Sri Lanka sees sharp decline in marriages, births over past decade

Colombo, July 20 (Daily Mirror)- Registered marriages in Sri Lanka have declined by nearly 28% over the past 15 years, while the number of births has also continued to fall, official data show.

According to Department of Census and Statistics, the number of registered marriages dropped from 200,985 in 2010 to 144,182 in 2025, recording a decline of around 28%.

The number of marriages, which remained above 170,000 in several years before 2020, fell sharply during the COVID-19 pandemic, reaching 143,808 in 2020.

Although registrations recovered to 162,628 in 2021 and 171,140 in 2022, the figure declined again to 151,356 in 2023 and 139,290 in 2024, before slightly increasing to 144,182 in 2025.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka has recorded a steady decline in registered live births over recent years.

The number of live births fell from 319,108 in 2019 to 214,570 in 2025, a drop of more than 100,000 births within six years.

Furthermore, birth registrations declined from 301,712 in 2020 to 284,848 in 2021, 275,321 in 2022, 247,900 in 2023, and 220,761 in 2024, before reaching the lowest recorded figure in recent years in 2025.

At the same time, registered deaths have remained relatively high. The number of deaths increased from 112,858 in 2001 to 172,603 in 2025, with notable increases recorded in recent years. Death registrations stood at 162,371 in 2020, 163,990 in 2021, 179,792 in 2022, 181,239 in 2023, and 171,194 in 2024.