Religion
Most Sinhalese are Buddhist; most Tamils are Hindu; and the Moors and Malays are mostly Muslim. Sizeable minorities of both Sinhalese and Tamils are Christians, most of whom are Roman Catholic. The Burgher population is mostly Roman Catholic or Presbyterian. The Veddahs have Animist and Buddhist practices. The 1978 constitution, while assuring freedom of religion, grants primacy to Buddhism.
| Year | Buddhist | Hindu | Muslim | Christian | Others | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | No. | ||
| 1881 Census | 1,698,100 | 61.53% | 593,600 | 21.51% | 197,800 | 7.17% | 268,000 | 9.71% | 2,300 | 0.08% | 2,759,800 | |
| 1891 Census | 1,877,000 | 62.40% | 615,900 | 20.48% | 212,000 | 7.05% | 302,100 | 10.04% | 800 | 0.03% | 3,007,800 | |
| 1901 Census | 2,141,400 | 60.06% | 826,800 | 23.19% | 246,100 | 6.90% | 349,200 | 9.79% | 2,500 | 0.07% | 3,566,000 | |
| 1911 Census | 2,474,200 | 60.25% | 938,300 | 22.85% | 283,600 | 6.91% | 409,200 | 9.96% | 1,100 | 0.03% | 4,106,400 | |
| 1921 Census | 2,769,800 | 61.57% | 982,100 | 21.83% | 302,500 | 6.72% | 443,400 | 9.86% | 800 | 0.02% | 4,498,600 | |
| 1931 Estimate | 3,266,600 | 61.55% | 1,166,900 | 21.99% | 354,200 | 6.67% | 518,100 | 9.76% | 1,100 | 0.02% | 5,306,900 | |
| 1946 Census | 4,294,900 | 64.51% | 1,320,400 | 19.83% | 436,600 | 6.56% | 603,200 | 9.06% | 2,200 | 0.03% | 6,657,300 | |
| 1953 Census | 5,209,400 | 64.33% | 1,610,500 | 19.89% | 541,500 | 6.69% | 724,400 | 8.95% | 12,100 | 0.15% | 8,097,900 | |
| 1963 Census | 7,003,300 | 66.18% | 1,958,400 | 18.51% | 724,000 | 6.84% | 884,900 | 8.36% | 11,400 | 0.11% | 10,582,000 | |
| 1971 Census | 8,536,800 | 67.27% | 2,238,600 | 17.64% | 901,700 | 7.11% | 1,004,300 | 7.91% | 8,400 | 0.07% | 12,689,800 | |
| 1981 Census | 10,288,300 | 69.30% | 2,297,800 | 15.48% | 1,121,700 | 7.56% | 1,130,600 | 7.62% | 8,300 | 0.06% | 14,846,700 | |
| 2001 Census | ||||||||||||
| 2012 Census | 14,222,844 | 70.19% | 2,554,606 | 12.61% | 1,967,227 | 9.71% | 1,509,606 | 7.45% | 9,440 | 0.05% | 20,263,723 | |
Read more about this topic: Demographics Of Sri Lanka
Famous quotes containing the word religion:
“They live together without king, without government, and each is his own master.... Beyond the fact that they have no church, no religion and are not idolaters, what more can I say? They live according to nature, and may be called Epicureans rather than Stoics.”
—Amerigo Vespucci (1454–1512)
“A chaplain is the minister of the Prince of Peace serving the host of the God of War—Mars. As such, he is as incongruous as a musket would be on the altar at Christmas. Why, then, is he there? Because he indirectly subserves the purpose attested by the cannon; because too he lends the sanction of the religion of the meek to that which practically is the abrogation of everything but brute Force.”
—Herman Melville (1819–1891)
“I never saw, heard, nor read, that the clergy were beloved in any nation where Christianity was the religion of the country. Nothing can render them popular, but some degree of persecution.”
—Jonathan Swift (1667–1745)