Sri Lanka people groups, languages and religions

Country: Sri Lanka South Asia Peoples website

Number of People Groups

161

People Groups Unreached

73 (45.3%)

Progress Level

The Joshua Project Progress Scale is an estimate of the progress of church planting among a people group, people cluster, country or language. The Progress Scale is derived from people group values for percent Evangelical and percent Christian Adherent.

Level	Description	Criteria
1	Unreached - Few evangelicals and few who identify as Christians. Little, if any, history of Christianity.	Evangelicals <= 2% Professing Christians <= 5%
2	Minimally reached - Few evangelicals, but significant number who identify as Christians.	Evangelicals <= 2% Professing Christians > 5% and <= 50%
3	Superficially reached - Few evangelicals, but many who identify as Christians. In great need of spiritual renewal and commitment to biblical faith.	Evangelicals <= 2% Professing Christians > 50%
4	Partially reached - Evangelicals have a modest presence.	Evangelicals > 2% and <= 10%
5	Significantly reached - Evangelicals have a significant presence.	Evangelicals > 10%

Total
Population

21,344,000

Population in Unreached

3,145,000 (14.7%)

Largest Religion

Buddhism (70.1%)

% Christian Adherent *

7.67%

% Evangelical

Unknown

Evangelical Annual Growth Rate

2.3%

(Global Rate = 2.6%)

* From latest Sri Lanka census data. Current values may differ.

Map Notes

Click column headings for sorting ▲▼

Progress Scale: ●●●●●
☀
= Frontier peoples
People Group ▲	Population this Country	Global Population	Indigenous	Primary Language	Primary Religion	Progress Scale	% Christian Adherent *	% Evangelical	Est. Workers Needed **
Adi Andhra	800	354,000	●	Telugu	Hinduism	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Agamudaiyan Nattaman	8,700	731,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	14.65 %	-1	-1 -
Agamudaiyan unspecified	9,200	262,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	13.59 %	-1	-1 -
Ahinkuntaya	61,000	61,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	2 ●	6.52 %	-1	-1 -
Ambalavasi	16,000	197,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	14.98 %	-1	-1 -
Ambattan	15,000	15,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	14.49 %	-1	-1 -
Ansari	1,000	17,104,000	●	Urdu	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Arab	5,200	705,000		Arabic, Mesopotamian Spoken	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Arain (Muslim traditions)	600	10,928,000	●	Punjabi, Western	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Badahala	115,000	115,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	2 ●	7.52 %	-1	-1 -
Baloch	900	2,404,000	●	Urdu	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Bania Chetti	6,400	834,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Bania unspecified	9,600	16,822,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Banjara (Hindu traditions)	800	7,064,000	●	Hindi	Hinduism	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Batgama	382,000	382,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	1 ●	1.48 %	-1	8
Berava	374,000	374,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	2 ●	6.56 %	-1	-1 -
Bharathar (Christian traditions)	1,400	46,000	●	Tamil	Christianity	3 ●	100.00 %	-1	-1 -
Bharathar (Hindu traditions)	400	14,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Bintanna	6,800	6,800	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	2 ●	5.05 %	-1	-1 -
Bodhivansha	15,000	15,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	2 ●	6.02 %	-1	-1 -
Bohra	2,000	1,296,000	●	Gujarati	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Boya	17,000	4,424,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	14.00 %	-1	-1 -
Brahmin Indian Tamil	32,000	32,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	1 ●	0.45 %	-1	1
Brahmin unspecified	4,400	34,394,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	1 ●	0.22 %	-1	1
Burgher	46,000	46,000	●	Sinhala	Christianity	3 ●	87.06 %	-1	-1 -
Chakkiliyan (Christian traditions)	4,800	140,000	●	Tamil	Christianity	3 ●	100.00 %	-1	-1 -
Chakkiliyan (Hindu traditions)	27,000	1,018,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	1 ●	0.12 %	-1	1
Christian	27,000	2,109,000	●	Language unknown	Christianity	3 ●	100.00 %	-1	-1 -
Couratto	7,000	7,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	1 ●	1.72 %	-1	1
Deaf	107,000	48,207,000	●	Sri Lankan Sign Language	Buddhism	2 ●	8.38 %	-1	-1 -
Demala Gattara	8,200	8,200	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	2 ●	7.52 %	-1	-1 -
Dhobi (Hindu traditions)	11,000	12,659,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	1 ●	1.22 %	-1	1
Divehi	1,900	3,300	●	Maldivian	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Dodda-Weddah	38,000	38,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	2 ●	6.50 %	-1	-1 -
Durava	734,000	734,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	2 ●	8.12 %	-1	-1 -
Gahala	11,000	11,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	1 ●	0.78 %	-1	1
Gattara	769,000	769,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	2 ●	6.74 %	-1	-1 -
Gauraykwallu	19,000	19,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	1 ●	3.88 %	-1	1
Goanese	2,300	788,000	●	Konkani	Christianity	3 ●	100.00 %	-1	-1 -
Govigama	564,000	564,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	2 ●	6.90 %	-1	-1 -
Govigama Patti	28,000	28,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	2 ●	5.28 %	-1	-1 -
Govigama Radala	28,000	28,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	2 ●	5.27 %	-1	-1 -
Hajam	4,900	5,069,000	●	Tamil	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Hakki Pikki	1,200	29,000	●	Telugu	Hinduism	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Handi	1,800	1,800	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Hannali	337,000	337,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	2 ●	6.85 %	-1	-1 -
Hanomoreyo	5,400	5,400	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Heeri	17,000	17,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	1 ●	1.59 %	-1	1
Henawalayo	19,000	19,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	1 ●	3.71 %	-1	1
Hinna	245,000	245,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	2 ●	6.70 %	-1	-1 -
Hunna	91,000	91,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	2 ●	6.49 %	-1	-1 -
Idayan	9,300	88,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	12.72 %	-1	-1 -
Ilavan	70,000	6,657,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	0 ☀	0.09 %	-1	1
Ilavan Christian	11,000	147,000	●	Tamil	Christianity	3 ●	100.00 %	-1	-1 -
Indian Tamil	9,800	9,800	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	36.16 %	-1	-1 -
Japanese	2,300	122,406,000		Japanese	Buddhism	1 ●	2.87 %	-1	1
Jat (Hindu traditions)	1,600	15,911,000	●	Punjabi, Eastern	Hinduism	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Jat (Muslim traditions)	1,800	13,681,000	●	Punjabi, Western	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Javanese	8,600	18,411,000		Javanese	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Kaikolan	80,000	2,764,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	12.52 %	-1	-1 -
Kallan	18,000	972,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	9.12 %	-1	-1 -
Kapu	1,400	13,700,000	●	Telugu	Hinduism	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Karaiyar	197,000	197,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	15.81 %	-1	-1 -
Karava	1,088,000	1,088,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	2 ●	7.40 %	-1	-1 -
Kasar (Hindu traditions)	3,400	776,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	7.95 %	-1	-1 -
Kiddea	15,000	15,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	2 ●	6.10 %	-1	-1 -
Kinnara	29,000	29,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	1 ●	0.46 %	-1	1
Konta Durayi	1,900	1,900	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Koviar	213,000	213,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	17.02 %	-1	-1 -
Koviyar	1,200	1,200	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	15.77 %	-1	-1 -
Kumhar (Hindu traditions)	6,400	18,716,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	9.55 %	-1	-1 -
Kuravan (Hindu traditions)	4,100	489,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Kustarogiyo	15,000	15,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	2 ●	5.31 %	-1	-1 -
Lohar (Hindu traditions)	900	11,395,000	●	Hindi	Hinduism	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Madari (Muslim traditions)	500	122,000	●	Urdu	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Mahishya	600	12,293,000	●	Bengali	Hinduism	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Malay, Javar	43,000	17,582,000		Sri Lankan Malay Creole	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Malayali	800	1,630,000	●	Malayalam	Hinduism	2 ●	11.02 %	-1	-1 -
Malayan, caste	1,600	42,000	●	Malayalam	Hinduism	2 ●	12.08 %	-1	-1 -
Mangala	700	2,146,000	●	Telugu	Hinduism	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Mappila	11,000	10,190,000	●	Malayalam	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Marakkalage	8,900	8,900	●	Tamil	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Maravan	101,000	3,410,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	13.51 %	-1	-1 -
Maravar	87,000	87,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	16.49 %	-1	-1 -
Mauritian	3,800	1,100,000		Morisyen	Hinduism	2 ●	45.11 %	-1	-1 -
Memon	2,100	868,000	●	Gujarati	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Moghal	1,200	3,354,000	●	Urdu	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Mukkuvan (Hindu traditions)	1,100	185,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	1 ●	2.78 %	-1	1
Mukkuvar	42,000	42,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	18.51 %	-1	-1 -
Nadar (Christian traditions)	9,100	1,425,000	●	Tamil	Christianity	3 ●	100.00 %	-1	-1 -
Nadar (Hindu traditions)	26,000	3,332,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Nair	4,100	7,591,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	1 ●	0.51 %	-1	1
Nalavar	45,000	45,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	15.42 %	-1	-1 -
Namassej (Hindu traditions)	600	4,402,000	●	Bengali	Hinduism	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Navait	17,000	82,000	●	Tamil	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Navandanna	1,172,000	1,172,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	2 ●	7.28 %	-1	-1 -
Navithan	22,000	899,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	13.76 %	-1	-1 -
Oli	30,000	30,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	2 ●	5.20 %	-1	-1 -
Osta (Nasuva)	8,200	8,200	●	Tamil	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Palla	33,000	33,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	15.91 %	-1	-1 -
Pallan (Christian traditions)	6,900	523,000	●	Tamil	Christianity	3 ●	100.00 %	-1	-1 -
Pallan (Hindu traditions)	47,000	2,683,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Pallar	70,000	70,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	16.04 %	-1	-1 -
Palliwilli	2,300	2,300	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	15.08 %	-1	-1 -
Pamunu	31,000	31,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	2 ●	5.38 %	-1	-1 -
Panan	5,100	275,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	11.96 %	-1	-1 -
Panna	33,000	33,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	16.38 %	-1	-1 -
Pannikki	246,000	246,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	2 ●	6.62 %	-1	-1 -
Paraiyan (Christian traditions)	16,000	895,000	●	Tamil	Christianity	3 ●	100.00 %	-1	-1 -
Paraiyan (Hindu traditions)	104,000	2,532,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	2
Paraiyar	71,000	71,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	15.03 %	-1	-1 -
Paravan (Hindu traditions)	1,800	104,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Parsee	700	167,000		Gujarati	Other / Small	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Pashtun, Pathan	42,000	9,177,000	●	Tamil	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Pidayne Danno	9,000	9,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	1 ●	3.51 %	-1	1
Porowakara	60,000	60,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	2 ●	5.08 %	-1	-1 -
Primanar	73,000	73,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	1 ●	3.07 %	-1	1
Pulayan	4,600	1,087,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	11.79 %	-1	-1 -
Radava	368,000	368,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	2 ●	7.36 %	-1	-1 -
Radayo	1,800	1,800	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Rajaka	151,000	151,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	2 ●	7.03 %	-1	-1 -
Rajput (Hindu traditions)	2,200	27,190,000	●	Hindi	Hinduism	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Rajput (Muslim traditions)	1,500	6,879,000	●	Punjabi, Western	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Rodiya	18,000	18,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Salagama	315,000	315,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	2 ●	12.16 %	-1	-1 -
Sali, Seriyar	3,400	1,200,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	10.94 %	-1	-1 -
Samban	1,400	25,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	8.03 %	-1	-1 -
Sayyid	50,000	17,189,000	●	Tamil	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Semman	1,200	6,600	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	6.25 %	-1	-1 -
Shaikh	204,000	212,131,000	●	Tamil	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	4
Silpi	3,400	234,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	10.80 %	-1	-1 -
Sindhi (Muslim traditions)	1,000	189,000	●	Sindhi	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Sinhalese	186,000	186,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	2 ●	6.81 %	-1	-1 -
Sonar (Hindu traditions)	6,300	8,247,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	1 ●	1.00 %	-1	1
Sri Lanka Chetti	6,400	6,400	●	Tamil	Hinduism	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Sri Lanka Moor	484,000	484,000	●	Tamil	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	10
Sri Lankan Tamil	9,500	9,500	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	37.72 %	-1	-1 -
Syrian Christian	700	4,332,000	●	Malayalam	Christianity	3 ●	100.00 %	-1	-1 -
Tamil (Muslim traditions)	1,152,000	4,529,000	●	Tamil	Islam	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	23
Tattar	5,900	5,900	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	12.06 %	-1	-1 -
Teli (Hindu traditions)	4,800	22,468,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	6.93 %	-1	-1 -
Thacher	3,100	3,100	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	9.83 %	-1	-1 -
Thanakavar	2,500	2,500	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	9.53 %	-1	-1 -
Thimilar	21,000	21,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	15.42 %	-1	-1 -
Tondagattan	1,500	1,500	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Valluvan	3,000	125,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	9.86 %	-1	-1 -
Vaniyan	17,000	1,048,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	12.77 %	-1	-1 -
Vannan (Christian traditions)	3,700	173,000	●	Tamil	Christianity	3 ●	100.00 %	-1	-1 -
Vannan (Hindu traditions)	26,000	126,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Vannar	17,000	17,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	14.49 %	-1	-1 -
Vanniyan	37,000	13,432,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	12.06 %	-1	-1 -
Vanniyar	102,000	102,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	15.46 %	-1	-1 -
Vedda	300	300	●	Sinhala	Christianity	2 ●	50.00 %	-1	-1 -
Vellalan	31,000	1,787,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	12.47 %	-1	-1 -
Vellalar	1,186,000	1,186,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	14.80 %	-1	-1 -
Vellidura	1,200	1,200	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	0 ☀	0.00 %	0.00 %	1
Vettar	3,100	3,100	●	Tamil	Hinduism	2 ●	8.86 %	-1	-1 -
Viswakarma	7,300	7,479,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	1 ●	2.80 %	-1	1
Wahumpura	8,293,000	8,293,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	2 ●	7.01 %	-1	-1 -
Yadav (Hindu traditions)	7,400	41,296,000	●	Tamil	Hinduism	1 ●	0.85 %	-1	1
Yamannu	78,000	78,000	●	Sinhala	Buddhism	1 ●	3.68 %	-1	2
Totals: 161	21,344,000					73 ●	7.67 %	0.00 %	116
Unclassified / Other Individuals	153,000
UN Country Population (2021)	21,497,000

Other minor groups: 36

Sri Lanka

Very small groups reported, but outside the Joshua Project Small Group Policy. Some may not be viable and/or have incorrect Progress Scale values, population, language and religion information. The groups listed below are not included in overall Joshua Project people group counts. If you have information about these groups, please contact us.

Click column headings for sorting ▲▼
People Group ▲	Progress Scale	Population	Primary Language	Primary Religion
Ahmadi	1 ●	100	Urdu	Islam
Arayan	2 ●	900	Malayalam	Hinduism
Arora (Hindu traditions)	1 ●	500	Punjabi, Eastern	Hinduism
Bagdi (Hindu traditions)	1 ●	500	Bengali	Hinduism
Bairagi (Hindu traditions)	1 ●	400	Bengali	Hinduism
Bauri	1 ●	300	Bengali	Hinduism
Darzi (Hindu traditions)	1 ●	200	Hindi	Hinduism
Gujar (Hindu traditions)	1 ●	300	Punjabi, Eastern	Hinduism
Gujar (Muslim traditions)	1 ●	200	Punjabi, Eastern	Islam
Jat (Sikh traditions)	1 ●	400	Punjabi, Eastern	Other / Small
Jogi (Hindu traditions)	1 ●	500	Bengali	Hinduism
Kadaiyar	2 ●	1,000	Tamil	Hinduism
Kayastha (Hindu traditions)	1 ●	300	Bengali	Hinduism
Khatri (Hindu traditions)	1 ●	300	Punjabi, Eastern	Hinduism
Koli (Hindu traditions)	1 ●	100	Gujarati	Hinduism
Kumhar (Hindu traditions)	2 ●	500	Tamil	Hinduism
Kunbi (Hindu traditions)	1 ●	400	Hindi	Hinduism
Kuravan (Christian traditions)	3 ●	500	Tamil	Christianity
Kurmi (Hindu traditions)	1 ●	400	Bengali	Hinduism
Madappalli	2 ●	800	Tamil	Hinduism
Madiga (Hindu traditions)	1 ●	300	Telugu	Hinduism
Mahratta	1 ●	300	Marathi	Hinduism
Mala (Hindu traditions)	1 ●	300	Telugu	Hinduism
Malabar Catholic	3 ●	300	Malayalam	Christianity
Persian	1 ●	100	Persian, Iranian	Islam
Pinjara	1 ●	200	Urdu	Islam
Pod	1 ●	200	Bengali	Hinduism
Rajbansi (Hindu traditions)	1 ●	200	Bengali	Hinduism
Rajput (Sikh traditions)	1 ●	200	Hindi	Other / Small
Siviyar	2 ●	500	Tamil	Hinduism
Somalia	1 ●	100	Somali	Islam
Tanti (Hindu traditions)	1 ●	300	Bengali	Hinduism
Thurumber	2 ●	1,000	Tamil	Hinduism
Tili	1 ●	200	Bengali	Hinduism
Vaddar (Hindu traditions)	1 ●	200	Telugu	Hinduism
Velakkithalanayan	2 ●	700	Malayalam	Hinduism
Totals: 36

For more information see the Joshua Project Small Group Policy

* An estimate of the number of pioneer workers needed for initial church planting among unreached people groups by country. Estimates are calculated only for unreached people groups and are based on ratio of 1 worker-unit (single person or married couple) per 50,000 living in an unreached people group by country, or for example one team of four worker-units per 200,000 people. Some workers may already be onsite. Many more workers are needed beyond this initial estimate.

Download Data Data Sources Definitions

Prayer Cards

Click column headings for sorting ▲▼
Province ▲	Population	People Groups	Unreached Groups	% Unreached Peoples	Population in Unreached	% Population Unreached	Districts
Central	2,689,000	150	69	46.0 %	672,000	25.0 %	3
Eastern	1,631,000	129	52	40.3 %	646,000	39.6 %	3
North Central	1,324,000	89	35	39.3 %	172,000	13.0 %	2
North Western	2,492,000	116	49	42.2 %	408,000	16.4 %	2
Northern	1,136,000	94	39	41.5 %	104,000	9.2 %	5
Sabaragamuwa	2,022,000	132	58	43.9 %	285,000	14.1 %	2
Southern	2,596,000	120	44	36.7 %	104,000	4.0 %	3
Uva	1,337,000	133	57	42.9 %	221,000	16.5 %	2
Western	6,123,000	149	64	43.0 %	637,000	10.4 %	3
Country:	21,344,000	161	73	45.3 %	3,145,000	14.7 %	25

Click column headings for sorting ▲▼
Class ▲	Population	% Popl	% Hindu	% Muslim	% Christian	% Buddhist	% Sikh	% Other
Forward Caste (FC)	282,458,000	1,323.4 %	97.2 %	0.0 %	1.2 %	0.1 %	0.0 %	1.4 %
Other Backward Classes (OBC)	778,555,000	3,647.7 %	70.6 %	24.5 %	1.8 %	0.1 %	2.3 %	0.8 %
Scheduled Caste (SC)	207,795,000	973.6 %	93.3 %	0.0 %	0.4 %	3.6 %	2.6 %	0.0 %
Scheduled Tribe (ST)	118,286,000	554.2 %	81.3 %	1.5 %	9.4 %	0.8 %	0.0 %	6.8 %
	21,344,000

Why Use Caste to Define Peoples?

South Asia Communities / Castes: An Overview

A History of South Asia People Group Lists

Why Include Religion When Defining South Asia Peoples?

Click column headings for sorting ▲▼
Language ▲	Code	# Peoples w/ this Primary Language	# Unreached w/ this Primary Language	Scripture Status	NT Text Online	NT Audio Online	Jesus Film Online	Audio Recordings Online	Gospel Tract Online
Arabic, Mesopotamian Spoken	acm	1	1	4 New Testament	-1	-1	1	1	-1
Bengali	ben	2	2	5 Complete Bible	1	1	1	1	-1
Gujarati	guj	3	3	5 Complete Bible	1	1	1	1	-1
Hindi	hin	3	3	5 Complete Bible	1	1	1	1	-1
Japanese	jpn	1	1	5 Complete Bible	1	1	1	1	-1
Javanese	jav	1	1	5 Complete Bible	1	1	1	1	-1
Konkani	knn	1	0	5 Complete Bible	-1	-1	1	1	-1
Malayalam	mal	4	1	5 Complete Bible	1	1	1	1	-1
Maldivian	div	1	1	3 Bible Portions	-1	1	1	1	-1
Morisyen	mfe	1	0	4 New Testament	1	1	1	1	-1
Punjabi, Eastern	pan	1	1	5 Complete Bible	1	1	1	1	-1
Punjabi, Western	pnb	3	3	4 New Testament	-1	-1	1	1	-1
Sindhi	snd	1	1	5 Complete Bible	1	1	1	1	-1
Sinhala	sin	46	16	5 Complete Bible	1	-1	1	1	-1
Sri Lankan Malay Creole	sci	1	1	1 Translation Needed	-1	-1	-1	-1	-1
Sri Lankan Sign Language	sqs	1	0	3 Bible Portions	-1	-1	-1	-1	-1
Tamil	tam	81	30	5 Complete Bible	1	1	1	1	-1
Telugu	tel	4	4	5 Complete Bible	1	1	1	1	-1
Unknown	xxx	1	0	Unspecified	-1	-1	-1	-1	-1
Urdu	urd	4	4	5 Complete Bible	1	1	1	1	-1
Totals:	20	161	73		13	13	17	17	0

Click column headings for sorting ▲▼
State ▲	Population	Hindu	Muslim	Christian	Buddhist	Other	% Christian Adherent *
Central	2,689,000	591,000	275,000	99,100	1,725,000	230	0.00 %
Eastern	1,631,000	575,000	597,000	87,500	371,000	360	0.00 %
North Central	1,324,000	10,900	106,000	15,500	1,192,000	70	0.00 %
North Western	2,492,000	47,700	280,000	322,000	1,841,000	170	0.00 %
Northern	1,136,000	851,000	34,600	220,000	31,400	40	0.00 %
Sabaragamuwa	2,022,000	167,000	92,100	35,100	1,730,000	50	0.00 %
Southern	2,596,000	36,900	83,300	19,100	2,459,000	90	0.00 %
Uva	1,337,000	189,000	58,900	22,100	1,066,000	130	0.00 %
Western	6,123,000	308,000	527,000	809,000	4,477,000	2,290	0.00 %
Country:	21,344,000	2,777,000	2,054,000	1,629,000	14,892,000	3,400	7.63 %

* From latest Sri Lanka census data. Current values may differ.

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	161
Unreached People Groups	73 (45.3%)
Population	21,344,000
Population Annual Growth Rate	0.5%
Population in Unreached	3,145,000 (14.7%)
Primary Religion	Buddhism
Percent Christian Adherent *	7.7%
Percent Evangelical	Unknown
Evangelical Annual Growth Rate	2.3%
Pioneer Workers Needed **	116
Country Progress Level	2 ●
Urbanization	19%
Continent	Asia
Region	Asia, South
10/40 Window	Yes
Country Code	CE
Official Language(s)	Sinhala \| English
Literacy Rate	95%
Estimated Illiterate Population	1,067,000
Persecution Ranking	Not ranked

Sri Lanka Prayer Cards / Guide
Prayer Cards All Unreached	Prayer Guide

Sri Lanka Links
Operation World
Stratus Earth Index
Prosperity Index
Social Progress Index
World Factbook
Religious Freedom Report
UN Human Development Report
Ethnologue Language Listing
National Bible Society

Sri Lanka Maps
Political Map (UN)
Language Map (Ethnologue)
Perry-Castaneda Map Collection

Sri Lanka Videos
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