Hinduism in Sri Lanka

Hinduism is a one of the minority religion in Sri Lanka and is second most followed religion after Theravada Buddhism.^[1] Hinduism is followed by nearly 12.6% of total population as of 2012.^[2] Most of them are Tamils.^[3]

Sri Lankan Hindus

Sri Lanka
Total population
2,561,299 (2012) 12.6% of country population
Religions
Hinduism

Practise

Most Sri Lankan Hindus follow the Shaiva Siddhanta school of Shaivism, and some follow Shaktism. Sri Lanka is home to the five abodes of Shiva: Pancha Ishwarams, holy places built by King Ravana. Murugan is one of the country's most popular Hindu deities, venerated by Hindu Tamils also the Buddhist Sinhalese and Aboriginal Veddas venerate the local rendition of the deity, Katharagama deviyo.^[4][5]

Demography

S. No.	District	Total pop.	Hindus pop.	Hindus (%)
1.	Colombo	2,324,349	274,087		11.79%
2.	Gampaha	2,304,833	112,746		4.89%
3.	Kalutara	1,221,948	114,556		9.37%
4.	Kandy	1,375,382	197,076		14.32%
5.	Matale	484,531	45,682		9.42%
Total		20,359,439	2,561,299		12.6%
Source: [6]

Related pages

• Hinduism in South Asia
• Hinduism in India
• Tamil people