Sri Lanka Population Pyramid 1970
Year
1970Sri Lanka in 1970
The population of Sri Lanka in 1970 was 12,287,110. A decade earlier, in 1960, the population was 9,661,389; it has grown by 27.2% since.
Half of the population was younger than 20.0 years; 39.7% were children under 15 and 3.8% were 65 or older. The pyramid is expansive: its wide base of young cohorts reflects high fertility and a rapidly growing population.
Data source: United Nations World Population Prospects, 2024 revision (medium variant) — last updated July 2024.
In 2023 women in Sri Lanka had on average 1.97 children, below the replacement level of 2.1.
Source: World Bank World Development Indicators, latest available year.
Life expectancy at birth was 77.5 years in 2023: 80.6 for women and 74.2 for men.
Source: World Bank World Development Indicators, latest available year.
38,716 immigrants live in Sri Lanka, 0.2% of the population.
| India | 10,957 |
| Italy | 5,226 |
| China | 2,509 |
| Kuwait | 1,772 |
| United Arab Emirates | 1,707 |
1,491,939 people born in Sri Lanka live in other countries.
| India | 253,869 |
| Qatar | 161,747 |
| United Kingdom | 160,178 |
| Australia | 156,876 |
| Canada | 140,870 |
Source: United Nations International Migrant Stock 2024.
| Country | Population | Median age | Relative size |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sri Lanka | 12,287,110 | 20.0 | |
| Nepal | 12,436,190 | 19.7 | |
| Afghanistan | 11,290,128 | 18.1 | |
| Bhutan | 308,528 | 19.3 | |
| Maldives | 123,219 | 17.4 |





