Country	Emigrants
India	253869
Qatar	161747
United Kingdom	160178
Australia	156876
Canada	140870
UAE	112759
Italy	95118
Saudi Arabia	83297
France	56880
Japan	49037
Kuwait	42384
Switzerland	37483
Oman	30611
New Zealand	20823
South Korea	16851
Bahrain	11369
Norway	10598
Cyprus	10425
Sweden	9514
Denmark	8218
Maldives	7912
Malaysia	3310
Brunei	1439
Finland	1351
Mauritius	1147
Botswana	1043
Greece	960
Israel	879
Hong Kong	843
Seychelles	619
Pakistan	539
Libya	413
Indonesia	396
China	378
South Africa	358
Iceland	287
Latvia	159
North Korea	157
Nauru	155
Luxembourg	98
Portugal	97
Hungary	87
Malta	85
Papua New Guinea	78
Lithuania	64
Estonia	63
Cambodia	51
Bahamas	42
Nepal	41
Bhutan	34
Bulgaria	28
Slovakia	26
Ghana	23
Slovenia	22
Liechtenstein	9
Bolivia	2
Costa Rica	1
Guinea	0
Lebanon	0

By destination region

Middle East is the leading destination region at 30%

Middle East30.4%

453.5K

Europe25.6%

381.3K

Asia22.4%

334.9K

Oceania11.9%

177.9K

North America9.4%

140.9K

Africa0.2%

3.6K

Latin America0.0%

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Interesting facts

Notable statistics about emigration from Sri Lanka.

Japan is the fastest-growing major destination

Emigration to Japan has increased by 289% since 2015, rising from 12.6K to 49K in 9 years.

Emigration destinations have diversified since 1990

The top destination's share fell from 54% to 17%, indicating a broader spread of emigration patterns.

The share of emigrants going to Asia has declined since 1990

The share of emigrants going to Asia has shifted from 55.6% to 22.4% since 1990.

Top emigration destinations have shifted significantly since 1990

3 new countries have entered the top 20 destinations: Qatar, Japan, South Korea — Qatar rose from outside the top 20 to rank #2.

A significant share of the population lives abroad

1 in 15 residents of Sri Lanka has emigrated — 1.5M out of 21.9M, representing 6.8% of the population.

How emigration changed over time

Total emigrant population by year

Year	Emigrants
1990	843476
1995	721651
2000	786520
2005	910507
2010	1108466
2015	1246445
2020	1409777
2024	1492103

Top destinations over time

Emigration to the 5 largest destination countries

India Qatar United Kingdom Australia Canada

Year	India	Qatar	United Kingdom	Australia	Canada
1990	457662	648	37243	42523	21567
1995	287440	879	49372	51943	42181
2000	253567	1197	64921	58427	78755
2005	243750	12174	89047	70602	103483
2010	267883	32316	123503	96257	130666
2015	248749	67780	138622	119760	134844
2020	248065	151019	150722	140771	135949
2024	253869	161747	160178	156876	140870

Fastest-changing destinations

How emigration to each country has changed since the selected year

Lebanon0-100%

Malta85+73%

Japan49K+62%

Iceland287+51%

Bulgaria28+40%

Oman30.6K+29%

South Korea16.9K-26%

Sweden9.5K+26%

Sri Lanka as an emigration source

Share of immigrants in each country who originate from Sri Lanka

Qatar

7%161.7K

India

6%253.9K

United Kingdom

2%160.2K

Australia

2%156.9K

Canada

2%140.9K

UAE

1%112.8K

Italy

1%95.1K

Saudi Arabia

1%83.3K

Data source: International Migrant Stock 2024 (UN DESA, Population Division)

Frequently asked questions

Where do Sri Lankans move to?

Most Sri Lankans have moved to India, Qatar and United Kingdom — these three countries account for about 39% of all Sri Lankans living abroad.

How many Sri Lankans live abroad?

Around 1.5M Sri Lankans live abroad, making it the #53-largest emigrant population in the world.

What share of the population of Sri Lanka lives abroad?

About 7% of the population of Sri Lanka lives abroad — that's 1.5M out of a total population of 21.9M.

How has emigration from Sri Lanka changed over the past decade?

Over the past decade, the emigrant population from Sri Lanka has grown from 1.2M to 1.5M people, a growth of about 20%.

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