Photo: SmartDrones Aarhus, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte - Colombo: population

Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte - Colombo, Sri Lanka: 5.22 million people in 2025, by the UN estimate.

Rank among the cities of the country: 1 of 24.

In 1975 it had 2.05 million people.

In 2000 it had 3.82 million people, so it has grown by 37% since then.

For 2050 the UN projects 5.82 million people.

A city here is a dense area of at least 1,500 people per km² with at least 50,000 people, drawn on a population grid by the UN degree of urbanisation. It can differ from the city’s administrative borders and from national statistics. Years from 2026 on are projections.

Population, 1975 to 2050Projected from 202602M4M6M19801990200020102020203020402050
2025 Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte - Colombo: 5.2M

Largest cities: Sri Lanka

City20252050, projected
Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte - Colombo5,223,8385,816,080
Kandy785,519880,569
Galle346,263404,907
Matara292,019324,577
Jaffna200,544157,266
Kalmunai156,093167,313
Batticaloa147,618161,907
Wennappuwa106,641123,546
Matale102,855122,666
Akkaraipattu101,464108,871

Sri Lanka: population and ages

Sources: World Urbanization Prospects 2025, UN DESA Population Division (CC BY 3.0 IGO).

All cities