Sri Lanka - Population, total

The value for Population, total in Sri Lanka was 21,919,000 as of 2020. As the graph below shows, over the past 60 years this indicator reached a maximum value of 21,919,000 in 2020 and a minimum value of 9,874,476 in 1960.

Definition: Total population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship. The values shown are midyear estimates.

Source: (1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2019 Revision. (2) Census reports and other statistical publications from national statistical offices, (3) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, (4) United Nations Statistical Division. Popu

See also:

Year Value
1960 9,874,476
1961 10,111,640
1962 10,352,180
1963 10,597,520
1964 10,849,980
1965 11,110,830
1966 11,380,670
1967 11,657,650
1968 11,937,610
1969 12,214,950
1970 12,485,740
1971 12,747,830
1972 13,002,230
1973 13,252,030
1974 13,501,930
1975 13,755,140
1976 14,012,890
1977 14,273,500
1978 14,533,690
1979 14,788,870
1980 15,035,840
1981 15,272,820
1982 15,501,210
1983 15,724,640
1984 15,948,500
1985 16,176,280
1986 16,408,860
1987 16,643,960
1988 16,878,190
1989 17,106,750
1990 17,325,770
1991 17,535,730
1992 17,736,830
1993 17,924,830
1994 18,094,470
1995 18,242,920
1996 18,367,290
1997 18,470,900
1998 18,564,600
1999 18,663,290
2000 18,777,610
2001 18,911,730
2002 19,062,480
2003 19,224,040
2004 19,387,150
2005 19,544,990
2006 19,695,980
2007 19,842,040
2008 19,983,980
2009 20,123,510
2010 20,261,740
2011 20,398,500
2012 20,425,000
2013 20,585,000
2014 20,778,000
2015 20,970,000
2016 21,203,000
2017 21,444,000
2018 21,670,000
2019 21,803,000
2020 21,919,000

Development Relevance: Increases in human population, whether as a result of immigration or more births than deaths, can impact natural resources and social infrastructure. This can place pressure on a country's sustainability. A significant growth in population will negatively impact the availability of land for agricultural production, and will aggravate demand for food, energy, water, social services, and infrastructure. On the other hand, decreasing population size - a result of fewer births than deaths, and people moving out of a country - can impact a government's commitment to maintain services and infrastructure.

Limitations and Exceptions: Current population estimates for developing countries that lack (i) reliable recent census data, and (ii) pre- and post-census estimates for countries with census data, are provided by the United Nations Population Division and other agencies. The cohort component method - a standard method for estimating and projecting population - requires fertility, mortality, and net migration data, often collected from sample surveys, which can be small or limited in coverage. Population estimates are from demographic modeling and so are susceptible to biases and errors from shortcomings in both the model and the data. In the UN estimates the five-year age group is the cohort unit and five-year period data are used; therefore interpolations to obtain annual data or single age structure may not reflect actual events or age composition. Because future trends cannot be known with certainty, population projections have a wide range of uncertainty.

Statistical Concept and Methodology: Population estimates are usually based on national population censuses. Estimates for the years before and after the census are interpolations or extrapolations based on demographic models. Errors and undercounting occur even in high-income countries. In developing countries errors may be substantial because of limits in the transport, communications, and other resources required to conduct and analyze a full census. The quality and reliability of official demographic data are also affected by public trust in the government, government commitment to full and accurate enumeration, confidentiality and protection against misuse of census data, and census agencies' independence from political influence. Moreover, comparability of population indicators is limited by differences in the concepts, definitions, collection procedures, and estimation methods used by national statistical agencies and other organizations that collect the data. The currentness of a census and the availability of complementary data from surveys or registration systems are objective ways to judge demographic data quality. Some European countries' registration systems offer complete information on population in the absence of a census. The United Nations Statistics Division monitors the completeness of vital registration systems. Some developing countries have made progress over the last 60 years, but others still have deficiencies in civil registration systems. International migration is the only other factor besides birth and death rates that directly determines a country's population growth. Estimating migration is difficult. At any time many people are located outside their home country as tourists, workers, or refugees or for other reasons. Standards for the duration and purpose of international moves that qualify as migration vary, and estimates require information on flows into and out of countries that is difficult to collect. Population projections, starting from a base year are projected forward using assumptions of mortality, fertility, and migration by age and sex through 2050, based on the UN Population Division's World Population Prospects database medium variant.

Aggregation method: Sum

Periodicity: Annual

General Comments: Relevance to gender indicator: disaggregating the population composition by gender will help a country in projecting its demand for social services on a gender basis.

Classification

Topic: Health Indicators

Sub-Topic: Population