Country: Sri Lanka South Asia PeoplesSouth Asia Peoples website

People Groups
Total

149

People Groups Unreached

64 (43.0%)

People Groups Unreached Frontier

44 (29.5%)

Population
Total

23,068,000

Population in Unreached

3,589,000 (15.6%)

Population in Unreached Frontier

2,789,000 (12.1%)

% Christian Adherent *

7.62%

% Evangelical

Unknown

Progress Level

Progress Gauge
* Data can be from various sources including official census, agencies, and local research. Data from these sources can sometimes differ even by orders of magnitude. Joshua Project attempts to present a conservative, balanced estimate.
Map Notes

Click column headings for sorting ▲▼
Photo People Group Population
this Ctry
Population
Global
Count
Ctrys
Indigenous Primary Language Primary
Religion
Progress
Scale
% Christian
Adherent *
% Evangelical Est. Workers
Needed *
 Adi Andhra 800 352,000 2 Telugu Hinduism ☀︎ 0.00 % 0.00 % 1
Agamudaiyan Nattaman 9,300 765,000 2 Tamil Hinduism 14.65 % -
 Agamudaiyan unspecified 11,000 309,000 2 Tamil Hinduism 13.59 % -
Ahinkuntaya 66,000 66,000 1 Sinhala Buddhism 6.52 % -
 Ambalavasi 17,000 199,000 2 Tamil Hinduism 14.98 % -
Ambattan 16,000 16,000 1 Tamil Hinduism 14.49 % -
 Ansari 1,100 17,535,000 6 Urdu Islam ☀︎ 0.00 % 0.00 % 1
 Arab 5,600 3,066,000 39 Arabic, Mesopotamian Islam ☀︎ 0.00 % 0.00 % 1
Badahala 123,000 123,000 1 Sinhala Buddhism 7.52 % -
 Bania Chetti 6,800 848,000 2 Tamil Hinduism ☀︎ 0.00 % 0.00 % 1
 Bania unspecified 11,000 19,830,000 6 Tamil Hinduism ☀︎ 0.00 % 0.00 % 1
 Batgama 409,000 409,000 1 Sinhala Buddhism 1.48 % 8
 Bengali Muslim Moghal 1,200 3,503,000 6 Urdu Islam ☀︎ 0.00 % 0.00 % 1
Berava 400,000 400,000 1 Sinhala Buddhism 6.56 % -
Bharathar (Christian traditions) 2,400 46,000 2 Tamil Christianity 100.00 % -
 Bharathar (Hindu traditions) 700 15,000 2 Tamil Hinduism ☀︎ 0.00 % 0.00 % 1
Bintanna 7,300 7,300 1 Sinhala Buddhism 5.05 % -
Bodhivansha 16,000 16,000 1 Sinhala Buddhism 6.02 % -
 Bohra 2,100 1,276,000 3 Gujarati Islam ☀︎ 0.00 % 0.00 % 1
 Boya 18,000 4,605,000 2 Tamil Hinduism 14.00 % -
Brahmin Indian Tamil 34,000 34,000 1 Tamil Hinduism 0.45 % 1
 Brahmin unspecified 5,000 40,228,000 6 Tamil Hinduism 0.22 % 1
 Burgher 56,000 56,000 1 Sinhala Christianity 87.06 % -
Chakkiliyan (Christian traditions) 5,200 140,000 2 Tamil Christianity 100.00 % -
 Chakkiliyan (Hindu traditions) 29,000 1,011,000 2 Tamil Hinduism 0.12 % 1
  Totals:  149 23,068,000           44 ☀︎  64 7.62 % 0.00 % 115 
  Unclassified / Other Individuals 161,000                  
  UN Country Population (2025) 23,229,000                  
Click column headings for sorting ▲▼
Province Population People Groups Unreached
Groups
% Unreached
Peoples
Population
in Unreached
% Population
Unreached
Districts
Central 2,716,000 139 60 43.2 % 678,000 25.0 % 3
Eastern 1,647,000 119 44 37.0 % 652,000 39.6 % 3
North Central 1,339,000 88 35 39.8 % 174,000 13.0 % 2
North Western 2,516,000 111 45 40.5 % 412,000 16.4 % 2
Northern 1,148,000 91 36 39.6 % 105,000 9.1 % 5
Sabaragamuwa 2,045,000 130 56 43.1 % 288,000 14.1 % 2
Southern 2,625,000 120 44 36.7 % 105,000 4.0 % 3
Uva 1,350,000 126 52 41.3 % 223,000 16.5 % 2
Western 6,412,000 138 55 39.9 % 859,000 13.4 % 3
Country:   23,068,000 149 64 43.0 % 3,589,000 15.6 % 25
Click column headings for sorting ▲▼
Language Code # Peoples
w/ this Primary
Language
# Unreached
w/ this Primary
Language
Scripture
Status
YouVersion
Bible
Resources
Faith Comes
By Hearing
Bible Resources
Jesus Film
Online
Global
Recordings
Resources
Gospel
Tract
Online
Arabic, Mesopotamian acm 1 1 New Testament
Gujarati guj 2 2 Complete Bible
Hindi hin 1 1 Complete Bible
Japanese jpn 1 1 Complete Bible
Javanese jav 1 1 Unspecified
Konkani knn 1 0 Complete Bible
Malayalam mal 2 1 Complete Bible
Maldivian div 1 1 Unspecified
Morisyen mfe 1 0 New Testament
Punjabi, Eastern pan 1 1 Complete Bible
Punjabi, Western pnb 2 2 New Testament
Sindhi snd 1 1 Complete Bible
Sinhala sin 45 16 Complete Bible
Sri Lankan Malay Creole sci 1 1 Unspecified
Sri Lankan Sign Language sqs 1 0 Bible Portions
Tamil tam 81 30 Complete Bible
Telugu tel 3 3 Complete Bible
Unknown xxx 1 0 Unspecified
Urdu urd 2 2 Complete Bible
Totals: 19 149 64   15 16 16 16 10
Networking Possibilities

Search the Web
There are many agencies and churches looking for additional staff to help them in their mission and calling in Sri Lanka. Internet searches are probably the best way to find these organizations. The following are some example search topics you might try:

  • Church planting agencies in Sri Lanka
  • Christian ministry in Sri Lanka
  • Business as mission
  • Christian literature distribution
  • Evangelism agencies
  • Christian discipleship
  • Short term Christian missions
  • Long term Christian missions
  • Urban ministries
  • Christian media opportunities
  • Bible translation opportunities
  • Relief and development agencies
  • Clean water projects
  • Christian medical outreaches

Sri Lanka Statistics
People Groups 149
Unreached People Groups 64  (43.0%)
Population 23,068,000
Population Annual Growth Rate 0.5%
Population in Unreached 3,589,000  (15.6%)
Primary Religion Buddhism
Percent Christian Adherent 7.6%
Percent Evangelical Unknown
Pioneer Workers Needed * 115
Country Progress Level 2
Continent Asia
Region Asia, South
10/40 Window Yes
Country Code CE
Official Language(s) SinhalaEnglish
Literacy Rate 95%
Estimated Illiterate Population 1,153,000
Persecution Ranking Not ranked