Sri Lanka Population Pyramid 1991
Year
1991Sri Lanka in 1991
In 1991, Sri Lanka had a total population of 16,475,353 people. Over the previous ten years the population grew by 9.1%, up from 15,099,414 in 1981.
Half of the population was younger than 23.9 years; 32.1% were children under 15 and 5.8% were 65 or older. This is an expansive pyramid — each cohort of children is larger than the one above it, the signature of high birth rates and rapid growth.
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 | 16,475,354 | 23.9 | |
| Nepal | 20,036,501 | 19.2 | |
| Afghanistan | 12,238,879 | 16.0 | |
| Bhutan | 599,784 | 18.6 | |
| Maldives | 231,802 | 16.4 |





