With a population of 19 millions, its density is quite high, at about 300 people per sq. km. Most people live in the countryside.
Roughly 72% of the population is of Sinhalese descent. Their language is Sinhala and most of these people are Buddhists.
The Tamil minority, which accounts for 20% of the people, are mainly descendants of South Indians migrants who arrived on the island thousands of years ago. Most of them live in the North East of the country. They speak Tamil, which is now recognized as an official language. They are mostly Hindus.
The Burghers are descendant of the white settlers who married sinhalese. They are only 1% of the population and live mostly in the biggest cities. Most are Christians.
There is also a Moorish and a Malay population. Those people are mainly Muslims.
I find it striking that such a small country can have so much cultural and religious variety!
Luckily for us, most educated people speak english.
We don't know yet what ethnicity our child is going to be. I am guessing either Sinhalese or Tamil, as they are a large majority. Also, I believe the Burghers are richer and are less likely to make adoption plans for their babies...
It seems like one thing brings all these people together: Cricket! It's almost a religion down there! Sri Lanka won the world cup in 1996.
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