Discover
The identity of the nation
Sri Lanka is a teardrop-shaped island in the Indian Ocean, south of India, known for its beaches, green mountains and tea plantations. It is a country of great diversity: most of the population is made up of Buddhist Sinhalese, but there are also Hindu Tamils, Muslims and a small Christian minority, the fruit of centuries of trade, migration and colonization.
Buddhism arrived on the island as early as the third century before Christ and became the foundation of Sinhalese national identity, to the point that it is hard for many to separate “being Sinhalese” from “being Buddhist.” Christianity arrived much later, first through the Portuguese and then the Dutch and British, and today it accounts for about 7% of the population, between Catholics and other Christian churches. Proclaiming the gospel there is often seen by part of society as a threat to culture and nation, not just a matter of personal faith.
The country still bears the marks of a civil war lasting almost three decades between the Sinhalese-majority government and Tamil separatist groups, which ended in 2009, as well as a severe economic crisis that, in 2022, led families into long lines for fuel and medicine. Despite this, the people of Sri Lanka are known for their warm hospitality and resilience in the face of hardship, rebuilding their lives with patience, each group in its own way.
Buddhist Sinhalese and Hindu Tamils, the country’s two largest groups, remain among the least reached by the gospel, with small evangelical churches that are often viewed with suspicion. Those who decide to follow Jesus from a Buddhist or Hindu family frequently face rejection from their closest relatives, being seen as someone who has abandoned not only a religion but their own family and national identity.
Even so, a small but living church persists in Sri Lanka, including communities that kept meeting even after the terrorist attacks that struck churches on Easter of 2019. This is a people who urgently need intercession: for the healing of the wounds of war, for the courage of those who decide to follow Christ despite the cost, and for more people to love this nation as it deserves to be loved.
- Indigenous peoples, such as the Vedda, have inhabited the island since prehistoric times.
- 3rd century BC Buddhism arrives, brought by the monk Mahinda, and becomes the foundation of Sinhalese identity.
- 1505 Arrival of the Portuguese, who introduce Catholicism to the coastal regions.
- 1658 The Dutch take control of the island's coastal areas.
- 1815 The British unify the entire island under colonial rule, then called Ceylon.
- 1948 Independence from the United Kingdom, under the name Ceylon.
- 1972 The country adopts the name Sri Lanka and becomes a republic.
- 1983-2009 Civil war between the government and Tamil separatist groups leaves hundreds of thousands dead.
- 2019 Terrorist attacks strike churches and hotels on Easter, killing more than 250 people, most of them Christians.
- Today A Buddhist-majority country in economic recovery, with a small but living church, and peoples still unreached by the gospel.
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Sinhalaofficial and majority language, spoken by about 74% of the population, mainly the Sinhalese
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Tamilofficial, spoken by the Tamil minority and most of the country's Muslims
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Englishlink language used in government, higher education and commerce
Sri Lanka is a teardrop-shaped island in the Indian Ocean, south of India, surrounded by tropical beaches and cut through by a mountainous central plateau where the famous tea plantations lie. Rivers that rise in the mountains descend in waterfalls to fertile coastal plains, with rice paddies and tropical forests that still shelter wild elephants and leopards.
Major cities
- ColomboThe country's largest city, its main commercial and financial center
- Sri Jayawardenepura KotteAdministrative capital, seat of parliament, near Colombo
- KandySacred Buddhist city in the mountains, home to the temple that houses a relic of the Buddha's tooth
- GalleHistoric coastal city, with a fortress built by the Dutch during the colonial period
- JaffnaThe main city of the north, cultural and religious center of the Tamil people
- AnuradhapuraFormer capital of the Sinhalese kingdom, today one of the largest Buddhist archaeological sites in the world
- Nuwara EliyaMountain city at the heart of the country's tea plantations
Climate and temperature
Rice and curry
The everyday main dish: white rice served with various vegetable, fish or meat curries.
Hoppers (appa)
A thin, crispy bowl-shaped pancake made from fermented rice flour and coconut milk, common at breakfast.
String hoppers (idiyappam)
Nests of thin rice noodles, steamed and served with curry or grated coconut.
Kottu roti
A street dish made from chopped flatbread strips stir-fried with vegetables, egg and meat or chicken.
Pol sambol
A spicy mix of grated coconut, onion, chili and lime, served alongside almost every meal.
Watalappan
A sweet pudding of coconut milk, eggs and palm sugar (called jaggery), spiced with cardamom.
Lamprais
A dish created by the Burgher community, descendants of European colonizers: rice cooked in stock, meat, meatballs and sambol, wrapped and baked in a banana leaf.
Ceylon tea
One of the most famous teas in the world, grown in the country's central highlands since the British colonial period.
Understand
Culture and spirituality
2a · The culture
Warm hospitality
Visitors are welcomed as guests of honor, often with a cup of Ceylon tea.
Respect for elders
The authority of parents and elders is taken seriously in practically every family decision.
Strong Buddhist identity
For the Sinhalese majority, being Sinhalese and being Buddhist are deeply intertwined.
Coexistence between religions
Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims and Christians share the same territory, with temples and festivals side by side.
Scars of the civil war
Decades of conflict between Sinhalese and Tamils still shape the country's memory and politics.
Life at a gentle pace
Outside the big cities, the day follows the rhythm of farming, tea and fishing.
Traditional art and dance
Ritual dances, masks and drums are part of festivals, healing rites and popular celebrations.
Education valued
The country has one of the highest literacy rates in South Asia, the fruit of decades of investment in public schooling.
- Pointing your feet at a person or a Buddha statue Feet are considered the most impure part of the body; pointing them is a serious sign of disrespect.
- Touching someone's head The head is seen as sacred; touching it, even on children, is offensive.
- Posing with your back to a Buddha statue This is considered disrespectful to the sacred image, and has already caused trouble for tourists.
- Wearing short clothing in temples Covered shoulders and knees are required to enter religious spaces.
- Showing affection in public Kissing and hugging between couples in public still bothers people in more traditional areas.
- Talking lightly about the civil war The subject is still sensitive and painful for Sinhalese and Tamil families alike.
- Using the left hand to hand over objects or eat The left hand is considered impure in many social contexts.
- Treating Buddhism as mere folklore For most of the population, it is a faith lived with deep seriousness, not just a cultural tradition.
2b · The field
Areas of spiritual battle and cultural captivity to cover in prayer. Tap each point to understand:
Being Sinhalese and being Buddhist are blurred together, making conversion to Christianity seen as an act of betrayal against the nation.
Rituals such as thovil, a dance used to drive away spirits called yakas, seek healing and protection apart from Christ.
Important decisions, such as marriage and travel, often depend on horoscopes and fortune tellers.
Decades of conflict between Sinhalese and Tamils have left trauma, distrust and a lack of forgiveness between the peoples.
Tensions between Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims still shape much of the country's social and political life.
The recent financial collapse deepened distrust in institutions and the search for desperate solutions.
The Easter 2019 attack on churches left marks of fear that still weigh on the Christian community.
Those who leave Buddhism or Hinduism to follow Jesus are seen as traitors to their own family.
The veneration of sacred statues and relics, such as the Buddha's tooth, occupies the place that belongs to God alone.
Many Christians from historic churches live out their faith more as a family tradition than as a living relationship with God.
In Sri Lanka, religious freedom exists in law, but social pressure is strong on those who decide to leave Buddhism or Hinduism to follow Jesus. Buddhist monks hold great influence in villages and, in some cases, lead protests and even acts of hostility against independent churches, seen as a threat to Sinhalese national identity. Entire families may cut ties with relatives who have converted, treating them as traitors to their faith, their ethnicity and their own country.
The terrorist attacks on churches and hotels on Easter of 2019, which killed more than two hundred people, most of them Christians, left a deep mark of fear on the small Christian community, even though the attacks had no Buddhist motivation. The communities most targeted by day-to-day hostility tend to be the smaller, newer evangelical churches, while historic denominations, such as the Catholic Church, face less pressure since they have been part of the religious landscape for centuries. Even so, the Sinhalese and Tamil church stands firm, often sustained by prayer and a quiet witness among neighbors.
The persecution score runs from 0 to 100: the higher it is, the greater the pressure on Christians.
Sri Lanka is home to at least 138 people groups catalogued by Joshua Project, and more than half of them remain little or not reached by the gospel. Buddhist Sinhalese, the country's largest ethnic group, and Hindu Tamils, its main minority, are among the peoples with the smallest presence of evangelical churches. In all, more than 3.7 million people live in groups still without significant access to the good news.
- 3.8M Unreached 16,4%
- 19.1M Minimally reached 83%
- 145K Superficially reached 0,6%
- 0 Partially reached 0%
- 0 Significantly reached 0%
- 55 Unreached 39,9%
- 73 Minimally reached 52,9%
- 10 Superficially reached 7,2%
- 0 Partially reached 0%
- 0 Significantly reached 0%
Source of people group data: Joshua Project (joshuaproject.net). Estimates, may vary.
Pulayan hindu Frontier
Henawalayo
Dhobi Hindu Frontier
Valluvan Frontier
Maravan
Chetti Sri Lanka Frontier
Tamil Muslim Frontier
Source: Joshua Project. Estimates, may vary.
Pray
Intercede for this nation
Every nation carries a redemptive purpose. Marks that seem woven into the identity God desires to restore:
Go
Practical details for those who want to go
Local time
Cost of living
one of the cheapest economies in Asia for those coming from the West
Cost by city
Reference values (source: Numbeo). Confirm before traveling.
Practical points for those who go
- Learn a few words in Sinhala or Tamil: English helps in the cities, but little in the countryside.
- Bring light clothing and a scarf to cover shoulders and knees when visiting temples.
- Never point your feet at people, statues or temples.
- Negotiate the price of the tuk-tuk (the motorized rickshaw used as a taxi) before getting in.
- Watch for the two monsoon seasons, which vary depending on the region visited.
- Bring insect repellent, especially for dawn and dusk.
- Keep cash on hand: cards are not always accepted outside the major centers.
- Download a ride-hailing app like PickMe to get around at a fair price without haggling.
- Enjoy the abundant vegetarian food, found in nearly every restaurant in the country.
Send and sustain
Not everyone goes, everyone takes part
Not everyone goes. Everyone takes part.
Behind every worker among these peoples stands a network of people who pray without ceasing, care for the family left behind, and faithfully sustain the work. Sending is mission too.
Start with your church: introduce this nation, adopt it in ongoing prayer, and walk alongside those God is raising up to go.