The major social groups of Sri Lanka are: the Sinhala speakers (74 per cent) and the Tamil speakers (18 per cent).
Among Tamils there are two sub-groups: Tamil natives of the country are called ‘Sri Lankan Tamils’ and the rest, whose forefathers came from India as plantation workers during colonial period are called ‘Indian Tamils’.
Sri Lankan Tamils are concentrated in the north and east of the country.
Most of the Sinhala-speaking people are Buddhists, while most of the Tamils are Hindus or Muslims. There are about 7 per cent Christians who are both Tamils and Sinhalas.
