The impact of war on demography and the
implications for women- Politics getting
nuttier - 2:
by Rajan Philips-August 9, 2014, 12:00 pm
The two drivers of a country’s population are natural increase (the difference between births and deaths) and migration increase (the difference between immigration and emigration). While it should be obvious that Sri Lanka’s population has been affected by both natural and migration changes throughout its history, it is also useful to keep in mind that enumerating the island’s population began only under British rule in the 19th century. The first recorded estimates show that in 1827 there were 895,000 people living in the island. While again mentioning the obvious that the population has since burgeoned by nearly 25 times, I would also point out that our historical memories could benefit from more than a modicum of modesty if we realize how much fewer people would have been living in the island at the time of the arrival of European imperialists.