The 74% bulk of the population belongs to the Sinhalese. They are probably of IndoAryan stock and are documented as having the first who stepped on the island in the 6th century BC. Broadly, there are two sub groups of Sinhalese, Kandyan and 'low country'. At 18% Tamils comprise the second largest group and they can also be categorised into two groups, the so called Sri Lanka Tamils descended from the South Indian invaders of ancient and medieval times and the 'hill country' Tamils whose ancestors were imported by the British as tea plantation workers in the 19th century. Muslims or Moors as they are called constitute about 7% of the population and they consist mainly of Sri Lanka Moors who descended from Arab and Indian Muslim traders during the Portuguese period. Two other minor Muslim groups are the Malays who came with the Dutch from Java and the Indian Moors of more recent Indian and Pakistani trading background.

Amongst the rest are the Burghers, descendants of the Portuguese and the Dutch who form a very microscopic minority, most having moved abroad. The Veddahs who were the islands original inhabitants are now belongs to a minority group living in the east.

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