Administrative divisions of Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka is divided into 25 first-level administrative divisions:
Largest cities in Sri Lanka
| # | City | Population |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jaffna | 250,000 |
| 2 | ColomboCapital | 217,000 |
| 3 | Moratuwa | 200,000 |
| 4 | Batticaloa | 129,222 |
| 5 | Anuradhapura | 118,302 |
| 6 | Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte | 115,826 |
| 7 | Kandy | 111,701 |
| 8 | Trincomalee | 108,420 |
| 9 | Kilinochchi | 103,717 |
| 10 | Galle | 99,478 |
Jaffna is the largest urban area in Sri Lanka with about 250,000 people; the capital, Colombo, has about 217,000.
Terrain, rivers & lakes
Highest terrain in Sri Lanka: ≈ 2,515 m — read from the global elevation model, so summit heights are approximate. The physical map paints elevation bands from green lowlands to brown highlands.
🌊 Rivers
- Mahaweli
🏞️ Lakes
- Lake
- Senanayake Samudra
Ethnic groups in Sri Lanka
Sinhalese 74.9%, Sri Lankan Tamil 11.2%, Sri Lankan Moors 9.2%, Indian Tamil 4.2%, other 0.5% (2012 est.)
Regionally, Sinhalese is the most common ethnic group across most of the 25 divisions, while Sri Lankan Tamil predominates in 6 divisions (Yāpanaya, Kilinŏchchi, Mulativ, Mannārama, Vavuniyāva, Maḍakalapuva); Sri Lankan Moors predominates in 2 divisions (Trikuṇāmalaya, Ampāra); Indian Tamil predominates in 1 division (Nuvara Ĕliya).
Source: CIA World Factbook (2012 est.) · regional dominance compiled by Glostats from censuses and surveys
Religions in Sri Lanka
Buddhist (official) 70.2%, Hindu 12.6%, Muslim 9.7%, Roman Catholic 6.1%, other Christian 1.3%, other 0.05% (2012 est.)
Regionally, Buddhist is the most common religious group across most of the 25 divisions, while Hindu predominates in 6 divisions (Yāpanaya, Kilinŏchchi, Mulativ, Vavuniyāva, Maḍakalapuva, Nuvara Ĕliya); Muslim predominates in 2 divisions (Trikuṇāmalaya, Ampāra); Roman Catholic predominates in 1 division (Mannārama).
Source: CIA World Factbook (2012 est.) · regional dominance compiled by Glostats from censuses and surveys
Languages in Sri Lanka
Sinhala (official) 87%, Tamil (official) 28.5%, English 23.8% (2012 est.)
Regionally, Sinhala is the most common language group across most of the 25 divisions, while Tamil predominates in 9 divisions (Yāpanaya, Kilinŏchchi, Mulativ, Mannārama, Vavuniyāva, Maḍakalapuva, …).
Source: CIA World Factbook (2012 est.) · regional dominance compiled by Glostats from censuses and surveys
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VietnamSources: boundaries, cities, rivers and lakes from Natural Earth (public domain, 1:10m); elevation from the AWS Open Data terrain tiles (SRTM/GMTED); ethnic, religious and language shares from the CIA World Factbook; regional dominance compiled by Glostats from national censuses and surveys. Page generated 2026-10-19. More about our data.