Sri Lanka contains 22.2 million people according to the 2022 census. The Sinhalese constitute 74.9% of the population, Sri Lankan Tamils 11.1%, Sri Lankan Moors 9.3%, Indian Tamils 4.1%, with Burghers, Malays, and indigenous Vedda groups forming smaller percentages. The population density reaches 341 people per square kilometer across the 65,610 square kilometer island. Buddhism claims 70.2% of adherents, Hinduism 12.6%, Islam 9.7%, and Christianity 7.4%. The literacy rate stands at 92.6%. Sinhala serves as the official language alongside Tamil, with English functioning as a link language. The median age sits at 33.5 years. Population growth has slowed to 0.42% annually.
The origin narrative of the Sinhalese begins with Prince Vijaya, who tradition places arriving from northern India in 543 BCE, the same year Buddhist texts record the death of the Buddha. The Mahavamsa chronicle, compiled by Buddhist monks in the 5th century CE, describes Vijaya landing at Tambapanni with 700 followers and establishing the first Sinhalese kingdom. Archaeological evidence confirms settlements dating to the 10th century BCE at Anuradhapura, predating the Vijaya legend. The development of hydraulic civilization around tank irrigation systems between 300 BCE and 1200 CE created urban centers supporting populations of several hundred thousand. Genetic studies published in 2019 indicate Sinhalese ancestry derives approximately 72% from northern Indian populations, 16% from Southeast Asian sources, and 12% from indigenous Sri Lankan groups including the Vedda people.
King Devanampiya Tissa ruled Anuradhapura from approximately 247 to 207 BCE. In the third century BCE, Emperor Ashoka of India sent his son Arahat Mahinda to Sri Lanka carrying Buddhism. The Dipavamsa chronicle records Mahinda arriving at Mihintale near Anuradhapura and converting King Devanampiya Tissa. Ashoka's daughter Sanghamitta Theri brought a sapling from the Bodhi tree under which Buddha attained enlightenment. The conversion established Theravada Buddhism as the dominant religion, which shaped political legitimacy for the next 2,300 years. Kings derived authority through their role as protectors of Buddhism and builders of dagobas, the hemispherical structures housing relics.
The hydraulic civilization centered on Anuradhapura reached its zenith between the 3rd century BCE and 10th century CE. Engineers constructed the Abhayagiri Tank in the 1st century BCE, holding 200 million cubic feet of water. The Kalawewa reservoir built by King Dhatusena in the 5th century CE covered 6,380 acres with an embankment stretching 3.5 miles. The Parakrama Samudra tank at Polonnaruwa, completed under King Parakramabahu I who ruled from 1153 to 1186, extends across 5,940 acres. These irrigation systems supported wet rice cultivation in the dry northern plains. The population of Anuradhapura likely exceeded 200,000 at its peak. The Ruwanwelisaya dagoba, constructed by King Dutugemunu around 140 BCE, stands 338 feet tall with a diameter of 950 feet at its base.
King Kashyapa I ruled from 477 to 495 CE after seizing power by murdering his father King Dhatusena. Fearing revenge from his half-brother Moggallana, Kashyapa constructed Sigiriya fortress atop a 660-foot granite monolith. Workers carved a palace complex on the summit accessed through a lion-shaped gateway, from which the name Sigiriya derives – Lion Rock. Artists painted frescoes of 21 female figures on the western rock face at a height of 328 feet. These paintings, dated to approximately 480 CE, represent the only surviving non-religious art from ancient Sri Lanka. The Mirror Wall, a plastered surface reflecting like glass, contains graffiti inscriptions dating from the 8th to 14th centuries. When Moggallana invaded in 495, Kashyapa descended to meet him in battle and died, possibly by suicide. Buddhist monks converted the site to a monastery that remained active until the 14th century.
Invasions from southern India repeatedly disrupted political stability. The Chola dynasty conquered Anuradhapura in 993 CE under Rajaraja I. The Sinhalese capital shifted south to Polonnaruwa, which Chola forces also occupied. King Vijayabahu I expelled the Cholas in 1070 after 26 years of guerrilla warfare. His successor Parakramabahu I, who ruled from 1153 to 1186, unified the entire island under one administration for the first time in centuries. He expanded irrigation networks, constructed the Parakrama Samudra reservoir, and commissioned the Gal Vihara rock temple containing four Buddha statues carved from a single granite cliff. The standing Buddha reaches 23 feet, the seated Buddha 15 feet, and the reclining Buddha depicting parinirvana extends 46 feet. After Parakramabahu's death, renewed Tamil invasions from the Pandyan dynasty weakened Polonnaruwa.
The political center migrated southwest into the wet zone during the 13th century as irrigation systems collapsed in the dry zone. Kingdoms fragmented. The Kingdom of Kotte near present-day Colombo emerged in the 15th century. The Kingdom of Kandy developed in the central highlands. The Jaffna Kingdom controlled the northern peninsula under Tamil rulers tracing descent from the Pandyan and Chola dynasties. These Tamil settlements had established themselves during Chola occupation in the 11th century and developed distinct cultural practices within Sri Lankan civilization.
Portuguese ships commanded by Lourenço de Almeida landed at Galle in 1505. Initial trade agreements deteriorated into conquest. By 1597, Portuguese forces controlled the coastal lowlands and had seized Kotte. They introduced Roman Catholicism, with missionary activity concentrated along the western and southern coasts. Catholic conversion reached approximately 10% of the lowland population. The Portuguese established a cinnamon monopoly. The Kingdom of Kandy in the highlands maintained independence, with geography providing natural defenses.
The Dutch East India Company displaced the Portuguese between 1638 and 1658 with assistance from the Kingdom of Kandy. The Dutch established administrative headquarters at Colombo. They introduced Roman-Dutch law that influenced Sri Lankan legal codes until the 20th century. The Dutch Reformed Church replaced Catholicism as the official religion in Dutch-controlled areas. The Dutch established schools teaching literacy in Tamil and Sinhala. Coffee cultivation expanded. The Dutch population mixed with Portuguese Burghers and local populations, creating a distinct Burgher community speaking a Portuguese creole despite Dutch rule. The Dutch controlled coastal regions while Kandy maintained independence until British conquest.
The British captured coastal areas from the Dutch in 1796 during the Napoleonic Wars. The 1815 Kandyan Convention formally ended the Kingdom of Kandy's independence after British forces captured King Sri Vikrama Rajasinha. The entire island came under unified British administration as Ceylon, a crown colony from 1802. The British established coffee plantations in the central highlands. When coffee leaf rust fungus devastated plantations in the 1870s, estates converted to tea cultivation. Between 1840 and 1940, the British imported approximately one million Tamil laborers from southern India to work plantations. These Indian Tamils formed a distinct community from the northern Sri Lankan Tamils who had resided on the island for centuries. The British built 1,530 kilometers of railway connecting Colombo to Kandy, the hill country, and Jaffna. English-language schools created an English-educated elite. Constitutional reforms beginning with the 1912 Ceylon National Congress initiated gradual movement toward self-government.