Tamil Eelam - Political Divisions and Demographics

Political Divisions and Demographics

In the 1881 census, Sri Lankan Tamils numbered 687,200 constituting 25% of the total population.The Tamil-speaking Muslim community who used to live largely in the Northern and the Eastern provinces comprised another 6% of the population.

Following the independence which saw large scale movements in search of better economic opportunities all over the country and the several state sponsored Sinhala colonization in Tamil territories, the demographics of the state had been heavily altered.

The three decade Civil war that followed the anti-Tamil policies further affected the North and the East with over 80,000-100,000 people estimated to have been killed and over 400,000 Tamils fleeing their homes for refuge.Many people still live in IDP camps in the North and the East and the present-day demographics of the region has been changing due to more and more Sinhalese settling in these territories.

Province District Population % Sri Lankan Tamil % Indian Tamil % Sri Lankan Moor Sinhalese
Northern Province Jaffna District 831,112 97% 0.4% 1.6% 0.5%
Kilinochchi District 91,641 97% 1.7% 0.8%
Mannar District 106,940 63.7% 26.6% 8.1%
Mullaitivu District 77,152 89.8% 4.8% 5%
Vavuniya District 95,904 76.2% 6.9% 16.5%
Eastern Province Amparai District 388,970 20.0% 0.36% 41.5% 37.7%
Batticaloa District 330,333 72% 0.1% 23% 3.4%
Trincomalee District 255,948 36.4% 0.1% 29.3% 33.4%
North-Western Province Puthalam district 709,677 6.8% 0.3% 18.8% 73.7%
  • 1981 Census report

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