People of Sri Lanka

Major Ethnic Groups: Sinhalese, Tamils

Professed Religions: Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Christianity

Distribution

The absolute majority is constituted by the Sinhalese who are concentrated in the southern, western, central, and north-central parts of the nation. In the rural areas of the Wet Zone lowlands more than 95 % of the population belong to this community. The Sinhalese profess Buddhism. The Sri Lankan Tamils are concentrated in the Jaffna Peninsula and in the nearby districts of the northern lowlands as well as the eastern littorals. The main Muslim concentrations occur in the eastern lowlands. They form a small but valuable portion of the urban and suburban population in other areas like Colombo, Kandy, Puttalam, and Gampaha. The agglomeration of the Indian Tamils, a majority of whom are plantation workers transported by the British, is in the higher areas of the Central Highlands. Besides, the population also consists of Moors, Burghers Malays and Veddas