News
Census captures rising elderly segment and changes in ethnic picture
View(s):By Dilushi Wijesinghe
The 2024 National Census by the Department of Census and Statistics, reveals a rapidly ageing population and notable ethnic shifts.
While the country continues to grow numerically, these structural changes present challenges for economic planning, social policy, and regional development. Sri Lanka’s population has grown from 20.359 million in 2012 to 21.781m in 2024, but behind this growth rate of 0.5% lies a set of profound demographic changes.
The most striking change is the country’s shifting age structure, which indicates that Sri Lanka is moving rapidly toward an ageing society. The proportion of children under 15 years has fallen sharply from 25.2% in 2012 to 20.7% in 2024, a decline of 4.5% in just over a decade. At the same time, the elderly population aged 65 years and above has surged from 7.9% to 12.6%.
Audience members at a workshop organised by the Department of Census and Statistics at the Hotel Mirage in Colombo. Pix by Akila Jayawardena
The working-age population, those between 15 years and 64 years, has dropped slightly, from 66.9% to 66.7%.
The overall national dependency ratio – the proportion of young and elderly dependents relative to the working-age population –rose slightly from 49.4% to 49.8%. This increase masks a sharp decline in the child population and the simultaneous expansion of the elderly population.
District-level figures reveal the disparity in age structures across the country. Matara recorded the highest dependency ratio at 55%, indicating a particularly high burden on the working-age population, whereas Colombo recorded the lowest at 43%. Ethnic composition has also shifted significantly over the past decade. The Sinhalese population fell slightly from 74.9% in 2012 to 74.1% in 2024, while the Sri Lanka Tamil population increased from 11.1% to 12.3%. The Sri Lanka Moor/Muslim community recorded the fastest growth, rising from 9.3 % to 10.5%, while the Indian Tamil or Malaiyaha Thamilar population declined sharply from 4.1% to 2.8%, reflecting a negative annual growth rate of -3.1%.
District-level patterns highlight the complexity of these changes: the numbers of Sinhalese fell in Mannar and Ampara by 1.8% each, while Sri Lanka Tamils surged in Badulla by 6.7% but fell sharply in Mannar by 7.7%. Malaiyaha generally declined across districts, with notable reductions in Nuwara Eliya and Badulla. 
Religious composition has remained broadly stable, although there are notable shifts in specific groups.
Buddhism declined slightly from 70.1% to 69.8%, while Islam recorded the largest proportional growth, rising from 9.7% to 10.7%. Roman Catholicism decreased from 6.2% to 5.6%, and the proportion of Hindus remained constant at 12.6%.
Migration patterns reported in the 2024 Census reveal marriage as the most important factor driving movement. Out of the total 3.167 million –individuals whose usual residence had previously been in a different district or country – 40.6% moved for marriage. This trend was especially dominant in Nuwara Eliya, Matale, and Galle, where marriage accounted for more than half of all migration.
Apart from marriage, 17.1% of individuals migrated for work or job search, 16.2% moved to accompany a family member, and 11.3% relocated to return to permanent residence.
Education accounted for 6.5% of migration, while 3.3% moved due to resettlement after displacement. A smaller proportion of migrants moved due to disasters in their previous residence (1.6%), development projects (1.3%), or for religious purposes (2.1%).
At the district level, patterns vary significantly. In the Northern Province’s Mullaitivu District, as well as in districts across eight other provinces, marriage remains the main reason for migration, with more than 25% of migrants citing it as the main cause.
Employment-driven migration dominates in Colombo (37.5%) and Gampaha (26.1%), while family needs are the leading cause in Trincomalee (22.6%) and also significant in Vavuniya and Mullaitivu (19.6 % each). Returning to permanent residence was most common in Jaffna (25.4%), while education-related migration is highest in Batticaloa (25.3%), Colombo (11.8%), and Kandy (10.6%). Resettlement after displacement remains the main driver in Kilinochchi (49%), Mannar (45.5%), and Jaffna (40.8%). 
Migration due to disasters affected 16.5% in Vavuniya and 11.7% in Mullaitivu, and development projects spurred migration in Ampara (13.3%) and Polonnaruwa (11.8%).
Employment or job searches accounted for 17.1% of migration, dominating economic hubs such as Colombo and Gampaha. Moving to accompany family members accounted for 16.2% of movements, while resettlement after displacement remained significant in the North and East. In Kilinochchi and Mannar, nearly half of all migration was due to resettlement, while Vavuniya and Mullaitivu saw notable movement caused by previous displacement or disasters.
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