Languages spoken in Sri Lanka
Asia · Capital: Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte · Population 22 million
In Sri Lanka, two languages have official status: Sinhala and Tamil. Sinhala is the most widely spoken language, with an estimated 68% of the population speaking it as a first or additional language, or roughly 14.9 million people. After Sinhala, the most widely spoken are Tamil at 15% and English at 10%. Sinhala belongs to the Indo-European language family. In total, three languages are recorded in Sri Lanka, and their shares add up to 93% of the population, which implies the average resident speaks about 0.9 of them.
What languages are spoken in Sri Lanka?
| Language | Share of population | Status | Estimated speakers |
|---|---|---|---|
| SinhalaIndo-European | 68% | Official | 14.9 million |
| TamilDravidian | 15% | Official | 3.3 million |
| EnglishIndo-European | 10% | Spoken | 2.2 million |
Percentages are the share of the population that speaks each language, including as a second language, so they add up to well over 100% in multilingual countries. Speaker counts are estimates derived from the percentage and the country's population, not counted figures.
What is the official language of Sri Lanka?
In Sri Lanka, two languages have official status: Sinhala and Tamil. Sinhala is spoken by an estimated 68% of the population, or roughly 14.9 million people, counting both first-language and additional speakers.
Official status comes from Unicode CLDR. It distinguishes languages that are official nationwide, those used as de facto official without being named in law, and those official only in particular regions or territories.
How many people speak Sinhala in Sri Lanka?
An estimated 68% of Sri Lanka's 22 million people speak Sinhala, which works out at roughly 14.9 million speakers. That figure is derived from the population and the reported share, and it counts second-language speakers, so it is an estimate rather than a census count.
Key facts about Sri Lanka
- Capital
- Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte and Colombo
- Population
- 22 million
- Continent
- Asia
- Area
- 65,610 km²
- Currency
- LKR
- Languages recorded
- 3
- Land borders
- None
- ISO codes
- LK / LKA / 144
Explore more
Language shares, population, and official status: Unicode CLDR. Capital, area, borders, and currency: mledoze/countries (ODbL 1.0). Flag image: flagcdn.com. Speaker counts are estimates derived from population and reported share.