🌆 Largest Cities in Sri Lanka
Cities of Sri Lanka with more than 15,000 inhabitants, ranked by population (GeoNames).
Colombo16%
Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia5.4%
Maharagama4.8%
Jaffna4.1%
Moratuwa4.1%
Negombo3.4%
Pita Kotte2.9%
Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte2.8%
Kandy2.7%
Trincomalee2.7%
Kalmunai2.5%
Galle
Point Pedro
Batticaloa
Katunayaka
Ambalantota
Valvedditturai
Matara
Battaramulla South
Dambulla
Kolonnawa
Kotikawatta
Anuradhapura
Vavuniya
Beliatta
Hendala
Ambalangoda
Ratnapura
Badulla
Pottuvil
Puttalam
Devinuwara
Ampara
Welisara
Kalutara
Bentota
Matale
Mannar
10 others7.5%
1
ColomboWestern Province
648,034
2
Dehiwala-Mount LaviniaWestern Province
219,827
3
MaharagamaWestern Province
195,355
4
JaffnaNorthern Province
169,102
5
MoratuwaWestern Province
168,280
6
NegomboWestern Province
137,223
7
Pita KotteWestern Province
118,179
8
Sri Jayewardenepura KotteWestern Province
115,826
9
KandyCentral Province
111,701
10
TrincomaleeEastern Province
108,420
11
KalmunaiEastern Province
100,171
12
GalleSouthern Province
93,118
13
Point PedroNorthern Province
89,810
14
BatticaloaEastern Province
86,742
15
KatunayakaWestern Province
84,643
16
AmbalantotaSouthern Province
80,506
17
ValvedditturaiNorthern Province
78,205
18
MataraSouthern Province
76,254
19
Battaramulla SouthWestern Province
75,633
20
DambullaCentral Province
66,716
21
KolonnawaWestern Province
64,887
22
KotikawattaWestern Province
64,565
23
AnuradhapuraNorth Central Province
60,943
24
VavuniyaNorthern Province
60,176
25
BeliattaSouthern Province
58,675
26
HendalaWestern Province
56,978
27
AmbalangodaSouthern Province
56,783
28
RatnapuraSabaragamuwa Province
47,832
29
BadullaUva Province
47,587
30
PottuvilEastern Province
45,727
31
PuttalamNorth Western Province
45,661
32
DevinuwaraSouthern Province
45,000
33
AmparaEastern Province
43,720
34
WelisaraWestern Province
41,306
35
KalutaraWestern Province
37,081
36
BentotaSouthern Province
37,000
37
MataleCentral Province
36,462
38
MannarNorthern Province
35,817
39
HomagamaWestern Province
34,664
40
BeruwalaWestern Province
34,250
41
PanaduraWestern Province
33,735
42
MulleriyawaWestern Province
33,540
43
KandanaWestern Province
33,424
44
Ja ElaWestern Province
32,175
45
WattalaWestern Province
30,725
46
MullaittivuNorthern Province
28,973
47
KelaniyaWestern Province
28,846
48
PeliyagodaWestern Province
28,784
49
KurunegalaNorth Western Province
28,571
50
Nuwara EliyaCentral Province
27,500
Highlights
Within Sri Lanka, Colombo ranks first in 2026 with 648,034, followed by Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia (219,827) and Maharagama (195,355).
Colombo is 2.9 times higher than Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia, the runner-up.
Across 50 entries, values run from 648,034 (Colombo) to 27,500 (Nuwara Eliya), with a median of 57,827.
Source: GeoNames, cities with more than 15,000 inhabitants, 2026. Unit: people.
Source: GeoNames, cities with more than 15,000 inhabitants · CC BY 4.0 (GeoNames) · fetched Oct 14, 2026 — GeoNames aggregates census and estimate figures, so the reference year varies by city, and a few figures cover the metropolitan area rather than the city proper.