Explain the Ethnic Composition of Sri Lanka

Answer: Sri Lanka, once Ceylon and now the Social Democratic Republic of Sri Lanka, is a South Asian island nation.

It is located in the Indian Ocean, southwestern part of the Bay of Bengal and southeast of the Arabian Sea, with the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait separating it from the Indian subcontinent. India and the Maldives have a maritime boundary with Sri Lanka.

Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte serves as the country’s legislative capital, while Colombo serves as the country’s main metropolis and financial center.

Sri Lanka’s population is diverse. The majority of the population (74%) is Sinhalese, with Tamils (18%), who are largely situated in the north and east of the islands, constituting the largest ethnic minority.

Muslims are one of the other groups. There are two sub-groups of Tamils. The country’s Tamil residents are known as ‘Sri Lankan Tamils’ (13 percent ).

The ‘Indian Origin Tamils’ are Tamils who were brought from India as indentured labourers to work on estate plantations by British colonists (5 percent ).

The majority of Sinhala speakers are Buddhists, while the majority of Tamils are Hindus or Muslims. Christians, both Tamil, and Sinhalese make up around 7% of the population.

In short,

• 74 percent speak Sinhala
• 18 percent speak Tamil
• Tamil speakers were separated into two groups Srilankan Tamils and Indian Tamils (13 percent of Srilankan Tamils and 5% of Indian Tamils).