Facts and figures
Country of birth
The New Zealand census figures listed here show the number of residents born in Sri Lanka, previously called Ceylon. The numbers include Europeans born in Ceylon.
Ceylon
- 1874 census: 33
- 1901 census: 106
- 1951 census: 152
Sri Lanka
- 1976 census: 973
- 2001 census: 6,168
- 2006 census: 7,257
‘Race aliens’
Between 1916 and 1966 the New Zealand census provided figures on ‘race aliens’ who were defined as people ‘not of European descent’. The census figures listed show those described as ‘Sinhalese’.
- 1916 census: 12
- 1936 census: 23
- 1951 census: 18
Ethnic identity
In the 2006 census, people were asked to indicate the ethnic group or groups with which they identified. The numbers include those who indicated more than one group.
- Sri Lankan: 7,038
