This report presents complete and abridged life tables for Sri Lanka for the period 2000-
2002. This period is selected since it centers the year of the last Population Census
conducted in 2001. It also gives abridged life tables for districts. But due to the non
availability of realistic age distribution for each district in Northern Province, life tables have
computed for the Northern Province as a whole and not by its districts. Calculation of life
table was done using the software package Mortpak-lite developed by United Nations.
Life expectancy at birth for Sri Lanka which is interpreted as the average length of life of a
person is 68.8 years for males and 77.2 years for females. These figures exceed substantially
with corresponding figures for less developed countries as well as for South-Central Asia
region. The levels more resemble with that of Europe rather than Asia. The female
advantage in life expectancy at birth for Sri Lanka is 8.4 years which is unusually high for a
developing country. Precise explanations of this significant gender difference need further
research because of the apparent complex interplay of biological, social, behavioural and
health conditions. The life expectancy at age 60 years has risen over time and a female aged
60 in 2001 is expected to live further 22 years. However the pace of increase is low for
males. Higher level of survival chances at old ages coupled with the fertility declines will
result increasing population of the elderly, commonly known as population ageing. It is
expected that the level of life expectancy at birth will reach 71.1 years for males and 80.8
years for females in 2016.
Examination of district variation reveals that the life expectancy at birth is highest for
Hambantota district followed by Moneragala district. This is true for both males and
females. Interestingly, these two districts are considered as more remote and less urbanized
areas in Sri Lanka. One salient feature in the district pattern of mortality is the very low
value of male life expectancy for Northern Province (59.9 years). This could most probably
due to the deaths occur as a result of civil war prevailing in Northern Province. Colombo
district too records low level of life expectancy at birth for both males and females. This is
mainly due to the higher occurrence of deaths in Colombo as a result of the presence of
strong network of hospitals and health facilities run by both government and private
sectors