Demography, Language & Religion Sri Lanka’s population is 20 million. It comprises a spectrum of different peoples, namely, Sinhalese (74%); Indigenous and Indian Tamils (12.6% and 5% respectively); Moors and Malays (8%); and “Burghers and others” (0.4%), a loose application of the Hollanders’ word for “city-dweller” covering European colonists and their Eurasian descendants of Portuguese, Dutch and British ancestry. “Others” covers races and religions as diverse as the progeny of African Negroes brought over by the Portuguese; merchants, monks, mercenaries and mendicants of all hues from many lands from Malaya to the Mediterranean; Chinese traders; Parsees from Gujarat, Punjabis, Sindhis, Chetties, Borahs and Afghans; and a spectrum of minorities such as ahikuntakayas (snake-charmers). Residual descendants of aboriginal Veddahs still remain in remote regions, the legendary nittaewo (pygmies) having vanished long ago. The population growth rate of Sri Lanka is 0.982 % which was last estimated in 2007. Birth rate and death rate, which are important determinants of the overall population growth, are 17 births/1,000 population and 6.01 deaths/1,000 population respectively. Sri Lanka is a multi-religious country tolerant of all faiths, and it is not unusual to come across a Buddhist Temple or Dagoba, a Hindu Kovil, a Muslim Mosque and a Christian Church, each with its own distinctive architecture, in close proximity to one another. Buddhists constitute the majority (69%); Hindus (15.5%), Muslims (8%) and Christians 7.5% comprise most of the rest. Sri Lanka’s literacy rate is 88.6%. Sinhala and Tamil are official languages in Sri Lanka. Sinhala, an Indo-Aryan tongue, is the language of the majority Sinhalese while Tamil, a Dravidian language is spoken by Tamils. English is widely spoken and understood. Place names and sign-boards on buses and trains are usually in all three languages.