page_title: Demographics of Sri Lanka
section_title: Languages
hierarchical_section_title: Demographics of Sri Lanka / Languages
caption_attribution_description: English: A road sign in Colombo - Katunayake Expressway, Sri Lanka
context_page_description: Sri Lanka is an island in the Indian Ocean, also called Ceylon and many other names. It is about the size of Ireland. It is about 28 kilometres off the south-eastern coast of India with a population of about 20 million. Density is highest in the south west where Colombo, the country's main port and industrial center, is located. The net population growth is about 0.7%. Sri Lanka is ethnically, linguistically, and religiously diverse.
context_section_description: Sinhala, an Indo-European language, is the first language of the Sinhalese. Tamil, a Dravidian language, is the first language of the Tamils. Tamil is also the first language the majority of Moors and the Indian Tamils  - according to the 2012 census 98% of Moors could speak Tamil but only 59% could speak Sinhala.
  Malays speak Sri Lanka Malay, a Creole language mixing Sinhala, Tamil and Malay. Many of the Burghers speak Sri Lankan Indo-Portuguese although its use has declined and the majority now speak Sinhala. The Veddahs speak Vedda, a Creole language closely based on Sinhala. Use of English has declined since independence, but it continues to be spoken by many in the middle and upper middle classes, particularly in Colombo. According to the 2012 census 24% of the population could speak English. The government is seeking to reverse the decline in the use of English, mainly for economic but also for political reasons. According to the constitution Sinhala and Tamil are official languages whilst English is the link language.
caption: A multi-lingual road sign
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