Country: Sri Lanka South Asia PeoplesSouth Asia Peoples website

Number of People Groups

149

People Groups Unreached

64 (43.0%)

Progress Level

Progress Gauge

Total
Population

21,797,000

Population in Unreached

3,391,000 (15.6%)

Largest Religion

% Christian Adherent *

7.62%

% Evangelical

Unknown

Evangelical Annual Growth Rate

2.3%
* Data can be from various sources including official census, agencies, and local research. Data from these sources can sometimes differ even by orders of magnitude. Joshua Project attempts to present a conservative, balanced estimate.
Map Notes

Click column headings for sorting ▲▼
Photo People Group Population
this Country
Global
Population
Indigenous Primary Language Primary Religion Progress
Scale
% Christian
Adherent *
% Evangelical Est. Workers
Needed *
 Adi Andhra 800 346,000 Telugu Hinduism ☀︎ 0.00 % 0.00 % 1
Agamudaiyan Nattaman 8,800 754,000 Tamil Hinduism 14.65 % -
 Agamudaiyan unspecified 9,900 303,000 Tamil Hinduism 13.59 % -
Ahinkuntaya 62,000 62,000 Sinhala Buddhism 6.52 % -
 Ambalavasi 16,000 195,000 Tamil Hinduism 14.98 % -
Ambattan 16,000 16,000 Tamil Hinduism 14.49 % -
 Ansari 1,000 17,148,000 Urdu Islam ☀︎ 0.00 % 0.00 % 1
 Arab 5,300 769,000 Arabic, Mesopotamian Islam ☀︎ 0.00 % 0.00 % 1
Badahala 116,000 116,000 Sinhala Buddhism 7.52 % -
 Bania Chetti 6,400 834,000 Tamil Hinduism ☀︎ 0.00 % 0.00 % 1
 Bania unspecified 10,000 19,538,000 Tamil Hinduism ☀︎ 0.00 % 0.00 % 1
 Batgama 386,000 386,000 Sinhala Buddhism 1.48 % 8
 Bengali Muslim Moghal 1,200 3,414,000 Urdu Islam ☀︎ 0.00 % 0.00 % 1
Berava 378,000 378,000 Sinhala Buddhism 6.56 % -
Bharathar (Christian traditions) 2,300 45,000 Tamil Christianity 100.00 % -
 Bharathar (Hindu traditions) 600 15,000 Tamil Hinduism ☀︎ 0.00 % 0.00 % 1
Bintanna 6,900 6,900 Sinhala Buddhism 5.05 % -
Bodhivansha 15,000 15,000 Sinhala Buddhism 6.02 % -
 Bohra 2,000 1,257,000 Gujarati Islam ☀︎ 0.00 % 0.00 % 1
 Boya 17,000 4,535,000 Tamil Hinduism 14.00 % -
Brahmin Indian Tamil 32,000 32,000 Tamil Hinduism 0.45 % 1
 Brahmin unspecified 4,700 39,620,000 Tamil Hinduism 0.22 % 1
 Burgher 53,000 53,000 Sinhala Christianity 87.06 % -
Chakkiliyan (Christian traditions) 4,900 138,000 Tamil Christianity 100.00 % -
 Chakkiliyan (Hindu traditions) 27,000 994,000 Tamil Hinduism 0.12 % 1
  Totals:  149 21,797,000         64 7.62 % 0.00 % 111 
  Unclassified / Other Individuals 152,000                
  UN Country Population (2024) 21,949,000                
Click column headings for sorting ▲▼
Province Population People Groups Unreached
Groups
% Unreached
Peoples
Population
in Unreached
% Population
Unreached
Districts
Central 2,716,000 139 60 43.2 % 678,000 25.0 % 3
Eastern 1,647,000 119 44 37.0 % 652,000 39.6 % 3
North Central 1,339,000 88 35 39.8 % 174,000 13.0 % 2
North Western 2,516,000 111 45 40.5 % 412,000 16.4 % 2
Northern 1,148,000 91 36 39.6 % 105,000 9.1 % 5
Sabaragamuwa 2,045,000 130 56 43.1 % 288,000 14.1 % 2
Southern 2,625,000 120 44 36.7 % 105,000 4.0 % 3
Uva 1,350,000 126 52 41.3 % 223,000 16.5 % 2
Western 6,412,000 138 55 39.9 % 859,000 13.4 % 3
Country:   21,797,000 149 64 43.0 % 3,391,000 15.6 % 25
Click column headings for sorting ▲▼
Language Code # Peoples
w/ this Primary
Language
# Unreached
w/ this Primary
Language
Scripture
Status
YouVersion
Bible
Resources
Faith Comes
By Hearing
Bible Resources
Jesus Film
Online
Global
Recordings
Resources
Gospel
Tract
Online
Arabic, Mesopotamian acm 1 1 New Testament
Gujarati guj 2 2 Complete Bible
Hindi hin 1 1 Complete Bible
Japanese jpn 1 1 Complete Bible
Javanese jav 1 1 Complete Bible
Konkani knn 1 0 Complete Bible
Malayalam mal 2 1 Complete Bible
Maldivian div 1 1 Bible Portions
Morisyen mfe 1 0 New Testament
Punjabi, Eastern pan 1 1 Complete Bible
Punjabi, Western pnb 2 2 New Testament
Sindhi snd 1 1 Complete Bible
Sinhala sin 45 16 Complete Bible
Sri Lankan Malay Creole sci 1 1 Translation Started
Sri Lankan Sign Language sqs 1 0 Bible Portions
Tamil tam 81 30 Complete Bible
Telugu tel 3 3 Complete Bible
Unknown xxx 1 0 Unspecified
Urdu urd 2 2 Complete Bible
Totals: 19 149 64   15 15 16 16 13
Networking Possibilities

Search the Web
There are many agencies and churches looking for additional staff to help them in their mission and calling in Sri Lanka. Internet searches are probably the best way to find these organizations. The following are some example search topics you might try:

  • Church planting agencies in Sri Lanka
  • Christian ministry in Sri Lanka
  • Business as mission
  • Christian literature distribution
  • Evangelism agencies
  • Christian discipleship
  • Short term Christian missions
  • Long term Christian missions
  • Urban ministries
  • Christian media opportunities
  • Bible translation opportunities
  • Relief and development agencies
  • Clean water projects
  • Christian medical outreaches

Sri Lanka Statistics
People Groups 149
Unreached People Groups 64  (43.0%)
Population 21,797,000
Population Annual Growth Rate 0.5%
Population in Unreached 3,391,000  (15.6%)
Primary Religion Buddhism
Percent Christian Adherent 7.6%
Percent Evangelical Unknown
Evangelical Annual Growth Rate 2.3%
Pioneer Workers Needed * 111
Country Progress Level 2
Urbanization 19%
Continent Asia
Region Asia, South
10/40 Window Yes
Country Code CE
Official Language(s) SinhalaEnglish
Literacy Rate 95%
Estimated Illiterate Population 1,090,000
Persecution Ranking Not ranked


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