16
72
Mannar
Kurunegala
1,618,465
1,479,863
18,041
2,594
115,302
663
1,220
119
40
623
Puttalam
762,396
560,838
48,341
1,953
147,546
1,152
631
200
201
1,534
Anuradhapura
860,575
782,808
4,728
477
70,692
246
161
21
34
1,408
Polonnaruwa
406,088
368,197
7,301
161
30,177
88
46
110
Badulla
815,405
595,372
21,880
150,484
44,716
992
1,351
66
16
528
Moneragala
Ratnapura
Kegalle
451,058
428,104
8,206
5,001
9,508
116
63
15
45
1,088,007
947,811
54,437
62,124
22,346
405
288
35
12
549
840,648
718,369
17,861
43,748
59,997
227
184
49
209
Source: Census of Population and Housing, 2012
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The Total Population
According to the diagram 9.2 below the total population of Sri Lanka in 2012, as against the
population in 1981, has shown an increase in all the districts except in the districts of Jaffna and
Mannar. During this period between 1981- 2012 Jaffna district has recorded the highest numerical
decrease in its population with the decrease being an extraordinary 246,670 persons. During this
period the highest population increase for a district in the country, in relation to 1981, has been
recorded from the Gampaha district with the increase being 913,971 persons. In the Western Province
the highest population concentration has been recorded during the period from 1981 to 2012, province
wise.
Diagram 9.2: Total population by district, 1981 and 2012
*Kilinochchi district was not demarcated in 1981
Sinhalese population
During the period from 1981 to 2012 the Sinhalese population has shown a steady increase in all the
districts except in the districts of Jaffna, Batticaloa and Mannar. Similarly the highest increase in the
Sinhalese population could be observed in the Gampaha district with an increase of 806,957 persons
than 1981. By the year 2012, the Sinhalese population in the districts of Colombo, Gampaha,
146|P a g e
Kalutara. Kandy, Galle and Kurunegala alone have risen to 1 million persons. However, it is
observable that there is a concentration of Singhalese population in the Western province.
Table 9.6: Distribution of the Sinhalese population by district, 1981 and 2012
1981
District
2012
No.
No.
10,979,568
100.0
15,250,081
100.0
Colombo
1,318,835
12.0
1,778,971
11.7
Gampaha
1,279,512
11.7
2,086,469
13.7
Kalutara
723,483
6.6
1,060,107
7.0
Kandy
778,801
7.1
1,023,488
6.7
Matale
285,354
2.6
391,305
2.6
Nuwara-Eliya
254,375
2.3
282,053
1.8
Galle
769,343
7.0
1,003,722
6.6
Matara
608,516
5.5
767,580
5.0
Hambantota
412,055
3.8
582,301
3.8
Jaffna
6,659
0.1
2,284
0.0
Mannar
8,683
0.1
2,305
0.0
Vavuniya
15,794
0.1
17,138
0.1
Mullaitivu
3,992
0.0
8,927
0.1
1,331
0.0
11,255
0.1
6,797
0.0
146,943
1.3
252,458
1.7
85,503
0.8
101,483
0.7
1,125,912
10.3
1,479,863
9.7
Puttalam
407,067
3.7
560,838
3.7
Anuradhapura
535,834
4.9
782,808
5.1
Polonnaruwa
238,965
2.2
368,197
2.4
Badulla
443,024
4.0
595,372
3.9
Moneragala
253,572
2.3
428,104
2.8
Ratnapura
677,510
6.2
947,811
6.2
Kegalle
588,581
5.4
718,369
4.7
Total
Kilinochchi
Batticaloa
Ampara
Trincomalee
Kurunegala
* Kilinochchi district was not demarcated in 1981

Source: 1981 data- Statistical Abstract, 2013
2012 data- Census of Population & Housing, 2012
147|P a g e
Diagram 9.3: Distribution of the Sinhalese population by district, 2012
148|P a g e
Sri Lanka Tamil Population
According to table 9.7 the majority of the Tamil population is concentrated in the Northern Province.
However according to the census information of 2012 and as against the 1981 population, the highest
increase in the Tamil population between 1981 and 2012 is recorded in the district of Batticaloa at
147,217 persons. Further during this period between 1981 and 2012 an increase in the Sri Lanka
Tamil population is observable in all the districts other than in the districts of Jaffna, Nuwara-Eliya,
Hambantota, Badulla and Anuradhapura. The decrease in the Tamil population during this period has
happened primarily around Jaffna district and that was a decrease of 213,047 persons. The reason for
this high decrease is due to the inability of the population to get about with their daily chores because
of the bad situation experienced during the 3 decades.
Table 9.7: Distribution of the Sri Lanka Tamil population by district, 1981 and 2012
1981
District
Total
2012
No.
No.
1,886,864
100.0
2,269,266
100.0
Colombo
170,590
9.0
235,090
10.4
Gampaha
48,182
2.6
81,245
3.6
Kalutara
9,744
0.5
23,035
1.0
Kandy
52,791
2.8
69,210
3.0
Matale
20,579
1.1
24,279
1.1
Nuwara-Eliya
76,449
4.1
32,563
1.4
Galle
7,271
0.4
13,953
0.6
Matara
4,683
0.2
8,772
0.4
Hambantota
2,500
0.1
2,105
0.1
790,385
41.9
577,338
25.4
Mannar
54,474
2.9
80,103
3.5
Vavuniya
54,179
2.9
141,144
6.2
Mullaitivu
58,209
3.1
79,107
3.5
110,494
4.9
Jaffna
Kilinochchi
Batticaloa
233,713
12.4
380,930
16.8
Ampara
77,826
4.1
112,457
5.0
Trincomalee
87,760
4.7
116,646
5.1
Kurunegala
14,920
0.8
18,041
0.8
Puttalam
32,282
1.7
48,341
2.1
8,026
0.4
4,728
0.2
Anuradhapura
Polonnaruwa
Badulla
5,267
0.3
7,301
0.3
37,520
2.0
21,880
1.0
Moneragala
5,346
0.3
8,206
0.4
Ratnapura
19,094
1.0
54,437
2.4
Kegalle
15,074
0.8
17,861
0.8
* Kilinochchi district had not been demarcated in 1981

Source: 1981 data-Statistical Abstract, 2013
2012 data- Census of Population and Housing, 2012
149|P a g e
Diagram 9.4: Distribution of the Sri Lanka Tamil population by district, 2012
150|P a g e
Indian Tamil population
According to table 9.8 the concentration of the Indian Tamil population is in the district of NuwaraEliya which is predominantly a plantation district. Even in other districts the presence of Indian Tamil
population is found in the districts where there is plantation activity. Compared to 1981 the decrease
in the Indian Tamil population has taken place only in the district of Ratnapura and that is by 22,616
persons. Similarly the highest increase of the Indian Tamil population during this same period has
taken place in the Nuwara-Eliya district and that is by 120,159 persons.
Table 9.8: Distribution of the Indian Tamil population by district, 1981 and 2012
1981
District
Total
Colombo
2012
No.
No.
818,656
100.0
839,504
100.0
19,824
2.4
24,289
2.9
Gampaha
5,919
0.7
9,137
1.1
Kalutara
33,659
4.1
23,217
2.8
Kandy
98,436
12.0
85,111
10.1
Matale
24,912
3.0
23,238
2.8
257,478
31.5
377,637
45.0
Galle
11,056
1.4
6,146
0.7
Matara
13,875
1.7
12,127
1.4
284
0.0
120
0.0
Jaffna
19,980
2.4
1,807
0.2
Mannar
13,850
1.7
692
0.1
Vavuniya
18,714
2.3
1,979
0.2
Mullaitivu
11,215
1.4
2,281
0.3
Nuwara-Eliya
Hambantota
Kilinochchi
1,030
0.1
Batticaloa
4,074
0.5
2,078
0.2
Ampara
1,411
0.2
846
0.1
Trincomalee
5,372
0.7
1,227
0.1
Kurunegala
6,616
0.8
2,594
0.3
Puttalam
2,289
0.3
1,953
0.2
Anuradhapura
719
0.1
477
0.1
Polonnaruwa
124
0.0
161
0.0
129,498
15.8
150,484
17.9
8,859
1.1
5,001
0.6
Ratnapura
84,740
10.4
62,124
7.4
Kegalle
45,752
5.6
43,748
5.2
Badulla
Moneragala

151|P a g e
Diagram 9.5: Distribution of the Indian Tamil population by district, 2012
152|P a g e
Sri Lanka Moor population
According to table 9.9 the Sri Lanka Moor community has shown an increase in its population in
2012 in relation to 1981 in all the districts except the districts of Jaffna, Mannar and Mullaitivu. The
highest numerical decrease in the Moor population has happened during this period in the district of
Mannar and that is by 11,281 persons. Similarly the highest increase in the Moor population has taken
place in the district of Ampara and that is by 120,134 persons. By the year 2012 the highest
concentration of the Moor population, i.e. more than 150,000 persons each, has been in the districts of
Colombo, Kandy, Trincomalee and Ampara.
Table 9.9: Distribution of the Sri Lanka Moor population by district, 1981 and 2012
1981
District
2012
No.
No.
1,046,927
100.0
1,892,638
100.0
Colombo
139,743
13.3
249,609
13.2
Gampaha
37,826
3.6
97,621
5.2
Kalutara
61,159
5.8
113,320
6.0
Kandy
109,779
10.5
191,570
10.1
Matale
24,995
2.4
44,786
2.4
Nuwara-Eliya
12,163
1.2
17,652
0.9
Total
Galle
25,678
2.5
38,790
2.0
Matara
16,122
1.5
25,254
1.3
4,899
0.5
6,629
0.4
Hambantota
Jaffna
12,958
1.2
2,162
0.1
Mannar
27,717
2.6
16,436
0.9
Vavuniya
6,505
0.6
11,748
0.6
Mullaitivu
3,651
0.3
1,821
0.1
629
0.0
78,829
7.5
133,854
7.1
161,568
15.4
281,702
14.9
75,039
7.2
158,771
8.4
Kilinochchi
Batticaloa
Ampara
Trincomalee
Kurunegala
60,791
5.8
115,302
6.1
Puttalam
49,000
4.7
147,546
7.8
Anuradhapura
41,777
4.0
70,692
3.7
Polonnaruwa
16,636
1.6
30,177
1.6
Badulla
26,600
2.5
44,716
2.4
5,312
0.5
9,508
0.5
Ratnapura
13,791
1.3
22,346
1.2
Kegalle
34,389
3.3
59,997
3.2
Moneragala

153|P a g e
Diagram 9.6: Distribution of the Sri Lanka Moor population by district, 2012
154|P a g e
Burger population
According to table 9.10 the Burger community has shown an overall decrease in its population in
2012 in relation to 1981 but has increased in numbers in all the districts except in the districts of
Colombo, Galle, Matara, Jaffna, Mannar, Mullaitivu and Trincomalee. The highest numerical
decrease in the Burger population has happened during this period in the district of Colombo and that
is by 6,382 persons. Similarly the highest increase in the Burger population has taken place in the
district of Gampaha and that is by 2,361 persons.
Table 9.10: Distribution of the Burger population by district, 1981 and 2012
1981
District
2012
No.
Total
39,374
Colombo
19,688
Gampaha
8,423
Kalutara
No.
100.0
38,293
100.0
50.0
13,306
34.7
21.4
10,784
28.2
431
1.1
1,188
3.1
Kandy
2,122
5.4
2,384
6.2
Matale
272
0.7
386
1.0
Nuwara-Eliya
696
1.8
761
2.0
Galle
288
0.7
256
0.7
Matara
205
0.5
131
0.3
82
0.2
146
0.4
383
1.0
126
0.3
Mannar
36
0.1
12
0.0
Vavuniya
25
0.1
58
0.2
Mullaitivu
95
0.2
49
0.1
Hambantota
Jaffna
Kilinochchi
Batticaloa
Ampara
Trincomalee
0.0
2,292
5.8
2,814
7.3
697
1.8
1,036
2.7
1,169
3.0
966
2.5
Kurunegala
562
1.4
663
1.7
Puttalam
440
1.1
1,152
3.0
Anuradhapura
228
0.6
246
0.6
Polonnaruwa
59
0.1
88
0.2
613
1.6
992
2.6
Badulla
Moneragala
70
0.2
116
0.3
Ratnapura
342
0.9
405
1.1
Kegalle
156
0.4
227
0.6
* Kilinochchi district had not been demarcated in 1981

155|P a g e
Malay population
According to table 9.11 the Malay community has shown an overall decrease in its population in 2012
in relation to 1981 and also in majority of the districts in the country. The numerical increase in Malay
population has happened during this period only in the districts of Gampaha, Hambantota and
Ampara.
Table 9.11: Distribution of the Malay population by district, 1981 and 2012
1981
District
2012
No.
No.
Total
46,963
100.0
44,130
100.0
Colombo
22,233
47.3
14,444
32.7
Gampaha
8,675
18.5
12,720
28.8
762
1.6
689
1.6
Kandy
2,755
5.9
2,444
5.5
Matale
574
1.2
392
0.9
1,136
2.4
543
1.2
186
0.4
106
0.2
79
0.2
58
0.1
4,445
9.5
8,164
18.5
Jaffna
72
0.2
23
0.1
Mannar
35
0.1
11
0.0
Vavuniya
34
0.1
0.0
Mullaitivu
19
0.0
11
0.0
Kilinochchi
0.0
46
0.1
28
0.1
Ampara
168
0.4
187
0.4
Trincomalee
831
1.8
356
0.8
1,259
2.7
1,220
2.8
Puttalam
954
2.0
631
1.4
Anuradhapura
338
0.7
161
0.4
Polonnaruwa
109
0.2
46
0.1
1,419
3.0
1,351
3.1
Moneragala
193
0.4
63
0.1
Ratnapura
412
0.9
288
0.7
Kegalle
229
0.5
184
0.4
Kalutara
Nuwara-Eliya
Galle
Matara
Hambantota
Batticaloa
Kurunegala
Badulla

156|P a g e
Sri Lanka Chetty population
According to table 9.12 the majority of the Sri Lanka Chetty population is concentrated around the
district of Gampaha. Before the census of 2001 the Sri Lanka Chetty community had not been
accounted for separately and hence no comparative figures are available.
Table 9.12: Distribution of the Sri Lanka Chetty population by district, 2012
2012
District
No.
5,595
100.0
Colombo
915
16.4
Gampaha
3,861
69.0
Kalutara
36
0.6
Kandy
91
1.6
Matale
22
0.4
Nuwara-Eliya
75
1.3
Galle
12
0.2
0.1
Hambantota
17
0.3
Jaffna
23
0.4
Mannar
0.0
Vavuniya
Mullaitivu
Kilinochchi
Batticaloa
0.1
Ampara
0.1
Trincomalee
16
0.3
Kurunegala
119
2.1
Puttalam
200
3.6
Anuradhapura
21
0.4
Polonnaruwa
0.1
Badulla
66
1.2
Moneragala
15
0.3
Ratnapura
35
0.6
Kegalle
49
0.9
Total
Matara
Source: 2012 data- Census of Population and Housing, 2012
157|P a g e
Bharatha
According to table 9.13 the total Bharatha population in the country does not exceed 2000 persons and
the majority of them live in the western province. Before the census of 2001 the Indian community
had not been accounted for separately.
Table 9.13: Distribution of the Indian population by district, 2012
2012
District
No.
1,717
100.0
Colombo
690
40.2
Gampaha
568
33.1
Kalutara
43
2.5
Kandy
33
1.9
Matale
11
0.6
Nuwara-Eliya
11
0.6
0.5
11
0.6
0.2
22
1.3
Mannar
Vavuniya
Mullaitivu
0.1
Kilinochchi
Batticaloa
Ampara
Trincomalee
0.2
Kurunegala
40
2.3
201
11.7
Anuradhapura
34
2.0
Polonnaruwa
0.3
16
0.9
Total
Galle
Matara
Hambantota
Jaffna
Puttalam
Badulla
Moneragala
Ratnapura
Kegalle
12
0.7
0.2
Source: 2012 data- Census of Population and Housing, 2012
158|P a g e
Other population
According to table 9.14 the other population in the country lives in all the districts of the country in
more or less proportions. In the year 2012 the other communities have been reported more from the
Gampaha district.
Table 9.14: Distribution of the Other population by district, 1981 and 2012
1981
District
2012
No.
No.
29,398
100.0
18,215
100.0
Colombo
8,328
29.3
7,035
38.6
Gampaha
2,325
8.2
2,428
13.3
466
1.6
313
1.7
Kandy
3,633
12.8
1,051
5.8
Matale
668
2.4
112
0.6
1,280
4.5
349
1.9
Galle
709
2.5
341
1.9
Matara
306
1.1
109
0.6
79
0.3
418
2.3
115
0.4
97
0.5
1,440
5.1
10
0.1
177
0.6
40
0.2
Mullaitivu
0.0
41
0.2
Kilinochchi
23
0.1
Batticaloa
124
0.4
59
0.3
Ampara
357
1.3
711
3.9
Trincomalee
274
1.0
72
0.4
1,741
6.1
623
3.4
501
1.8
1,534
8.4
1,007
3.5
1,408
7.7
403
1.4
110
0.6
2,278
8.0
528
2.9
218
0.8
45
0.2
1,198
4.2
549
3.0
763
2.7
209
1.1
Total
Kalutara
Nuwara-Eliya
Hambantota
Jaffna
Mannar
Vavuniya
Kurunegala
Puttalam
Anuradhapura
Polonnaruwa
Badulla
Moneragala
Ratnapura
Kegalle

159|P a g e
The variety in Sri Lankan populations by Religion
Data has been collected on the subject of religions in population since the commencement of census
taking in the country from year 1871. In Sri Lanka, Buddhism is the main religion patronised by the
majority Sinhalese from antiquity. In addition there are four other religions practiced by tangible
numbers of persons in the population and those are Hinduism, Islam, Roman Catholic and
Christianity. Apart from these there are also other religions patronised by small groups in the country
and due to their numerical paucity they have all been classified as other religions for census
purposes. This position could be illustrated from the diagram 9.7 below.
Diagram 9.7: Distribution of Sri Lankan populations by religion, 2012
Diagram 9.8: Distribution of Sri Lankan population by religion, 1981 - 2012
160|P a g e
Religious variety in Sri Lankan population by the Sector of residence
According to table 9.15 majority of persons of all the religions live in the rural sector of the country.
The next highest number of persons of all the religions, except Hinduism, live in the urban sector of
the country. The exceptional nature of the living of the followers of Hinduism is mainly due to the
fact that Hinduism in Sri Lanka is the predominant religion of the estate population who live in the
plantation districts of NuwaraEliya, Badulla etc. Apart from this oddity in Hinduism the general
distribution in religion by the sector of living follows the general population distribution pattern
where the rural, urban and estate sectors come in that order of their numerical proportions in the total
population.
Table 9.15: Distribution of Sri Lankan population by religion and the sector of residence, 2012
Section
Religion
Buddhist
Hindu
Islam
14,272,056
2,561,299
1,967,523
Urban
2,007,401
480,480
Rural
12,163,955
Estate
100,700
Sri Lanka
Roman
Christian
Other
1,261,194
290,967
6,400
697,200
410,206
106,361
2,822
1,366,785
1,261,106
801,356
156,688
3,432
714,034
9,217
49,632
27,918
146
Catholic
Source: Census of Population and Housing, 2012
According to the data collected at the Population and housing census conducted between 1981 and
2012, the religious distribution of population by districts could be given, numerically, as below. Thus,
as per table 9.16, in the year 1981 the highest proportion of the Buddhist population has lived in the
district of Colombo while the lowest proportion of Buddhists have lived in the district of Mullaitivu.
The highest proportion of Hindus had been in the district of Jaffna while their lowest proportional
representation had been in the district of Hambantota. The believers in Islam have had their highest
proportional representation in the Colombo district while their lowest proportional representation had
been in the Mullaitivu district. Roman Catholics have had their numbers concentrated in the district of
Gampaha while in Hambantota their concentration had been the lowest. The Christian population
have lived mostly in the district of Colombo while Hambantota had been the district with the lowest
number of Christians.
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Table 9.16: Distribution of population by religion and district, 1981

Religion
District
Total
Buddhist
Hindu
Islam
Roman
Christian
Other
Catholic
Sri Lanka
14,846,750
10,288,328
2,297,806
1,121,715
1,023,713
106,854
8,334
Colombo
1,699,241
1,196,964
130,215
168,863
159,947
40,598
2,654
Gampaha
1,390,862
989,212
26,750
48,117
313,352
12,563
868
829,704
699,613
37,035
62,659
27,697
2,424
276
Kandy
1,048,317
771,435
132,943
115,941
20,067
7,498
433
Matale
357,354
281,004
41,352
26,265
7,443
1,202
88
Nuwara-Eliya
603,577
251,247
303,571
14,902
28,382
5,312
163
Galle
814,531
767,661
15,086
26,301
3,586
1,452
445
Matara
643,786
608,714
15,356
16,670
2,026
818
202
Hambantota
424,344
411,919
2,174
9,408
542
174
127
Jaffna
830,552
5,104
705,705
14,844
95,613
9,153
133
Mannar
106,235
3,363
28,885
29,161
43,633
1,056
137
Vavuniya
95,428
15,754
65,574
6,740
6,493
845
22
Mullaitivu
77,189
1,060
60,117
3,789
11,735
476
12
Batticaloa
330,333
9,127
218,812
78,810
19,704
3,795
85
Ampara
388,970
145,687
72,809
162,140
5,643
2,387
304
Trincomalee
255,948
82,602
80,843
76,404
14,303
1,280
516
1,211,801
1,092,128
15,133
64,112
36,340
3,641
447
Puttalam
492,533
236,241
18,997
50,351
184,555
2,082
307
Anuradhapura
587,929
530,008
6,843
42,999
6,949
939
191
Polonnaruwa
261,563
235,758
4,781
17,090
3,471
351
112
Badulla
640,952
440,755
156,037
29,317
11,529
3,081
233
Moneragala
273,570
253,576
12,778
5,584
1,224
314
94
Ratnapura
797,087
675,785
92,156
15,576
11,107
2,188
275
Kegalle
684,944
583,611
53,854
35,672
8,372
3,225
210
Kalutara
Kurunegala
Source: Statistical Abstract, 2013
According to table 9.17, by the year 2012 Colombo district have the highest proportion of Buddhists
while Kilinochchi district has had the lowest proportion of Buddhists. The Hindus have stayed
concentrated in the district of Jaffna while Hambantota district again reported the lowest
concentration of Hindus. In the case of Islamists Ampara district have the highest concentration while
again the lowest concentration of Islamists has been reported from Kilinochchi district. Again
Gampaha and Hambantota districts have reported the highest and lowest concentration respectively of
Roman Catholics. Christian population has the highest concentration in Colombo while the lowest
concentration has been in Moneragala district.
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Table 9.17: Distribution of population by religion and district, 2012
Religion
District
Total
Buddhist
Hindu
Islam
Roman
Christian
Other
Catholic
Sri Lanka
20,359,439
14,272,056
2,561,299
1,967,523
1,261,194
290,967
6,400
Colombo
2,324,349
1,632,225
186,454
274,087
162,314
66,994
2,275
Gampaha
2,304,833
1,642,767
52,973
112,746
449,398
46,080
869
Kalutara
1,221,948
1,018,909
39,541
114,556
39,774
8,956
212
Kandy
1,375,382
1,009,220
133,744
197,076
22,379
12,798
165
Matale
484,531
385,151
43,432
45,682
7,899
2,342
25
Nuwara-Eliya
711,644
278,254
363,163
21,116
33,476
15,508
127
1,063,334
998,647
15,584
39,267
4,415
5,315
106
Matara
814,048
766,323
16,421
25,614
2,432
3,208
50
Hambantota
599,903
580,344
1,222
15,204
1,139
1,692
302
Jaffna
583,882
2,168
483,255
2,363
75,474
20,511
111
99,570
1,809
24,027
16,512
52,415
4,790
17
Vavuniya
172,115
16,853
119,401
11,972
15,305
8,498
86
Mullaitivu
92,238
8,185
69,377
1,880
9,063
3,664
69
Kilinochchi
113,510
1,275
92,986
700
12,063
6,436
50
Batticaloa
526,567
6,281
338,882
134,065
24,454
22,833
52
Ampara
649,402
251,427
102,829
281,987
7,588
5,541
30
Trincomalee
379,541
99,344
98,442
159,418
14,493
7,774
70
1,618,465
1,431,632
14,721
118,305
43,711
9,926
170
Puttalam
762,396
329,705
28,811
150,404
240,221
12,093
1,162
Anuradhapura
860,575
775,366
3,231
71,493
6,747
3,660
78
Polonnaruwa
406,088
364,229
6,886
30,465
3,192
1,276
40
Badulla
815,405
591,799
157,608
47,192
12,020
6,615
171
Moneragala
451,058
426,762
11,997
9,809
1,601
859
30
1,088,007
943,464
101,962
24,446
10,844
7,212
79
840,648
709,917
54,350
61,164
8,777
6,386
54
Galle
Mannar
Kurunegala
Ratnapura
Kegalle
Source: Census of Population and Housing report, 2012
District wise the concentration of the highest Buddhist population has shifted from Colombo district
to Gampaha district and the lowest concentration of Buddhist has shifted to Kilinochchi from
Mullaitivu. This is mainly because the Kilinochchi was not accounted for as a separate district in the
census of 1981. The highest concentration of believers in Islam has changed from Colombo to
Ampara.
The lowest concentration of Christian population has changed from Hambantota to
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Moneragala. Other than these, all other positions of highest and lowest concentrations of different
religious populations in districts remain unchanged as those were, in 1981.
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Information on Education
in Sri Lanka
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10.0
Information on Education in Sri Lanka
Social and economic well being of a country depends on the educational background of the citizens.
As a result of free education introduced to the country coinciding with independence in 1948, the
literacy rate and the general level of education in Sri Lanka has reached commendable heights during
the past decades. The census on population and housing 2012 collected information on the literacy
level, educational achievements and the school attendance of every member of the population. The
purpose of this chapter is to analyse and present that information illustratively on the basis of sex, age,
district and the level of education.
The current status of education in Sri Lanka
The information collected during the Census of Population and Housing, 2012 reveals that there are 4,
709,701 children above 3 years of age attending pre-school and formal school education in Sri Lanka
at the time of the Census. Of these, 551,276 children are attending pre-school education in the ages of
3, 4, and 5 years.
According to the census of 2012 there are 18,615,577 persons in the ages above 5 years of age in the
Sri Lankan population. Of this population 4,390,536 persons have completed the primary education
while 10,731,218 persons have completed secondary education and 2,793,404 persons have
completed tertiary education. In this midst there are 700,000 persons in the ages 5 years and above
getting reported as not having attended in schooling above 5 years of age.
Furthermore among the age 5 years and above population (18,615,577) there are 4,379,337 children
between 5 17 years of age. This is 23.5 percent of the total population above 5 years of age.
Educational status achieved by the Sri Lankan population above 25 years of age
It is plain knowledge that the educational status of a person depends on his/her age. Generally a
person obtains his primary education in the age of 5 to 10 years, secondary education in the age of 11
to 15 years and the tertiary education when he/she is above 15 years of age.
In the education system in Sri Lanka, when a person reaches 25 years of age, there is a high
probability to complete his / her education. Thus it would be reasonable to compile the general status
of the total populations education by analysing the educational status of the population above 25
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years of age. At the Census of Population and Housing, 2012 the highest educational qualification of a
person obtained has been listed as his educational status, but a persons vocational competencies have
not been listed similarly.
As per the data presented in table 10.1, the highest percentage of the educational level of the
population, above 25 years of age, is the secondary educational level at 58.7 percent of the population.
Gender wise this percentage is analysed and as 61.4 percent for males above 25 year and that is found
to be higher than the 56.4 percent recorded for females above 25 years of age. Yet numerically the
number of females who have completed secondary education (3,579,875) exceeds the male population
with secondary education (3,499,694). Those who have never attended a school, in this population
above 25 years, stands at 4.7 percent and this percentage could be termed low compared to the
percentages in preceding census. In the census of 1981 and 2001 the non- school attended percentages
have been recorded as 18.0 percent and 6.2 percent respectively. Of these non- school attended total
percentage 0f 4.7 percent, females at 6.1 percent is double the male percentage at 3.0 percent. Those
who have completed tertiary education in this population is 18.2 percent and that when compared with
the primary education completed 18.4 percent and the secondary level completed 58.7 percent, is
found to be low.
When the tertiary education completed population is analysed on sex, the female population
percentage (19.3 percent) is found higher than the male population percentage (17.1 percent). This
tells us that even though more males complete the secondary education level, more females study up
to the tertiary level.
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Table 10.1: The educational level of the population above 25 years of age
by sex, 2012
Educational level
Total
Male
Female
No.
No.
No.
12,050,641
100.0
5,703,991
100.0
6,346,650
100.0
561,163
4.7
172,292
3.0
388,871
6.1
Primary educational Level
2,214,792
18.4
1,058,900
18.6
1,155,892
18.2
1-5 Grades Passed
2,214,793
18.4
1,058,900
18.6
1,155,892
18.2
Secondary Educational Level
7,079,569
58.7
3,499,694
61.4
3,579,875
56.4
6-8 Grades Passed
1,889,721
15.7
991,099
17.4
898,622
14.2
9-10 Grades Passed
2,886,830
24.0
1,407,833
24.7
1,478,997
23.3
G.C.E (O/L) or Replacement
2,303,018
19.1
1,100,762
19.3
1,202,256
18.9
Tertiary Educational Level
2,195,117
18.2
973,105
17.1
1,222,012
19.3
G.C.E (A/L) or Replacement
1,724,574
14.3
748,407
13.1
976,167
15.4
358,052
3.0
166,309
2.9
191,743
3.0
Post Graduate Diploma
68,893
0.6
32,829
0.6
35,764
0.6
Post Graduate
37,341
0.3
21,299
0.4
16,042
0.3
6,557
0.1
4,261
0.1
2,296
0.0
All Educational Levels

No-Schooling
Graduate
Doctorate Graduate
As per table 10.2, when all educational levels are considered on district basis, the highest percentage
has recorded from the Grade 6 to 10 passed population. However, it could be observed that apart from
the districts of Colombo, Kandy and Mannar, in all other districts the percentage that qualifies the
GCE O/L or equivalent is higher than the percentage that qualifies the GCE A/L or equivalent. In the
districts of Colombo and Kandy there is an appreciable increase in the population percentages that
qualifies the GCE A/L or equivalent as against the population percentage that qualifies the GCE O/L
or equivalent. Another noticeable feature is that the highest percentages of never attended school
population are reported from the Batticaloa and the Nuwara-Eliya districts.
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Table 10.2: Distribution of Population above 25 years of age by the level of education
and district, 2012
District
Total
1-5
6-10
GCE
O/L
Percentage
Grades
Grades
Equivalent
Passed
Passed
or
GCE
A/L
Equivalent
or
Never
attended
School
Sri Lanka
100.0
18.4
39.6
19.1
18.2
4.7
Colombo
100.0
9.6
33.2
25.3
29.4
2.6
Gampaha
100.0
9.7
40.0
25.2
22.6
1.8
Kalutara
100.0
14.5
40.8
22.4
20.0
3.1
Kandy
100.0
16.7
37.3
19.6
21.1
5.3
Matale
100.0
21.6
41.9
16.0
14.8
5.7
Nuwara-Eliya
100.0
31.5
35.6
13.5
9.2
10.2
Galle
100.0
17.6
41.3
18.7
18.6
3.9
Matara
100.0
18.9
39.7
18.3
17.5
5.6
Hambantota
100.0
21.9
41.4
16.5
14.0
6.1
Jaffna
100.0
27.6
43.5
18.0
15.7
1.4
Mannar
100.0
23.0
42.3
13.6
14.2
2.3
Vavuniya
100.0
29.8
42.2
17.2
13.9
3.6
Mullaitivu
100.0
28.1
47.5
11.9
8.2
2.6
Kilinochchi
100.0
32.5
47.8
13.1
8.7
2.3
Batticaloa
100.0
32.5
29.4
13.9
13.2
10.9
Ampara
100.0
27.9
35.9
14.3
14.6
7.3
Trincomalee
100.0
26.2
39.2
14.7
13.1
6.9
Kurunegala
100.0
18.3
40.6
19.0
18.5
3.7
Puttalam
100.0
24.5
43.7
15.5
12.3
4.0
Anuradhapura
100.0
20.7
46.3
16.0
12.8
4.2
Polonnaruwa
100.0
22.3
47.8
14.2
10.9
4.9
Badulla
100.0
23.4
38.8
14.7
13.8
9.3
Moneragala
100.0
23.7
44.2
12.8
11.4
7.8
Ratnapura
100.0
22.2
41.3
15.5
13.7
7.3
Kegalle
100.0
17.8
40.3
19.5
18.0
4.4
Children obtaining pre-school education in Sri Lanka
Even though pre-school education is not compulsory in Sri Lanka, majority of the parents, in recent
times, have been inclined to send children over 3 years of age, to a pre-school in the country. The
purpose of pre-school education is to allow children of the same age to get mixed up and to get
accustomed to a class room atmosphere before they take to formal education. In Sri Lanka it is
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necessary that a child should complete 5 years of age before he/she is admitted to a school. Generally,
children who attend pre-schools continue to attend same till they commence school. Hence it is
sometimes possible to come across children who are 6 years of age still attending pre-school. The
population and housing census 2012 has revealed that there are 1,087,680 children in the ages
between 3-5 years. It is also revealed that, of these children 551,576 are attending pre-schools at the
time of census. The majority of the preschool children in Sri Lanka is 4 years. According to the
Census of Population and Housing, 2012 45 percent of the 3 year old 361,960 children are attending
pre-schools while, of the 4 year old 365,564 children, 86 percent attend pre-schools. Diagram 10.1
below shows the percentages of pre-school attending children by the sector of residence. It is
observed that children in the estate sector are less inclined to attend pre-schools compared to the other
two sectors.
Diagram 10.1: Percentages of pre-school attending children by age and

Diagram 10.2 below depicts the percentages of pre-school attending children in the ages of 3, 4 and 5
years on district basis. Accordingly it could be observed that in every district more than 80 percent of
the children of 4 years in age, do attend pre-school. Further, the diagram also shows that in the
districts of Jaffna, Mullaitivu, Mannar, Vavuniya and Kilinochchi in the Northern Province and
Colombo, Gampaha and Kalutara in the Western province, the pre-school attending percentage of 4
year old children is comparatively higher than in the other districts. The fact that there are improved
pre-school facilities in the Western province and also that mothers could engage themselves in other
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economic activities during the day may contribute to the high percentage in the pre-school attendance
in the Western province.
Diagram 10.2: Pre-school attending children by age and district, 2012
Since there are a few languages in the country, the language of the child is of special importance in
the field of education. An important factor in the development of pre-school education is the training
of teachers for pre-school education. According to the census almost 70 percent of the pre-school
children are Sinhalese. Tamil and Muslim students are 15 percent and 12 percent respectively. Even
though it is possible that some of these Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim children may enrol themselves in
the English medium for general education and it is necessary that Sinhala teachers for the majority of
Sinhala students and Tamil teachers for the Tamil and Muslim students should be trained in preschool disciplines. Apart from training the teachers, to uplift pre-school education, it is necessary to
pay attention to the language when preparing the texts and other educational additives of preschooling.
Education of the Age group between 5 to 14 years
From the total child population (below 18 year of age), 52.5 percent is in the ages between 5 to 14
years. The numerical strength of this age group population, sex wise, is 1,711,177 males and
1,676,627 females. According to the Government educational policy a systematic education with a
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curriculum is compulsory for children in the age group of 5 to 14 years. Making education
compulsory is the main reason in achieving a 99 percent literacy rate among the children of this age.
According to the population and housing census information 93.3 percent of the children in the age
group of 5 to 14 years receive a systematic education and the analysis of this by sector of residence is
92.7 percent, 93.6 percent and 90.1 percent for urban, rural, and estate sectors respectively. Therefore
the fact that around 7 percent of the children in the compulsory schooling age group is not attending
school should warrant special attention with emphasis on estate sector. There are instances where 6, 7
or 8 year old students (in the age group of 5-14) were found studying in grade 1 due to a variety of
reasons.
Diagram 10.3: Percentages of school attendance of children aged

5 to 14 years by district, 2012
Education of children in the age group of 15 -18 years
Children in the age group of 15 18 years represents 20 percent of the child population (18 years and
below).Numerically there are 659,661 male children and 657,621 female children in this age group.
Approximately 2/3rds of these children, who are in an age where they should receive education, are
receiving a formal education and the sector wise analysis of that would be 65.5 percent, 67.9 percent
and 52.4 percent for rural, urban and estate sectors respectively. Compared to the percentage of urban
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rural and estate sector school children, 50 percent of school children in estate sector have left from
school and it should be deserved concern specially. The reasons for this could be the poverty in the
estate sector, illiteracy of the parents and as well as issues associated with estate schools.
Diagram 10.4: Percentages of school attendance of children aged

15-18 years by district, 2012
Literacy of the population
According to census, literacy is defined as the ability of a person, to read and understand a short letter
or a paragraph in a particular language and ability to write by understanding.
During the population and housing census of 2012 questions were posed on literacy to the population
to ascertain the competency of persons in all three languages. As a result, it was found that the literacy
rate of the Sri Lankan population above 10 years of age, i.e. the ability to deal at least in one
language, is 95.7 percent. In other words out of a population of 16,867,825 persons over 10 years of
age, 95.7 percent or 16,142,267 persons are literate. Similarly the literacy ratio between the sexes is
96.9 percent for males and 94.6 percent for females. Accordingly on the subject of populations
literacy, Sri Lanka enjoys a very high position among the countries in South Asia. The fact that
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education up to 14 years of age is made compulsory, availability of non- fee levying education up to
university level, and the provision of text books and support material in education, can be cited as the
reasons for this high level of literacy in the Sri Lankan population.
When the literacy rate of the population is considered by the sector of living, urban sector recorded a
high 97.7 percent while the estate sector recorded a comparatively low 86.1 percent. The literacy rate
of the rural sector is 95.7 percent.
Diagram 10.5: Literacy of the population by sex and sector of residence, 2012
In 1981 the literacy rate in Sri Lanka was reported as 87.2 percent and thus there has been an
improvement of 8.5 percent in the literacy rate by the year 2012. Similarly, the male and female
literacy rates too have improved considerably compared to the preceding census. The Free education
bill introduced in 1944 opened up new vistas in education for the people in Sri Lanka. The literacy
rate of the population increased by 17.9 percent by the year 1946 as against 1921 as a harbinger of
what was to follow. The next fillip to the education is the swabasha bill of 1956 which opened up
the flood gates of education to all and sundry. Consequently, the literacy rate improved by a further
11.7 percent during the ten years between 1953 and 1963. Further, the male literacy rate has
maintained itself consistently above that of females. Another noticeable feature is that the female
literacy has doubled between 1921 and 1946 due to these progressive developments in the country.
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Table 10.3: Literacy rate by sex and by the year of census, 1881 - 2012
Census Year
Literacy Rate %
Total Percentage
Male
Female
1881
17.4
29.8
3.1
1891
21.7
36.1
5.3
1901
26.4
42.0
8.5
1911
31.0
47.2
12.5
1921
39.9
56.3
21.2
1946
57.8
70.1
43.8
1953
65.4
75.9
53.6
1963
77.1
85.8
67.5
1971
78.5
85.6
70.9
1981
87.2
91.1
83.2
2001
91.1
92.6
89.7
2012
95.7
96.9
94.6
There are three main languages in use in the country and those are Sinhala, Tamil and English. Of
these three languages, Sinhala language recorded as 80 percent literacy while Tamil and English
recorded literacy rates of 26 percent and 31 percent respectively.
Population and housing census of 2012 collected information on the multi- language literacy of the
population. Accordingly it was revealed that 8 percent of the population is literate in all three
languages, Sinhala, Tamil and English while 28 percent is literate in Sinhala and English. The
percentage of the population literate in Sinhala and Tamil is 10 percent and those who are literate in
Tamil and English is also 10 percent of the population.
When literacy in Sri Lanka is considered on a district basis the highest literacy rate is reported from
the district of Gampaha while the lowest literacy rate is reported from Batticaloa district. The districts
of Ampara, Nuwara-Eliya, Badulla and Hambantota have recorded poor literacy rates in comparison
to the other districts.
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Diagram 10.6: Literacy rate by district, 2012
When the language literacy of the population is analysing on the basis of age, Sinhala language
literacy is spread evenly among different ages of the population. Yet in the case of English it was
revealed that when the literacy rate is analysed according to the age groups 10-14years, 15 to 24
years, 25 to 29 years and above 30 years, the comparatively high literacy rate of 44 percent is found in
the age group 15-24 years. On the other hand the highest Tamil literacy rate of 41 percent is found in
the age group 10-14 years. This could well be the result of introducing Tamil language as a subject in
to the school curriculum in Sri Lanka. Further the highest literacy rate in all three languages is
reported in the age group 10-14 years of the population. In the above 30 years age group population
who have no literacy rate in all three languages is reported high comparable to other age groups.
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Diagram 10.7: Literacy rate by age and medium of language, 2012
Language literacy according to ethnicity
Table 10.4 below is constructed on the basis of information revealed at the 2012 census on language
literacy of persons above 10 year of age by ethnicity. In the Sri Lankan population above 10 years of
age, Sinhala language literacy is the highest while English and Tamil record the 2nd and 3rd positions
respectively.
Among the Sinhala population above 10 years of age, the Sinhala language literacy is 96.4 percent
while Tamil and English language literacy rates are 5.3 percent and 31.1 percent respectively.
The highest Sinhala language literacy rate is found among the Sinhalese while the highest Tamil/
English language literacy is found among the Muslims and Burger populations in that order. Similarly
the lowest Sinhala language literacy is found among the Sri Lankan Tamils while the lowest
Tamil/English literacy is found among the Sinhalese and Indian Tamils in that order. When all the
ethnicities are considered in relation to language literacy the Malay community reports the highest
literacy rates in all three languages.
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Table 10.4: Language literacy by ethnicity, 2012
Ethnicity
Literacy Rate %
Sinhala
Tamil
English
Sri Lanka
79.7
26.4
30.8
Sinhalese
96.4
5.3
31.1
Sri Lankan Tamil
17.3
94.1
24.3
Indian Tamil
20.9
86.2
19.4
Sri Lankan Moor
40.6
94.8
38.7
Burgher
77.0
29.1
97.4
Malay
81.8
97.1
66.8
Other
54.1
38.3
80.8
Computer literacy of the population
Internationally and as well as in Sri Lanka using computers is a very famous event that has been
added in the recent past. Therefore, during the population and housing census of 2012 data was
collected on the populations computer literacy or the level of competency in the use of computers.
All persons above 10 years of age in the population were quizzed on the state of their computer
literacy.
Census definition of computer literacy is the ability of a person to accomplish a task that he needs
accomplishing, on his own, through the use of a computer without help from an outside (the type of
the task is not relevant here).
Thus, according to the data collected from persons above 10 years of age it is revealed that the Sri
Lankan nation as a whole enjoys a 24.2 percent computer literacy among its general population. This
means, of the16, 867, 825 persons who are above 10 years of age in the population, 4,086,167 persons
could use computers. Further, of this computer literate population 2,143,901 persons or 52.5 percent
are males while the balance 1,942,266 or 47.5 percent, are females.
Computer literacy, when analysing according to the sector of residence, reveals that the highest rate of
literacy is in the urban sector with 36.8 percent while the estate sector reports the lowest computer
literacy with 8.8 percent. Computer literacy rate of the rural sector is reported as 22.1 percent.
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Diagram 10.8: Computer literacy of the population by sector of residence, 2012
When the computer literate population is analysed on age, it is found that the highest literacy rate of
48 percent is found among the ages between15 24 years. The lowest computer literacy of 14 percent
is found among the population above 30 years of age. In addition, the computer literacy of the age
groups of 10-14 years and 25-29 years is recorded as 34 percent and 36 percent respectively.
When computer literacy is considered on the basis of sex it is found that, among the Sri Lankan
population in general and also on the basis of the sector of residence, the males are more computer
literate than females.
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Diagram 10.9: Computer literacy in Sri Lanka by sex and sector, 2012
On the basis of districts, the highest computer literacy of 38 percent is found in the district of
Colombo. Similarly the other districts that report a high percentage in computer literacy are, Gampaha
(30.5 percent), Kandy (28.9 percent) and Kalutara (26.4 percent).
A noticeable feature in the area wise computer literacy in Sri Lanka is that in the Northern Province in
general, the computer literacy rate is comparatively low. The lowest district wise computer literacy
(8.4 percent) is reported from the district of Mullaitivu in the Northern Province. This is one of the
many adverse outcomes of the disturbances that the Northern Province had to undergo during the past
30 years. However, the computer literacy in Jaffna district at 22.8 percent is found to be high
compared to the neighbouring districts in the Northern Province.
When computer literacy is considered on the basis of age it is noticeable that the highest literacy rate
of persons above 30 years of age is found in the three districts of Colombo, Kandy and Gampaha
only. The reasons for this, is the existence of Higher education institutes, Government and Mercantile
establishments and the general high standards of facilities in these districts resulting in the high
incidence of computer use. In every district the highest computer literacy rate is in the age group of 15
-29 years. Mullaitivu district, where the lowest district wise computer literacy rate is reported, also
reports the lowest literacy rate for every age group.
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Diagram 10.10: Computer literacy by age and district, 2012
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Economically Active and In-active

Persons
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11.0
Economically Active and In-active Persons
The contribution made by the labour force of a country, in the age group of 15 years and above, which
normally makes up for 2/3rd of the countrys total population, is of special significance to that
countrys economic development. Collecting information on persons that falls in to this category of
the population is done at the Quarterly labour force survey as well as at the Census of population and
housing. What is collected at the census is the basic information on economically active and inactive
persons whereas the information of the quarterly labour force survey is more comprehensive. At the
quarterly labour force survey, the period for current data to reflect on current economic activities is
the 7 preceding days before the date of collection of data whereas at census, the period for collecting
information to reflect on usual economic activities is one year preceding the date of data collection.
Accordingly, at census data was collected on all activities persons above 15 years of age have been
engaged in during the preceding one year. The purpose of that exercise was to identify the
economically active as well as economically inactive persons during the past one year.
According to the census of population and housing 2012 the number of persons in the population
above 15 years of age who have the capacity to be economically active is 15,227,773 persons. Of this
population 48 percent or 7,266,234 persons are males while 52 percent or 7,961,539 persons are
females. When you analyse the activities of this population during the 52 weeks preceding the census
it is observed that despite their capacity to be economically active only 7,857,370 persons of the total
population have been economically active for a minimum of 26 weeks of the period. Of this
economically active population 93 percent are engaged in employment while the balance 7 percent or
521,938 persons are not employed. Further, it is revealed that 48 percent of persons in the population
who above 15 years or more, are not economically active.
For the purpose of census of population and housing 2012 an employed person is a person who is a
government servant, a semi government servant, a private sector employee, an employer, a selfemployed person or an unpaid family economic worker. Similarly economically inactive persons are;
full time students, persons engaged in household chores, income receiver, pensioners, elderly persons,
persons engaged in social work, children not attending school and those engaged in activities that are
not economical. Diagram 11.1 depicts the engagement and non- engagement in economic activity by
persons above 15 years of age in the population.
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Diagram 11.1: Categorisation of the population aged 15 years and above on

the basis of their engagement in economic activity, 2012
Population engaged in economic activity
In keeping with the census definition, the population that is engaged in economic activity during the
preceding one year is 7.3 million persons and of this population 70.8 percent are males. As in other
countries of the world, the majority engaged in economic activity in Sri Lanka are also males. The
reasons for this could be the availability of more male centred jobs in the countrys economy and the
traditional social thinking that household chores are the responsibility of women.
When economic activity is analysed on the basis of sector of living, the estate womens contribution
to the economy could be noticed. The poverty of estate women, their limited education and the
availability of jobs in the sector they live, all contribute to prompt women in the estate sector to be
economically active. The noticeable limited participation of women in the sectors that produce goods
and services is another factor that may have a direct impact on the countrys economic development.
Therefore it would be necessary to establish investment zones, industries and self- employment
schemes where women could participate with the minimum of impact on their household obligations.
Further, realizing more women- power in the economy, on a more permanent basis would require
improvement in infrastructure such as transport, electricity and water service and a reliable
mechanism to look after children. As per the 2012 census data more than 75 percent of women above
25 years of age in the population are educated and have studied at least up to grade 6. Further the
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status of education in the urban and rural sectors could improve in the future. Therefore, some serious
national thinking may be required on how best to compromise between optimising educated women
power in the economy and maintaining the family unit. While education is a human right the
development of a country would depend on how best that country utilises its educated population.
Table 11.1: Economically engaged population by sex and sector of residence, 2012
Section
Total
Population Engaged in Economic Activity
Population
above 15
Total
Male
Female
Years
Total
15,227,773
7,335,432
100.0
5,190,697
100.0
2,144,735
100.0
Urban
2,843,630
1,332,572
18.1
939,080
18.1
393,492
18.3
Rural
11,753,182
5,638,585
76.9
4,048,473
78.0
1,590,112
74.1
Estate
630,961
364,275
5.0
203,144
3.9
161,131
7.5
Diagram 11.2: Economically engaged population by sex and sector of residence, 2012
Economically engaged population by sex and sector of residence is given in table 11.1. According to
data, while estate women make a 7.5 percent contribution in labour to the total economy the estate
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males contribution remains at 3.9 percent. According to diagram 11.2 the percentage contribution in
labour made by females to the economy in urban and rural sectors is around 30 percent while in the
estate sector female contribution is a high 44.2 percent. This confirms the premise that women in the
estate sector are called upon to work harder than their own men and also than women in other sectors.
Economically engaged population- Features and Trends
Analysis of data on age, sex and marital status of economically engaged population reveals many
features and trends in the population. Diagram 11.3 shows the economically engaged population by
age and accordingly males show a tendency to get engaged in economic activity at early ages. Further
the engagement in economic activity among males in the age group 35 -39 is quite high denoting the
need to bear family responsibilities that corresponds to that age. In the case of females however, the
increasing tendency to be engaged in economic activity is seen only after they pass 40 years. This
naturally is due to family limitations which prevents females from getting engaged in economic
activity until an elder age. The tendency to gradually withdraw from economic activity after 60- 64
years is common to both sex.
Diagram 11.3: Economically engaged population by age and sex, 2012
Further revelations on economically engaged population could be made by analysing the data by
marital status. Since 68 percent of the population above 15 years of age in the Sri Lankan population
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is married that makes the majority of the persons engaged in economic activity also married, and
numerically it is 5,577,917 persons. Further 3 out of every four married persons engaged in economic
activity are males. According to census data there are 5,401,061 married females above 15 years of
age in the population but their engagement in the economy is only 28 percent. That amounts to 3/4th of
the married females staying out of economic activity. In addition, with regard to other marital status
on economic activity, it is revealed that the majority or 79.6 percent among the economically active
widowed population and 51.1 percent among the divorced and separated population are females.
Table 11.2: Economically engaged population by sex and marital status, 2012
Population Engaged in Economic Activity

Marital Status
Total Population
above 15
Male
Female
Total
No.
Years
No.
Total
15,227,773
7,335,432
5,190,697
70.8
2,144,735
29.2
Never Married
3,927,602
1,476,694
1,026,540
69.5
450,154
30.5
Married
10,322,105
5,577,917
4,076,523
73.1
1,501,394
26.9
Widowed
792,947
174,194
35,503
20.4
138,691
79.6
Divorced
185,119
106,627
52,131
48.9
54,496
51.1
or Separated
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Table 11.3: Economically engaged population by status of employment and sector, 2012
Employment Status and Sector

Sex
Economical
Governme
Semi-
Private
ly Engaged
nt servants
Governme
Sector
nt servants
employees
Population
Employers
Self-
Engaged in
Employed
Family
economic
activity
without
wages
Total
7,335,432
1,122,734
244,989
2,980,361
190,680
2,414,258
382,410
100.0
15.3
3.3
40.6
2.6
32.9
5.2
Male
5,190,697
723,457
151,992
2,101,865
164,276
1,927,228
121,879
100.0
13.9
2.9
40.5
3.2
37.1
2.3
Female
2,144,735
399,277
92,997
878,496
26,404
487,030
260,531
100.0
18.6
4.3
41.0
1.2
22.7
12.1
Table 11.3 represents economically engaged population by sector and by status of employment.
Accordingly, of the economically engaged population, 40.6 percent is engaged as salaried employees
in the private sector, 32.9 percent is engaged as selfemployed persons, 15.3 percent is engaged as
salaried employees in the government sector and 3.3 percent is engaged as salaried employees in the
semi- government sector. In this midst 5.2 percent of the economically engaged persons are engaged
in helping family business without a salary. On the basis of sex females seem to prefer the
government and semi government sectors for employment. Further, a high 12.1 percent of the females
engaged in economic activity are helping family business without being paid.
Information on Economically engaged Householders
Economically engaged householders are listed in table 11.4 by age blocks and by sex. Accordingly
half the economically engaged persons (3,618,683 persons) happen to be householders. Majority of
these householders are males and, of those males, majority are persons above 30 years of age. There
are 369,246 dwelling units in the country where female is a householder and of these 30.7 percent
(113,222) is in the age block of 45-54 years and another 23.7 percent (87,589) is in the age block of
35- 44 years. Further, another 62,166 of these dwelling units headed by a female belongs to the age
block of over 60 years.
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Table 11.4: Number of economically engaged household heads by sex and by

age, 2012
Age Group
No.
of
economically
engaged Householders
Male
Female
Total
3,618,683
3,249,437
100.0
369,246
100.0
15-19
9,847
7,278
0.2
2,569
0.7
20-24
65,643
57,583
1.8
8,060
2.2
25-29
204,849
187,740
5.8
17,109
4.6
30-34
403,781
373,877
11.5
29,904
8.1
35-44
997,424
909,835
28.0
87,589
23.7
45-54
1,047,657
934,435
28.8
113,222
30.7
55-59
404,066
355,439
10.9
48,627
13.2
60 or More
485,416
423,250
13.0
62,166
16.8
When economically engaged householders are considered on the basis of sex and age block, the
highest male householders are evident in the 25-44 year age block.
Diagram 11.4: Economically engaged household heads by sex and age group, 2012
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Unemployed population
The population, that is employable but not employed and yet have been in the pursuit of a job during
the year preceding the census date, is known as the unemployed population for census purposes.
According to data the unemployed population is 521,938 persons and the majority of that population
are males.
Table 11.5 gives the unemployed population by sex and by the sector of residence. Accordingly of the
unemployed population the male percentage is 59.3 percent, 57.4 percent and 54.8 percent in the
urban, rural and estate sectors respectively. However, the fact that there are 409,510 unemployed
persons in the rural sector denotes that the current economic activity at rural level is inadequate.
Intervention by state and private sector is suggested to increase job opportunities in the rural sector.
Table 11.5: Unemployed population by sex and sector of residence, 2012
Total
Sector of
Living
Unemployed Population
Population
above 15 Years
Total
Male
No.
Female
%
No.
Total
15,227,773
521,938
300,432
57.6
221,506
42.4
Urban
2,843,630
84,383
50,019
59.3
34,364
40.7
Rural
11,753,182
409,510
235,042
57.4
174,468
42.6
Estate
630,961
28,045
15,371
54.8
12,674
45.2
Numerically the highest number of unemployed persons (125,653) is reported from the Western
province. This is 24 percent of the total unemployed population in the country. Accordingly 15
percent, 13 percent, 10 percent and another 10 percent of this unemployed population lives in
Southern, Central, Eastern and Sabaragamuwa provinces respectively. Only 5 percent of the total
unemployed population is found in the North central province.
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Diagram 11.5: Unemployed population by the province of residence, 2012
In analysing the unemployed population on the basis of marital status, table 11.6 reveals that 78.9
percent of this population is persons who have never been married while the balance of just over 20
percent of this population is married. In the case of married persons, since there could be dependents,
the married unemployed could spawn a few social issues. Further, 53.4 percent of this unemployed
married population is females and females, who aspire but cannot secure employment with a family to
support, may experience economic hardships. Therefore, the situation deserves special attention in
finding suitable job opportunities for women.
Since the life expectancy of females is higher than that of males, there are more female widows than
male widows in the population. As per table 11.6, the majority of unemployed widows are females.
Thus, the destitute state of being woman, unemployed in widowhood, with no means of succour while
ageing, could be an extremely pathetic situation that warrants immediate attention of the authorities.
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Table 11.6: Unemployed population by marital status and sex, 2012
Marital status
Unemployed
Population
Male
Female
No.
No.
Total
521,938
300,432
57.6
221,506
42.4
Never Married
411,796
250,148
60.7
161,648
39.3
Married
102,950
48,026
46.6
54,924
53.4
Widowed
2,919
461
15.8
2,458
84.2
Divorced or Separated
4,273
1,797
42.1
2,476
57.9
The unemployed population by status of education is shown in diagram 11.6. According to this
diagram a majority (36.5 percent) of the unemployed persons have passed grade 6-10 while 30
percent and 23.7 percent of the population happens to be GCE A/L and GCE O/L qualified persons
respectively.
A noticeable feature however is that 5.7 percent of the unemployed persons are
graduates and this could be due to the difficulty in finding employment that corresponds with
qualifications.
Population and housing census 2012 data reported a total number of 383,855 graduates in the country
and a noticeable issue is that 29,601(7.7 percent) of these graduates had not found suitable
employment up to the period of census. Further, of the unemployed persons with GCE A/L or above
qualification, the majority are females as per diagram 11.7.
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Diagram 11.6: Unemployed population by level of education, 2012
Diagram 11.7: Unemployed population by sex and level of education, 2012
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Population not engaged in economic activity
Approximately half of the 15,227,773 persons above 15 year of age in the Sri Lankan population fall
in the economically inactive category. Numerically it is about 7,370,403 persons. For the purpose of
population and housing census an economically inactive person is, a person who is not employed
because he/she is either not employable or is not aspiring to be employed.75 percent of the population
not engaged in economic activity are females. When the population not engaged in economic activity
is analysed on the basis of sector of residence and by sex, it is observed that the economically inactive
females are 3 times higher compared to economically inactive males in the two sectors other than the
estate sector.
50.2 percent of the urban population and 48.5 percent of the rural population, above 15 years of age,
are not active economically. The estate sector shows a noticeable difference and in that the
economically inactive percentage of the estate population is 37.8 percent. The reason for this is the
high incidence of participation in economic activity by estate sector women in plantations. Table 11.7
and diagram 11.8 illustrates this position.
Table 11.7: Population not engaged in economic activity by sex and sector of residence,
2012
Sector
Total Population
above 15 years
Population Not Engaged In economic activity

Total
Male
Female
Total
15,227,773
7,370,403
1,775,105
24.1
5,595,298
75.9
Urban
2,843,630
1,426,675
376,010
26.4
1,050,665
73.6
Rural
11,753,182
5,705,087
1,321,154
23.2
4,383,933
76.8
Estate
630,961
238,641
77,941
32.7
160,700
67.3
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Diagram 11.8: Population not engaged in economic activity by sex and sector of residence, 2012
Diagram 11.9 gives the population not engaged in economic activity by province of residence. The
highest percentage of economically inactive populations is found in the Western, Central, Southern
and North Western provinces.
Diagram 11.9: Population not engaged in economic activity by province of residence, 2012
When the population not engaged in economic activity is analysed on the basis of sex, the Western
province reports 561,682 economically inactive males. In each province between 20 -26 percentage of
the male population is reported as economically inactive. Eastern province reports the widest gap
between male and female economic non participation with 20.1 percent of the male population and
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79.9 percent of the female population reporting as economically inactive. The lowest difference
between the sexes is reported from the Central province but generally in every province females
exceed males as more economically inactive.
Table 11.8: Population not engaged in economic activity by province of residence and sex, 2012
Province
Population Not engaged

in economic activity
Male
Female
No.
Male
No.
Female
Difference
Total
7,370,403
1,775,105
24.1
5,595,298
75.9
51.8
Western
2,184,311
561,682
25.7
1,622,629
74.3
48.6
Central
911,153
236,221
25.9
674,932
74.1
48.1
Southern
911,090
226,398
24.8
684,692
75.2
50.3
North-Western
861,392
187,725
21.8
673,667
78.2
56.4
Sabaragamuva
672,323
167,686
24.9
504,637
75.1
50.1
Eastern
573,031
115,337
20.1
457,694
79.9
59.7
Northern
427,002
96,373
22.6
330,629
77.4
54.9
North-Central
419,865
85,520
20.4
334,345
79.6
59.3
Uva
410,236
98,163
23.9
312,073
76.1
52.1
Table 11.9 gives information on population not engaged in economic activity by age blocks.
Accordingly, a greater percentage of economically inactive persons (25.5 percent) are found in the
age block of persons above 60 years of age. Naturally the reason for this could be senility associated
with aging. The next highest economically inactive population is found in the age block of 15-19
years and continuation in education could be the reason for this. However, of the economically
inactive population 49.9 percent or 3,676,059 persons are in the ages between 20 and 54 years. This is
the age group of the countrys labour force and this means that a near 50 percent of the labour force of
the population is economically inactive. It could be that a good number of persons in the age block of
20-24 years representing 9 percent of the total economically inactive population (660,017 persons) are
also engaged in higher education. However, whichever the way we attempt to make compromises, the
fact that 49.9 percent of the economically inactive population is between the ages of 20 to 54 years
representing the most active segment of the countrys labour force may not auger well for the
economy of a developing country.
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Table 11.9: Population not engaged in economic activity by age groups, 2012
Age blocks
Total Population
above 15 Years
Population Not engaged
in economic activity
Total
15,227,773
7,370,403
100.0
15-19
1,644,249
1,316,779
17.9
20-24
1,532,883
660,017
9.0
25-29
1,552,848
554,469
7.5
30-34
1,639,415
590,869
8.0
35-44
2,768,286
947,242
12.9
45-54
2,505,290
923,462
12.5
55-59
1,064,229
501,339
6.8
60 or More
2,520,573
1,876,226
25.5
Table 11.10 gives the population not engaged in economic activity by the task engaged in and by sex.
Accordingly the majority of the population not engaged in economic activity is engage in household
work and that is a good 50 percent of the total economically inactive population. In housework,
females exceed males by 3,734,026 persons. This state of affairs denotes that even though Sri Lanka
has reached a literacy level and a status of education comparable with developed countries, traditional
practices prevent the county from making optimum use of its labour force.
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Table 11.10: Population not engaged in economic activity by the task engaged in and sex, 2012
Activity Engaged
Population
Not
economically
engaged
Male
No.
Female
No.
Total
7,370,403
1,775,105
24.1
5,595,298
75.9
Schooling
1,431,105
671,460
46.9
759,645
53.1
Household Chores
4,199,558
232,766
5.5
3,966,792
94.5
Receiving Income
66,547
38,517
57.9
28,030
42.1
Receiving Pension
346,084
213,089
61.6
132,995
38.4
Unable to Work
914,934
399,610
43.7
515,324
56.3
Social work
32,909
20,796
63.2
12,113
36.8
Not-Schooling
32,869
20,649
62.8
12,220
37.2
346,397
178,218
51.4
168,179
48.6
Other Non-economic Activity
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Information on Occupied Housing

Units
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12.0
Information on Occupied Housing Units
From the census conducted since 1946, enumeration of dwelling houses, in addition to enumeration of
persons, had been carried out at every census in Sri Lanka. At the listing stage of the census, all
building units were categorised under housing units, collective living quarters and non-housing units.
This way the houses where persons live were identified and the information was collected only from
those building units identified as dwelling house. Thereafter information was collected from those
units as to, the source of drinking water, sanitary facilities, source of lighting, source of energy for
cooking, the ownership of the house, the method of waste disposal and, the construction material used
and the present state of such houses.
The census 2012 reported the existence of 5,267,159 dwelling housing units in country and Gampaha
district with 607,662 units reported the highest number of dwelling units while Mannar district with
23,539 units reported the lowest number of dwelling units. The census also reported that 95 percent of
these housing units have been used exclusively for dwelling purposes while in the balance 5 percent
some economic activity, in addition to dwelling, such as making meal packets, some minor industry,
bridal dressing, mat making, tailoring, textile weaving and tug making has been carried out.
For the purpose of census, a household where one or more persons live together, making their meals
together has been defined as a Dwelling unit. Therefore it is possible that a housing unit may contain
one or more dwelling units. According to census information majority of the houses contain only one
dwelling unit while there are 370,302 (7.1 percent) units where only one person is living.
Table 12.1gives the number of building units occupied reported in 1981 and in 2012, according to the
sector of residence. Thus, although it is evident that all the sectors have increased their housing stocks
during the inter census period, it is noticeable that the increase in the estate sector does not correspond
with the increase in the other two sectors.
During the period of 31 years when the population has increased from 14,846,750 to 20,359,439
persons, the occupied housing stock has increased from 2,813,844 to 5,267,159 units. Accordingly,
the average occupants per housing unit have come down from 5.3 to 3.9 persons between 1981 and
2012.
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Table 12.1: Number of occupied building units by the sector of residence,

1981 and 2012
Section
1981
2012
No.
2,813,844
100.0
5,267,159
100.0
Urban
511,810
18.2
908,078
17.2
Rural
2,084,841
74.1
4,133,982
78.5
Estate
217,193
7.7
225,099
4.3
Sri Lanka
No.
The year of construction of the houses
The year of construction of a house is an important and a common criterion that reflects on the
condition of that house. According to census data there are 1.6 million houses in the country that have
been constructed and occupied recently; that is after 2005. Among those there are 323,194 houses that
have been constructed and occupied during the year 2011.
Diagram 12.1: Number of housing units by the year of construction, 2005-2011
205|P a g e
In 2004, the Tsunami totally destroyed a considerable number of houses in the coastal areas.
Therefore 2005 is of special significance with the number of houses constructed and occupied
registering at 256,804. Thereafter the number of houses constructed in subsequent years, as shown in
diagram 12.1, has recorded the normal pattern of increase but with some momentum in construction
again towards 2011.
Different types of the houses
Since the housing units are different in their structure and nature they are categorised accordingly
under single houses, storied houses, annexes, twin houses, lined houses and shanties. The houses that
are not a part of another building and those that have walls of its own are categorised as single houses
and majority of the dwelling houses (84.8 percent) belongs to this category of single storied houses. In
addition two storied single houses have been reported as 7.2 percent of the housing stock while lined
houses have been reported as 3.6 percent of the housing stock. Majority of the lined housing units
have been reported from Nuwara-Eliya district at 31.2 percent of the total lined houses while Badulla
district also reported a 11.5 percent share of the Lined houses. During 2012 the highest number of
temporary abodes and shanties in the country has been reported from Mullaitivu (44.5 percent) and
Kilinochchi (24.4 percent) districts.
The right to enjoy the house
Census 2012 has collected information on the right of occupants to enjoy the dwelling they occupy
and thus it is revealed that 82.9 percent of the dwellings have been owned by a member of the
occupants while 6.3 percent of the houses are occupied on rent basis. In Colombo district those who
occupy the house on rent basis is 15.8 percent while in Gampaha district, it is 13.2 percent. In addition
it is also revealed by the census that 1.3 percent of the occupants are occupying their dwellings
unlawfully.
In order to study how the ownership has changed over the years from 1981 to 2012, Table 12.2 gives
the basis of occupation of the dwellings in 1981 as well as 2012 by the sector of residence.
Accordingly all the sectors have recorded an improvement in the ownership of the dwellings they live
in while the biggest improvement has been evident in the estate sector where the ownership has
improved from 1.3 percent to 22.2 percent.
When you consider the position of occupation of the dwellings on rent basis, the number of dwellings
on rent basis has come down in the urban and rural sectors while in the estate sector it has increased
from 1.3 percent to 5.3 percent.
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Table 12.2: percentage of housing units owned by a member of the household and rented by the
sector of residence, 1981 and 2012
Owned
Sector
Resident on rent
by Residents
1981
2012
1981
2012
Sri Lanka
69.5
82.9
10.2
6.3
Urban
58.0
75.0
29.1
14.8
Rural
79.5
88.0
6.5
4.5
Estate
1.3
22.2
1.3
5.3
The durability state of house construction
According to the information on population and housing census conducted in 2012, 81.4 percent of
the 5,207,740 housing units dwelled in by persons in the country are constructed with durable
building materials while 17.8 percent of the houses are constructed with semi durable materials. The
balance houses have been constructed using ephemeral building material. The highest number of
houses constructed with semi durable materials is found in the Nuwara-Eliya district (11.7 percent)
while the highest number of ephemeral material constructed houses is found in the Batticaloa district
(16.8 percent). Further, in the districts of Mullaitivu, Nuwara-Eliya and Kilinochchi more than half
the houses have been constructed using semi durable or ephemeral building materials.
Table 12.3: Number of housing units by nature of construction material, 1981 and 2012
1981
Building Material
2012
No.
No.
Sri Lanka
2,813,839
100.0
5,207,740
100.0
Permanent Material
1,178,575
41.9
4,238,491
81.4
Semi-Permanent Material
1,453,316
51.6
927,408
17.8
181,948
6.5
41,841
0.8
Ephemeral Material
Note
Durable material: bricks, stones, or cement blocks for walls and tiles, asbestos and concrete for the roof and
cement, tiles, wood or terrazzo for the floor.
Semi durable material: Clay for the walls and galvanised sheets for the roof and stones for the floor
Ephemeral material: straw, cadjan leaves for the roof and clay or sand for the floor.
207|P a g e
Materials used for construction of walls, roof and floor of dwelling units
At census 2012 information was collected on materials used for construction of walls, roof and floor
of dwelling units. Generally, it is plausible to construct the walls of the houses with bricks, cement or
clay. According to census data, more than half of the dwelling housing units (53.1 percent) has been
constructed using bricks for walls. Yet in the district of Kilinochchi (0.8 percent), Jaffna (2.1 percent)
and Mannar (2.3 percent), the use of bricks have been minimal. The use of cement blocks in wall
construction in dwelling housing units of the country has been 33.8 percent while 5 percent of
dwelling units in the country has used clay for wall construction.
Majority of the houses in the country (72.5 percent) have used cement for floor paving while the use
of more expensive tile, terrazzo and granite have been used in 12.2 percent of the houses. Yet 7.5
percent of the houses have still used clay for floor paving.
The use of tiles for roof construction remains most appropriate for countries with tropical climatic
conditions. Use of tiles has been recorded in 47.6 percent of the houses in the country while the use of
asbestos has been recorded in 34.6 percent of the houses. In Colombo district alone the use of asbestos
has been a high 64.6 percent. Further, in the district of Colombo 14.0 percent of the roofs have been
constructed with concrete. In the Nuwara-Eliya district 55.3 percent of the dwelling houses have used
galvanise sheets. In Northern Province too, apart from Jaffna district the use of galvanised sheets have
been popular. Further in the Northern Province and in the district of Puttalam in North western
province, thatched roofs made of straw, coconut or palm leaves have been common in house
construction.
Sanitary and other utilities in dwelling units
At census 2012 information was also collected on sanitary and other utilities available to the dwelling
units. Thus, toilet facilities, source of drinking water, source of lighting, source of cooking fuels and
the sources of solid waste disposal were considered therein.
Main sources of drinking water
According to census 2012 safe drinking water is available to 80.9 percent of the dwelling units in the
country. 21.1 percent of the houses have pipe borne water while 31.4 percent of the houses have a
protected well with aquifers providing safe drinking water.
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Diagram 12.2: Distribution of percentages in dwelling units by the source of

drinking water, 2012
When data on the sources of drinking water is compared between census 1981 and census 2012,
availability of pipe borne water in dwelling unit has recorded an appreciable increase in all the three
sectors of residence, urban, rural and estate (Table 12.4). Since water is available in the house the time
taken to fetch water has been minimised. Of the users of pipe borne water 89.1 percent of the users
have water within the house in 2012 whereas in 1981 only 46.6 percent of the houses enjoyed that
facility. Further, a high incidence of the percentage in availability of pipe borne water is reported from
the districts of Matara, Colombo and Kalutara.
According to census 2012 the percentage of dwelling units that obtain water from the common pipe
outside the house is 10.9 percent of the pipe borne water users. This shows a decrease of 42.5 percent
compared to census 1981. The highest incidence of the use of common pipe outside the house is
reported from the Northern Province and among the districts in the North; Jaffna district reports the
highest percentage at 72.6 percent.
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Table 12.4: Percentages of dwelling houses with pipe borne water by the sector of residence
and district, 1981 and 2012
1981
2012
Pipe borne
Pipe borne water
Pipe borne
water inside the
outside the
water inside the
House
House
House
Sri Lanka
46.6
53.4
89.1
10.9
Urban
52.9
47.1
92.1
7.9
Rural
35.4
64.6
87.9
12.1
Estate
43.9
56.1
69.7
30.3
Colombo
61.1
38.9
93.6
6.4
Gampaha
52.9
47.1
89.9
10.1
Kalutara
56.3
43.7
92.8
7.2
Kandy
49.5
50.5
91.7
8.3
Matale
43.7
56.3
88.9
11.1
Nuwara-Eliya
28.3
71.7
78.0
22.0
Galle
41.8
58.2
90.3
9.7
Matara
54.5
45.5
94.3
5.7
Hambantota
21.5
78.5
91.2
8.8
Jaffna
29.9
70.1
27.4
72.6
Mannar
11.4
88.6
79.4
20.6
Vavuniya
43.7
56.3
57.4
42.6
Mullaitivu
20.7
79.3
53.2
46.8
73.5
26.5
Batticaloa
25.5
74.5
91.7
8.3
Ampara
55.5
44.5
91.5
8.5
Trincomalee
34.2
65.8
88.0
12.0
Kurunegala
45.6
54.4
82.5
17.5
Puttalam
46.9
53.1
84.7
15.3
Anuradhapura
42.0
58.0
86.3
13.7
Polonnaruwa
43.0
57.0
87.4
12.6
Badulla
35.0
65.0
85.0
15.0
Moneragala
54.8
45.2
87.1
12.9
Ratnapura
47.5
52.5
80.7
19.3
Kegalle
60.8
39.2
83.7
16.3
Sector/District
Kilinochchi
* Kilinochchi was not treated as a separate district in 1981
210|P a g e
Pipe borne water

outside the House
Common fuels used for cooking
78.4 percent of the dwelling units in Sri Lanka use fire wood as the fuel for cooking while 18.5
percent use liquid petroleum gas as cooking fuel. Census data shows that compared to the other
districts there is high incidence of use of petroleum gas as cooking fuel in the district of Colombo at
60.5 percent.
Table 12.5: Percentages of dwelling units using fire wood and gas as cooking
fuel by district and sector of residence, 1981 and 2012
Sector/District
Use of Firewood
Use of L.P. Gas
1981
2012
1981
2012
Sri Lanka
94.1
78.4
0.4
18.5
Urban
85.4
35.8
2.2
53.7
Rural
96.6
86.8
0.0
11.6
Estate
90.0
95.0
0.1
3.7
Colombo
82.3
28.8
3.6
60.5
Gampaha
96.3
62.5
0.3
31.0
Kalutara
97.7
77.1
0.1
21.2
Kandy
96.7
80.8
0.2
17.8
Matale
98.1
90.9
0.1
8.4
Nuwara-Eliya
96.4
86.5
0.1
11.2
Galle
97.7
83.6
0.1
15.4
Matara
98.1
86.7
0.1
12.6
Hambantota
98.6
93.0
0.0
6.5
Jaffna
96.5
90.7
0.2
5.2
Mannar
98.4
88.5
0.0
8.5
Vavuniya
96.6
83.0
0.0
12.7
Mullaitivu
97.8
97.5
0.0
0.6
Kilinochchi
96.8
0.7
Batticaloa
97.6
74.6
0.1
20.3
Ampara
97.2
77.4
0.1
16.5
Trincomalee
96.5
82.4
0.1
13.8
Kurunegala
98.2
94.4
0.0
5.2
Puttalam
97.7
87.4
0.0
10.6
Anuradhapura
98.0
91.9
0.0
7.6
Polonnaruwa
97.8
93.7
0.1
5.7
Badulla
97.3
91.5
0.1
7.7
Moneragala
98.6
96.2
0.0
3.2
Ratnapura
98.1
92.7
0.1
6.7
Kegalle
98.3
92.7
0.0
6.8
211|P a g e
In comparing data of census 1981 and census 2012 it is evident that in all the districts in the country,
there is an increased use of petroleum gas with a corresponding decrease in the use of fire wood as
cooking fuel, during this period. However in the districts of Matale, Hambantota, Jaffna, Mullaitivu,
Kilinochchi, Kurunegala, Anuradhapura, Badulla, Polonnaruwa, Moneragala, Ratnapura and Kegalle
the use of fire wood still remains high (above 90 percent) compared to the remaining districts. The
district of Colombo, where 82.3 percent of the dwelling units used fire wood as cooking oil in 1981,
has registered a decrease of same to 28.8 percent in the year 2012. Similarly the use of petroleum gas
has increased from 3.6 percent to 60.5 percent during this period in the Colombo district.
The source of lighting
The popular source of lighting of dwelling units in todays society is electricity. At this present
moment the national grid provides electricity to 87 percent of the houses in Sri Lanka. According to
data the national grid has supplied electricity to 96.8 percent dwelling units in the urban sector while
it is 85.2 percent and 79.9 percent for the rural and estate sectors respectively. From the year 1981 up
to 2012 there has been a considerable increase in the procurement and supply of electricity in the
country which is evident in the increase in use of electricity for lighting in every sector of living in the
country. Further it could be observed that by 2012 the percentage differences in the use of electricity
for lighting between the sectors of living have narrowed considerably.
Diagram 12.3: The use of electricity and kerosene oil for lighting, 1981 and 2012
212|P a g e
According to census 2012, the use of kerosene oil in the country for lighting is 12.2 percent and that is
a considerable decrease from the year 1981. In 1981, a half or 51.8 percent of the dwelling units in the
urban sector used kerosene oil for lighting while in the rural and estate sectors the percentages that
used kerosene for lighting had been 89.6 percent and 86.5 percent respectively. As per census 2012
the use of kerosene oil for lighting in the urban sector has come down to 3.1 percent of the dwelling
units while similar decreases could be witnessed in the other two sectors as well.
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Table 12.6: Percentages of dwelling units that use electricity and kerosene oil for
lighting by district and sector of living, 1981 and 2012
Sector/District
Electricity
Kerosene
1981
2012**
1981
2012
Sri Lanka
14.9
87.0
82.5
12.2
Urban
45.9
96.8
51.8
3.1
Rural
8.3
85.2
89.6
13.8
Estate
5.6
79.9
86.5
19.2
Colombo
45.4
97.7
54.4
2.2
Gampaha
21.8
96.3
78.1
3.6
Kalutara
18.0
93.4
81.8
6.2
Kandy
19.3
92.6
80.6
7.2
Matale
7.1
84.4
92.7
14.8
Nuwara-Eliya
10.1
88.0
89.7
11.8
Galle
12.3
93.7
87.5
6.2
Matara
10.2
93.6
89.7
6.2
5.3
88.3
94.4
11.3
25.6
72.4
74.3
27.3
Mannar
3.9
58.3
94.8
39.8
Vavuniya
5.7
69.7
93.4
28.8
Mullaitivu
2.1
20.5
97.1
72.8
9.8
78.9
Batticaloa
11.6
67.2
88.2
32.4
Ampara
13.4
81.3
86.2
17.9
Trincomalee
11.7
76.2
87.8
23.4
Kurunegala
4.6
85.1
95.2
13.4
10.8
83.7
89.0
15.0
Anuradhapura
6.4
82.8
93.5
16.0
Polonnaruwa
4.7
82.4
95.0
16.7
10.8
85.9
89.0
13.4
Moneragala
3.5
69.4
96.2
27.4
Ratnapura
6.0
82.8
93.7
15.7
Kegalle
5.6
88.2
94.3
11.4
Hambantota
Jaffna
Kilinochchi
Puttalam
Badulla

** Percentage that used the national grid and electricity generated by rural electricity schemes
214|P a g e
The census 2012 information has revealed that 0.6 percent of the dwelling units in the country is using
solar power as the source of lighting. In the district of Kilinochhi, 11.1 percent of the dwelling units
use solar power as their main source of lighting.
Sanitary facilities in dwelling units
In sanitary facilities, it could be observed that the use of water sealed toilet has become very popular
in recent times. During the period from 1981 to 2012 the use of water sealed toilets has increased
from 22.1 percent to 93.6 percent. According to census 2012, 86.7 percent of the dwelling units in Sri
Lanka have a toilet for its own exclusive use while 10.9 percent of the units have shared toilets.
Occupants of 0.7 percent of the dwelling units use public toilets.
Diagram 12.4: Distribution of households with an exclusive toilet by district, 2012
Colombo
Kegalle 100
Ratnapura
Monaragala
Badulla
Gampaha
Kalutara
Kandy
75
Matale
50
Polonnaruwa
NuwaraEliya
25
Anuradhapura
Galle
Puttalam
Matara
Kurunegala
Hambantota
Trincomalee
Jaffna
Ampara
Batticaloa
Killinochchi
Mannar
Vavuniya
Mullativu
During census 1981 dwelling units with no toilet facilities whatsoever were recorded as 33.5 percent
while at census 2012 it is recorded as only 1.7 percent. Nevertheless, this should mean that
numerically 88,280 dwelling units in the country have no toilet facilities. 68 percent of these dwelling
units with no toilet facilities are located in the Northern, Eastern and North- central provinces.
215|P a g e
When this position is considered district wise, it could be observed that in the districts of Mullaitivu
(20.6 percent) and Kilinochchi (21.9 percent) one in every five dwelling units have no toilet facility
while in Batticaloa district one in every eight dwelling units or 12.5 percent have no toilet facilities.
Solid waste disposal
On the subject of solid waste disposal by the dwelling units, it is revealed that majority of the
dwelling units (47.2 percent) burn their solid waste. On the basis of sector of living, in the rural and
estate sectors the dwelling units that burn their waste is 53.9 percent and 50.2 percent respectively. In
totality of the dwelling units in the country burying waste is resorted to by 23.3 percent while disposal
through local government authorities take place in 20.5 percent of the dwelling units. In this midst 7.7
percent of the dwelling units have reported making compost manure from solid waste and this
category is reported at urban, rural an estate sectors at 2.7 percent, 8.8 percent and 7.6 percent
respectively.
The inappropriate practice of releasing solid waste in to waterways/ streams or dumping by the
roadside is carried out mostly by the occupants in estate dwelling (12.8 percent) units. In the district
of Nuwara-Eliya it is reported that 11.7 percent of the waste in dwelling units is either being released
to streams, dumped by the road side or thrown in to the woods.
Table 12.7: Percentages in solid waste disposing avenues by sector of residence, 2012
Solid waste disposal avenues
Sector
Removal by
By burning
By burying
Making
Disposal of
Provincial
Waste
Waste
Compost
Waste in-
Authorities
domestically
domestically
Other
appropriately
to rivers,
highways and
Forests
Sri Lanka
20.5
47.2
23.3
7.7
0.9
0.3
Urban
75.1
16.0
5.6
2.7
0.4
0.3
Rural
9.4
53.9
27.3
8.8
0.3
0.2
Estate
3.2
50.2
22.5
7.6
12.8
3.7
216|P a g e
The use of electronic equipment
Census 2012 collected information on the use of different electronic items that are in use within
dwelling units such as television sets, radios, mobile phones, stationary phones, desktop computers
and laptop computers and accordingly their percentage uses have been recorded as 78.3, 68.9, 78.9,
42.4, 15.0 and 5.6 respectively for the whole island. When this use is analysed on the sector of living
the urban sector invariably recorded high percentages. There is a noticeable difference in the use of
computers between the sectors. Further, in the capacity to avail communication equipment Colombo
district scored high percentage values as against other districts.
Diagram 12.5: Distribution of households use of electronic equipment by sector of residence,

2012
Census 2012, for the first time in history of census, collected information on the capacity of dwelling
units to access the internet. Accordingly it was revealed that 10.9 percent of dwelling units in the
country has capacity to access the internet. When the information was analysed on the sector of
residence; of the total dwelling units, 23.4 percent in the urban sector, 8.6 percent in the rural sector
and 4.1 percent in the estate sector have access to internet. Diagram 12.6 and diagram 12.7 show the
percentages of dwelling units with capacity to access internet on their own and dwelling units that
could access internet through another facility. Accordingly the majority of dwelling units with
capacity to access internet on their own are located in the districts of Colombo, Gampaha and Kandy.
217|P a g e
The highest percentage of dwelling units with ability to access internet through other facilities such as
Nanesala, Internet cafes and other avenues happens to be in the districts of Northern Province.
Diagram 12.6: Distribution of housing units with capacity to access internet on their own by
district, 2012
Diagram 12.7: Distribution of housing units with ability to access internet through other
facilities by district, 2012
218|P a g e
219|P a g e
Enclosures
220|P a g e
221|P a g e
Concepts and definitions

1. Sector
Urban sector - All areas administered by Municipal councils and urban councils comes under
the Urban sector.
Estate sector - Areas comprising of estates of all plantations in extent of 20 acres and above
fall under the Estate sector.
Rural sector - All area in the country that do not come under either urban or estate sectors
belong to the Rural sector.
2. Place of usual residence
Usual place of residence is the place where a person is resident at the time of census and where he
contemplates to reside for the next six months.
E.g. Generally the usual place of resident is the house or the collective household where a
person lives, sleeps and keeps his clothes and other belongings. It is the place from where a person
goes to work and, if a student, he/she would go to school. Although the usual place of resident
invariably is the permanent place of resident as well, it need not necessarily be so always.
3. Dwelling unit and the Householder
Dwelling unit
A dwelling unit could comprise either a single person or a collection of persons. A single dwelling
unit is a situation where a person lives alone, on his own, procuring his meals while a collective
dwelling unit is where two or more persons live among themselves procuring meals collectively. A
dwelling unit may generally comprise the members of a family, i.e. husband, wife, children, and any
other person or persons who live under that common arrangement procuring meals in a common way.
A person who stays with a dwelling unit but procures his meals separately is considered as a separate
dwelling unit.
Householder
222|P a g e
Householder is a person who lives in a dwelling unit and is recognised as the householder or chief
occupant by the rest of the members in the dwelling unit.
4. The date of birth
The enumerating officers are required to note down the year and month of birth of every person.
When the respondent is not aware of either of those the enumerating officers have been instructed to
estimate a persons age either with the help of an elder relative who is acquainted with the ages of the
family members or, in relation to a popular personal or public incident that has taken place within that
persons life time.
5. Marital status
What is considered as marital status is the marital status of a person at the time of the census. If a
persons marriage is registered that person is listed as married (registered). If a person has not
registered his/ her marriage but states that he/she is married such persons are also considered
married (customary). A person is listed as divorced only if that person has obtained a divorce from
a Court of law. If a divorced person has married again such persons are considered as married and
not as divorced. Listing of Legally separated is given to those who live separately with an
arrangement from courts but not divorced. Those who have separated on their own accord with no
arrangement from the courts are listed as not legally separated.
6. Ethnicity
For the purpose of census Sri Lankans could be categorised ethnically as Sinhalese, Sri Lankan Tamil,
Indian Tamil, Sri Lankan moor, Burger, Malay, Sri Lankan Chetty and Indian. All others who do not
fall under any of the above categories have been listed as others. Even though those categorised as
Indian Tamils may have parents who have obtained Sri Lankan citizenship those are so categorised
for the purpose of identification. In the case of ethnically mixed parentage, the child is considered to
be of fathers ethnicity.
7. Citizenship
The census has not listed a persons citizenship to say whether it is by decent or by registration. In
doubtful situations the enumerating officer had been instructed to examine papers and establish the
citizenship of the persons. When the enumerating officers come across persons who are not citizens of
Sri Lanka they are expected to list down the citizenship of such persons.
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8. The district of birth
The district of birth of a person is the district where the mother of that person was normally resident at
the time of his/her birth. If a person was born abroad the country of birth is listed as the district of that
persons birth. In cases involving districts that are demarcated recently the enumerating officers have
been instructed to identify the new boundaries and adopt the new name of the district.
9. Period of residence in the usual place of residence
By period here is meant the time between, the date a person comes to reside in the district where he is
resident at the time of census and the census date.
10. Participation in pre-school, school, University, professional body or vocational training

centre or any other place of learning
Persons who have engaged themselves in an acceptable educational activity during the 30 days
preceding census have been counted under this. Further if a person has not attended the educational
activity due to ill health, vacation or any other such reason, the person is considered as having
followed the course.
Pre-school is a place to which a child is admitted before he attends school and a place where the child
is equipped to take up formal education.
A school is a either a government or private registered educational institution that conducts classes
from grade 1 up to GCE (A/L).
All registered universities (including the Open University) have been treated as universities.
A vocational training/ technical centre is a place that conducts standard vocational training courses
and at the end issues a certificate that enables a person to start employment or self- employment.
Sewing centres and private training institutes that bestow a certificate acceptable to employer and
self-employment programs are categorised under other educational institutes.
11. The highest educational qualification
The highest academic qualification, a person has obtained has been considered under this.
12. Literacy
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Any one of the three common languages in the country, Sinhala, Tamil and English were considered
in this when reference is made to a language. A person is considered capable of reading and writing
in a language if that person could read a language and comprehend the contents of reading and also if
that person could write a short paragraph from that language. The ability to read and write any one of
the three languages to the above level makes a person literate.
13. Computer literacy
If a person could accomplish a task (any task) using a computer with no help from outside (on his
own), that person is considered computer literate. Accordingly if a person could play a computer
game on his own that person is considered computer literate.
14. Labour force
This force is made up of persons above 15 years of age in a population who have the capacity to be
economically active.
15. Economically active general population
This is the population that has been engaged in economic activity during the period under
consideration (in at least half of the 12 month period that preceded census) and those who are
prepared to be engaged in economic activity classed as unemployed during that period. Half of the
12 month period is a period of 26 weeks.
16. Employed
This is the population that has been economically active at least in half of the 12 months preceding
census by engaged in salaried employment and those who are contributing to a family economic
activity without emoluments.
17. Unemployed
The population that is economically not active due to being unemployed but aspire to be employed
during the 12 month period under consideration.
18. Employment status
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The employment status could take the following 4 statuses.
(i) Employed
Those who are engaged in some task in consideration of salary, wages, commission or share of
profits. The payments under above could be monthly, weekly, daily, on piece meal or on proportion
basis. The performance of the services could be on permanent, as a probationer, casual or on contract
basis. Payment need not necessarily be on cash as it could be in kind (by profit or benefit). Depending
on the sector of employment the employees could be sub divided in to Government, Semi government
or Private.
(ii) Employer
A person who engages one or more persons continuously in an industry or business owned by him or
his family by paying them emoluments.
(iii) Self- employed
A person engaged in his own economic activity without employing another, often performing all the
functions by him/her self. Mostly those who have specialised in a trade such as tailor, barber, lottery
ticket seller, welder etc.
(iv) Family worker without emoluments
A person who helps/ contributes in the family business or trade without receiving a particular
emolument as such.
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Census of Population and Housing 2012 Sri Lanka

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What does the document discuss in chapters 4-12?

Census of Population and Housing

Department of Census & Statistics

Dr. A.J. Satharasinghe

2 Administrative Divisions in Sri Lanka

3 The Population Growth, its Distribution and Trends

4 Age Sex Composition of the population

5 Marital status and Fertility

7 National and International Migratory Trends

8 Physically or Mentally Impaired Persons

9 Distribution of population according to Ethnicity and Religion

10 Information on Education in Sri Lanka

11 Economically Active and In- active Persons

12 Information on Occupied Housing Units

Number of training sessions conducted at district level with officers

Districts in the Sri Lanka as at Censuses, 1871 - 2012

Distribution of A.G.A. Divisions, G.S. Divisions and Urban areas by

Province wise and district wise population, 2012

The Population density as per the districts, 1981, 2001and 2012

Population by districts and sectors of residence, 2012

Total population, sex ratio and the percentage of females

Percentage distribution of the total population by five year age groups,

Median age of the population, 1946 - 2012

Sex ratio by ethnicity, 1981 and 2012

Myers Index by sex, 1981, 2001 and 2012

Deviations of complete (total) age from 10.0 percent at terminal digits,

Whipples Index by sex, 1981, 2001 and 2012

Distribution of the population aged 15 years and above by marital status

Percentages of never married persons in the population aged 15 years and

Customary married persons as a percentage of ever married persons by

Percentages of widowed persons, 15 years and above by age and sex,

Number of divorced/ separated persons per 10,000 population aged 15

Mean age at marriage, 1953 - 2012

Mean age at marriage by district, 1981 and 2012

Mean age at marriage by ethnicity, 2012

Percentage of currently married women between 15- 49 years of age,

Percentage distribution of ever married women aged 15 years and

Age specific fertility rates (ASFR), 1981 and 2012

Urban population of the country over time, 1871 - 2012

Urban population by districts, 2012

Population and the population density in Colombo Municipal council

Total population in the Colombo divisional secretariat by the Grama

Total population in the Thimbirigasyaya divisional secretariat by Grama

Life time migrants by the three migratory streams by the district of

Internal Migratory patterns by the district of usual residency and the

In migrants to the District of usual residency and duration of residency,

Numbers of persons living abroad temporarily by sex, age group and

The population temporarily living abroad, by reason for being abroad,

Number of physically or mentally impaired persons per 1000 in the

The educational activity in which physically or mentally impaired persons

Economic activities of the physically or mentally impaired persons, 2012

Distribution of the total Sri Lankan population by ethnicity, 2012

Number of Sri Lankan population (in 1000s) by ethnicity,1911 - 2012

Distribution of ethnicity by provinces (in percentages), 2012

Distribution of population by ethnicity and district, 1981

Distribution of population by ethnicity and district, 2012