Sri Lanka — World Gazetteer, 2005 edition
Sri Lanka had an estimated population of 19,466,567 in 2005, with 72 places recorded. Archived from the World Gazetteer, the reference work formerly published at this domain.
About these figures. This page is part of the restored World Gazetteer archive: the 2005 edition of Stefan Helders' reference work, which was published at this domain until 2013 and is preserved here. Figures are as of 2005 and are kept for citation continuity and historical comparison. Esta página conserva la edición de 2005 del World Gazetteer. Las cifras corresponden a 2005; para datos actuales, consulte las fuentes oficiales.
For current figures: Sri Lanka today — population now 23,348,315, against 19,466,567 in 2005.
| Source | 2005 | Now | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| World Gazetteer (the work cited) | 19,466,567 | — | — |
| UN World Population Prospects | 20,216,524 | 23,348,315 | +15% |
The two 2005 figures agree closely. Use the UN pair for a like-for-like change.
Agglomerations, 2005
| # | Name | Population (2005) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kolamba | 2,496,814 |
Cities and towns, 2005
| # | Place | Region | Population (2005) | Today |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Colombo | Colombo | 648,034 | 648,034 now |
| 2 | Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia | Colombo | 215,941 | 219,827 now |
| 3 | Moratuwa | Colombo | 185,031 | 168,280 now |
| 4 | Jaffna | Jaffna | 169,102 | 169,102 now |
| 5 | Negombo | Gampaha | 137,223 | 137,223 now |
| 6 | Chāvākachchēri | Jaffna | 121,721 | — |
| 7 | Kotte | Colombo | 118,179 | — |
| 8 | Kandy | Kandy | 111,701 | 111,701 now |
| 9 | Trincomalee | Trincomalee | 108,420 | 108,420 now |
| 10 | Kalmunai | Amparai | 100,171 | 100,171 now |
| 11 | Galle | Galle | 93,118 | 93,118 now |
| 12 | Point Pedro | Jaffna | 89,810 | 89,810 now |
| 13 | Batticaloa | Batticaloa | 86,742 | 86,742 now |
| 14 | Katunayaka | Gampaha | 84,643 | 84,643 now |
| 15 | Valvedditturai | Jaffna | 78,205 | 78,205 now |
| 16 | Battaramulla | Colombo | 75,633 | — |
| 17 | Daluguma | Gampaha | 73,636 | — |
| 18 | Dambulla | Matale | 66,716 | 66,716 now |
| 19 | Maharagama | Colombo | 66,576 | 195,355 now |
| 20 | Kotikawatta | Colombo | 64,565 | 64,565 now |
| 21 | Anuradhapura | Anuradhapura | 60,943 | 60,943 now |
| 22 | Vavuniya | Vavuniya | 60,176 | 60,176 now |
| 23 | Kolonnawa | Colombo | 58,076 | 64,887 now |
| 24 | Hendala | Gampaha | 56,978 | 56,978 now |
| 25 | Ratnapura | Ratnapura | 47,832 | 47,832 now |
| 26 | Pūttalama | Pūttalama | 45,661 | — |
| 27 | Keselwatta | Kalatura | 43,883 | — |
| 28 | Mannārama | Mannārama | 43,808 | — |
| 29 | Mātara | Matara | 43,225 | 76,254 now |
| 30 | Badulla | Badulla | 42,230 | 47,587 now |
| 31 | Welesara | Gampaha | 41,306 | — |
| 32 | Kalutara | Kalatura | 38,000 | 37,081 now |
| 33 | Mātale | Matale | 37,457 | 36,462 now |
| 34 | Katankudi | Batticaloa | 36,727 | — |
| 35 | Homagama | Colombo | 34,664 | 34,664 now |
| 36 | Rāgama | Gampaha | 34,313 | — |
| 37 | Beruwala | Kalatura | 34,250 | 34,250 now |
| 38 | Pānadraya | Kalatura | 33,735 | — |
| 39 | Mulleriyawa | Colombo | 33,540 | 33,540 now |
| 40 | Kandana | Gampaha | 33,424 | 33,424 now |
| 41 | Jaela | Gampaha | 32,175 | 32,175 now |
| 42 | Wattala | Gampaha | 30,725 | 30,725 now |
| 43 | Peliyagoda | Gampaha | 30,717 | 28,784 now |
| 44 | Kelaniya | Gampaha | 28,846 | 28,846 now |
| 45 | Kurunegala | Kurunegala | 28,571 | 28,571 now |
| 46 | Nuwara Eliya | Nuwara Eliya | 25,775 | 27,500 now |
| 47 | Gampola | Kandy | 24,730 | — |
| 48 | Halāwata | Pūttalama | 24,712 | — |
| 49 | Eravur | Batticaloa | 22,982 | — |
| 50 | Seethawakapura | Colombo | 22,918 | — |
| 51 | Weligama | Matara | 22,179 | — |
| 52 | Ambalamgod̨a | Galle | 20,133 | — |
| 53 | Amparai | Amparai | 18,348 | — |
| 54 | Kēgalla | Kegalla | 17,769 | — |
| 55 | Hatton | Kandy | 15,073 | — |
| 56 | Nāwalapiţiya | Kandy | 13,749 | — |
| 57 | Kilinochchi | Kilinochchi | 13,006 | — |
| 58 | Balangod̨a | Ratnapura | 12,211 | — |
| 59 | Hambantoţa | Hambantota | 11,596 | — |
| 60 | Tanggalla | Hambantota | 10,497 | — |
| 61 | Monaragala | Monaragala | 10,236 | — |
| 62 | Gampaha | Gampaha | 9,350 | — |
| 63 | Horana | Kalatura | 8,982 | — |
| 64 | Wattegama | Monaragala | 8,000 | — |
| 65 | Minuwangoda | Gampaha | 7,772 | — |
| 66 | Bandārāwela | Badulla | 7,101 | — |
| 67 | Kuliyapitiya | Kurunegala | 6,877 | — |
| 68 | Haputale | Badulla | 4,721 | — |
| 69 | Talawakele | Nuwara Eliya | 3,545 | — |
| 70 | Harispattuwa | Kandy | 1,563 | — |
| 71 | Kadugannawa | Kandy | 1,214 | — |
| 72 | Sigiriya | Matale | 1,001 | — |
The Today column links to our current page for the same place, where one matches by name and plausible size; the figure shown there is today's, never 2005's. A dash means no confident match, which is more honest than a guessed link.
Administrative divisions, 2005
| # | Name | Population (2005) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Colombo | 2,273,260 |
| 2 | Gampaha | 2,146,077 |
| 3 | Kurunegala | 1,455,531 |
| 4 | Kandy | 1,277,647 |
| 5 | Kalatura | 1,074,697 |
| 6 | Ratnapura | 1,019,512 |
| 7 | Galle | 994,994 |
| 8 | Jaffna | 962,440 |
| 9 | Badulla | 777,261 |
| 10 | Kegalla | 774,542 |
| 11 | Matara | 761,061 |
| 12 | Anuradhapura | 755,431 |
| 13 | Pūttalama | 728,605 |
| 14 | Nuwara Eliya | 697,635 |
| 15 | Amparai | 614,674 |
| 16 | Hambantota | 529,440 |
| 17 | Batticaloa | 515,733 |
| 18 | Matale | 445,866 |
| 19 | Monaragala | 410,074 |
| 20 | Polonnaruwa | 368,458 |
| 21 | Trincomalee | 365,841 |
| 22 | Mannārama | 160,144 |
| 23 | Vavuniya | 130,422 |
| 24 | Kilinochchi | 118,194 |
| 25 | Mullaitivu | 109,028 |
The complete dataset is available as a free CSV download, with attribution to Stefan Helders / World Gazetteer.