Largest Cities in Sri Lanka 2026: Population Ranking

Sri Lanka's cities at a glance

Updated October 2026

Dots sized by population · Colombo in orange

Sri Lanka has 11 with more than 100,000 (city-proper figures). The largest is Colombo with 648,034 people, followed by Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia (219,827) and Maharagama (195,355). The three largest cities together hold about 4.5% of the country's 23.4 million people.

The capital, Colombo, is also the largest city.

By region, the most large cities are in Western Province (12), Southern Province (5), Northern Province (4).

Country-level figures — live population, births and deaths, growth, density and history — are on the Sri Lanka population page; provinces, terrain, rivers and society maps are in the Sri Lanka atlas.

Sri Lanka cities by population

30 cities · GeoNames · city proper

#	City	Region	Population	Share of Sri Lanka
1	ColomboCapital	Western Province	648,034	2.8%
2	Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia	Western Province	219,827	0.9%
3	Maharagama	Western Province	195,355	0.8%
4	Jaffna	Northern Province	169,102	0.7%
5	Moratuwa	Western Province	168,280	0.7%
6	Negombo	Western Province	137,223	0.6%
7	Pita Kotte	Western Province	118,179	0.5%
8	Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte	Western Province	115,826	0.5%
9	Kandy	Central Province	111,701	0.5%
10	Trincomalee	Eastern Province	108,420	0.5%
11	Kalmunai	Eastern Province	100,171	0.4%
12	Galle	Southern Province	93,118	0.4%
13	Point Pedro	Northern Province	89,810	0.4%
14	Batticaloa	Eastern Province	86,742	0.4%
15	Katunayaka	Western Province	84,643	0.4%
16	Ambalantota	Southern Province	80,506	0.3%
17	Valvedditturai	Northern Province	78,205	0.3%
18	Matara	Southern Province	76,254	0.3%
19	Battaramulla South	Western Province	75,633	0.3%
20	Dambulla	Central Province	66,716	0.3%
21	Kolonnawa	Western Province	64,887	0.3%
22	Kotikawatta	Western Province	64,565	0.3%
23	Anuradhapura	North Central Province	60,943	0.3%
24	Vavuniya	Northern Province	60,176	0.3%
25	Beliatta	Southern Province	58,675	0.3%
26	Hendala	Western Province	56,978	0.2%
27	Ambalangoda	Southern Province	56,783	0.2%
28	Ratnapura	Sabaragamuwa Province	47,832	0.2%
29	Badulla	Uva Province	47,587	0.2%
30	Pottuvil	Eastern Province	45,727	0.2%

Cities with 300,000 or more people link to their own page. The list keeps every city of 100,000+ and at least the 30 largest places of the country.

Frequently asked questions

What is the largest city in Sri Lanka?

Colombo, with about 648,034 inhabitants (city proper).

What is the capital of Sri Lanka?

Colombo — population 648,034, the largest city in the country.

How many cities in Sri Lanka have over one million people?

None — the largest, Colombo, has 648,034 people.

Are these metropolitan-area populations?

No. They are city-proper figures (the administrative city) from GeoNames, based on the latest census or official estimate. Metropolitan areas, which include suburbs and satellite towns, are larger — often several times larger for the biggest cities.

Explore more

📊 Sri Lanka population & statistics 🗺️ Sri Lanka atlas 🌍 Largest cities in the world

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APA

Glostats. (2026). Largest Cities in Sri Lanka 2026: Population Ranking. Retrieved October 20, 2026, from https://glostats.com/cities/sri-lanka/

HTML<a href="https://glostats.com/cities/sri-lanka/">Largest Cities in Sri Lanka 2026: Population Ranking</a> — Glostats

Figures on this page may be quoted, charted or republished as long as the page is credited with a link. Terms · Download the data as CSV · Embed a live counter.

City populations are GeoNames figures (CC BY 4.0): the latest official census or estimate for the city proper — the municipality, not the wider metropolitan area — so they can differ from "metro area" numbers you see elsewhere. Country populations are live Glostats estimates from the UN World Population Prospects. Page generated 2026-10-20. More about our data.