People (Sri Lanka)
==================


     Population:
         17,631,528 (July 1992), growth rate 1.2% (1992); note - about 120,000 people
         fled to India in 1991 because of fighting between government forces and
         Tamil insurgents; about 200,000 Tamils will be repatriated in 1992
     Birth rate:
         20 births/1,000 population (1992)
     Death rate:
         6 deaths/1,000 population (1992)
     Net migration rate:
         -2 migrants/1,000 population (1992)
     Infant mortality rate:
         21 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
     Life expectancy at birth:
         69 years male, 74 years female (1992)
     Total fertility rate:
         2.2 children born/woman (1992)
     Nationality:
         noun - Sri Lankan(s); adjective - Sri Lankan
     Ethnic divisions:
         Sinhalese 74%; Tamil 18%; Moor 7%; Burgher, Malay, and Veddha 1%
     Religions:
         Buddhist 69%, Hindu 15%, Christian 8%, Muslim 8%
     Languages:
         Sinhala (official); Sinhala and Tamil listed as national languages; Sinhala
         spoken by about 74% of population, Tamil spoken by about 18%; English
         commonly used in government and spoken by about 10% of the population
     Literacy:
         86% (male 91%, female 81%) age 15 and over can read and write (1981)
     Labor force:
         6,600,000; agriculture 45.9%, mining and manufacturing 13.3%, trade and
         transport 12.4%, services and other 28.4% (1985 est.)
     Organized labor:
         about 30% of labor force, over 50% of which are employed on tea, rubber, and
         coconut estates