Sri Lankan diaspora
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 2,000,000+ (estimated) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| United Kingdom | 700,000 (2024) |
| United Arab Emirates | 320,000 (2023) |
| Canada | 200,000 (2024) |
| India | 184,780 (2021) |
| Australia | 160,000 (2024) |
| Qatar | 145,256 (2016) |
| Italy | 108,069 (2022) |
| Kuwait | 99,858 (2016) |
| Saudi Arabia | 84,794 (2022) |
| United States | 75,808 (2022) |
| Japan | 63,472 (2024) |
| France | 52,300 (2017) |
| Switzerland | 28,838 (2019) |
| Oman | 26,268 (2017) |
| Germany | 25,900 (2019) |
| South Korea | 20,239 (2017) |
| New Zealand | 16,830 (2018) |
| Norway | 15,818 (2021) |
| Netherlands | 13,463 (2020) |
| Jordan | 12,582 (2017) |
| Denmark | 11,700 (2017) |
| Singapore | 11,066 (2017) |
| Bahrain | 10,099 (2017) |
| Thailand | 7,931 (2017) |
| Lebanon | 7,600 (2024) |
| Cyprus | 7,350 (2011) |
| Sweden | 7,106 (2017) |
| Maldives | 7,062 (2017) |
| Malaysia | 6,766 (2017) |
| China | 5,554 (2017) |
| Languages | |
| Tamil, Sinhala, other languages of Sri Lanka and various languages of the countries they inhabit | |
| Religion | |
| Theravada Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, Islam | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Sri Lankan | |
Populations stated are the maximum estimated United States population, Foreign born stated only | |
The Sri Lankan diaspora are Sri Lankan emigrants and expatriates from Sri Lanka that reside in a foreign country.
An estimate in 2013 by the United Nations concluded that the diaspora numbered around three million, with large concentrations in Europe, Middle East, East Asia, Australia and North America. Note that population statistics may not include those that were born outside Sri Lanka or do not hold Sri Lankan citizenship, and large populations of ethnic Tamils and Sinhalese exist outside Sri Lanka which are not covered by this article.
A publication by the Australian National University noted that while most of the diaspora in the Western World and East Asia were long term residents with a large percentage having local citizenship and children born in their host country, most of the diaspora in the Middle East were temporary workers with little roots in said countries; it is near impossible for Sri Lankans to obtain citizenship of Middle Eastern countries.