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Country profile

Sri Lankans in Japan

Total residents (2025)
79,128
Total Population of Sri Lanka: ~22 million
Growth (past 10 years)
+502%
13,152 in 2015 → 79,128 in 2025

Top visa types (2025)

Engineer / Humanities
20,461
Student
20,172
Family stay
14,708
Permanent resident
4,457
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The Average Sri Lankan Migrant

Male profile

The average Sri Lankan male in Japan is an engineering or international-services professional in his late twenties, living in Chiba.

Modal age25–29
Top visaEngineer / Humanities (34.0%)
2nd visaStudent (23.0%)
Population51,664 (65.3%)
Female profile

The average Sri Lankan female in Japan is a dependent family member in her late twenties, living in Chiba.

Modal age25–29
Top visaFamily stay (36.1%)
2nd visaStudent (30.2%)
Population27,464 (34.7%)

Population over time

Total Sri Lankan residents

Annual figures — steady growth led by engineers, students and families · hover for details
020,00040,00060,00080,00019641970198019902000201020202025
0 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000 2005 2008 2015 2024
Engineer / HumanitiesStudentFamily stay / DependentPermanent residentSpecified Skilled WorkerOthers

Visa Types

What do these visa types mean? →

Status of residence (2025)

Current snapshot
0 10,000 20,000 30,000 Engineer / Humanities / Int'l services Engineer / Humanities / Int'l services: 20,461 20,461 Student Student: 20,172 20,172 Family stay / Dependent Family stay / Dependent: 14,708 14,708 Permanent resident Permanent resident: 4,457 4,457 Specified Skilled Worker Specified Skilled Worker: 4,003 4,003 Designated activities Designated activities: 3,830 3,830 Technical Intern Trainee Technical Intern Trainee: 2,870 2,870 Business manager Business manager: 2,617 2,617 Intra-company transferee Intra-company transferee: 1,959 1,959 Spouse of Japanese Spouse of Japanese: 1,462 1,462 Long-term resident Long-term resident: 915 915 Spouse of PR Spouse of PR: 588 588
0 10,000 20,000 30,000 Engineer / Humanities / Int'l services Engineer / Humanities / Int'l services 2015: 1,997 Engineer / Humanities / Int'l services 2025: 20,461 1,997 20,461 (2025) Student Student 2015: 3,219 Student 2025: 20,172 3,219 20,172 (2025) Family stay / Dependent Family stay / Dependent 2015: 2,319 Family stay / Dependent 2025: 14,708 2,319 14,708 (2025) Permanent resident Permanent resident 2015: 2,419 Permanent resident 2025: 4,457 2,419 4,457 (2025) Specified Skilled Worker Specified Skilled Worker 2015: 0 Specified Skilled Worker 2025: 4,003 0 4,003 (2025) Designated activities Designated activities 2015: 808 Designated activities 2025: 3,830 808 3,830 (2025) Technical Intern Trainee Technical Intern Trainee 2015: 223 Technical Intern Trainee 2025: 2,870 223 2,870 (2025) Business manager Business manager 2015: 469 Business manager 2025: 2,617 469 2,617 (2025) Intra-company transferee Intra-company transferee 2015: 228 Intra-company transferee 2025: 1,959 228 1,959 (2025) Spouse of Japanese Spouse of Japanese 2015: 646 Spouse of Japanese 2025: 1,462 646 1,462 (2025)
Where Sri Lanka is heavier than rest of world Where Sri Lanka is lighter (or absent) Engineer / Humanities / Int'l services Sri Lankan: 25.9% 25.9% Rest of world: 11.3% 11.3% Student Sri Lankan: 25.5% 25.5% Rest of world: 11.0% 11.0% Family stay / Dependent Sri Lankan: 18.6% 18.6% Rest of world: 8.4% 8.4% Designated activities Sri Lankan: 4.8% 4.8% Rest of world: 3.0% 3.0% Business manager Sri Lankan: 3.3% 3.3% Rest of world: 1.1% 1.1% Intra-company transferee Sri Lankan: 2.5% 2.5% Rest of world: 0.4% 0.4% Permanent resident Sri Lankan: 5.6% 5.6% Rest of world: 23.3% 23.3% Technical Intern Trainee Sri Lankan: 3.6% 3.6% Rest of world: 11.2% 11.2% Specified Skilled Worker Sri Lankan: 5.1% 5.1% Rest of world: 9.5% 9.5% Long-term resident Sri Lankan: 1.2% 1.2% Rest of world: 5.6% 5.6% Spouse of Japanese Sri Lankan: 1.8% 1.8% Rest of world: 3.7% 3.7% High-skilled professional Sri Lankan: 0.1% 0.1% Rest of world: 0.8% 0.8% Skilled labour Sri Lankan: 0.7% 0.7% Rest of world: 1.3% 1.3% Spouse of PR Sri Lankan: 0.7% 0.7% Rest of world: 1.4% 1.4%

Demographics

Age distribution

All Sri Lankan residents — five-year age brackets, December 2025
0 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000 0–4: 3,242 3,242 0–4 5–9: 2,299 2,299 5–9 10–14: 1,834 1,834 10–14 15–19: 1,491 1,491 15–19 20–24: 15,350 15.3k 20–24 25–29: 18,480 18.5k 25–29 30–34: 14,293 14.3k 30–34 35–39: 7,595 7,595 35–39 40–44: 5,824 5,824 40–44 45–49: 4,209 4,209 45–49 50–54: 2,261 2,261 50–54 55–59: 1,269 1,269 55–59 60–64: 616 616 60–64 65–69: 204 204 65–69 70–74: 106 106 70–74 75–79: 32 32 75–79 80+: 23 23 80+
MALE 男性 FEMALE 女性 0–4 1,623 1,619 5–9 1,154 1,145 10–14 954 880 15–19 791 700 20–24 9,043 6,307 25–29 11.6k 6,867 30–34 9,450 4,843 35–39 5,449 2,146 40–44 4,530 1,294 45–49 3,449 760 50–54 1,887 374 55–59 1,008 261 60–64 471 145 65–69 138 66 70–74 66 40 75–79 25 7 80+ 13 10

Gender split

December 2025
Male: 51,664 (65.3%) Female: 27,464 (34.7%) 79,128 total
Male
51,664 (65.3%)
Female
27,464 (34.7%)

The Sri Lankan community is male-majority (66%), led by engineers, students and used-car exporters. A high share of family-stay visas reflects a tendency to settle as families.

Family stay / Dependent: 9,918 (36.1%) Student: 8,289 (30.2%) Engineer / Humanities / Int'l services: 2,872 (10.5%) Specified Skilled Worker: 1,869 (6.8%) Permanent resident: 1,613 (5.9%) Technical Intern Trainee: 901 (3.3%) Spouse of Japanese: 402 (1.5%) Designated activities: 399 (1.5%) Long-term resident: 359 (1.3%) Spouse of PR: 334 (1.2%) Nursing care: 174 (0.6%) Business manager: 123 (0.4%) Intra-company transferee: 101 (0.4%) Other: 110 (0.4%) Total female 27,464
27,464 female Sri Lankan residents — by status of residence
Family stay / Dependent9,918
Student8,289
Engineer / Humanities / Int'l services2,872
Specified Skilled Worker1,869
Permanent resident1,613
Technical Intern Trainee901
Spouse of Japanese402
Designated activities399
Long-term resident359
Spouse of PR334
Nursing care174
Business manager123
Intra-company transferee101
Other110
Engineer / Humanities / Int'l services: 17,589 (34.0%) Student: 11,883 (23.0%) Family stay / Dependent: 4,790 (9.3%) Designated activities: 3,431 (6.6%) Permanent resident: 2,844 (5.5%) Business manager: 2,494 (4.8%) Specified Skilled Worker: 2,134 (4.1%) Technical Intern Trainee: 1,969 (3.8%) Intra-company transferee: 1,858 (3.6%) Spouse of Japanese: 1,060 (2.1%) Long-term resident: 556 (1.1%) Skilled labour: 506 (1.0%) Spouse of PR: 254 (0.5%) Other: 296 (0.6%) Total male 51,664
51,664 male Sri Lankan residents — by status of residence
Engineer / Humanities / Int'l services17,589
Student11,883
Family stay / Dependent4,790
Designated activities3,431
Permanent resident2,844
Business manager2,494
Specified Skilled Worker2,134
Technical Intern Trainee1,969
Intra-company transferee1,858
Spouse of Japanese1,060
Long-term resident556
Skilled labour506
Spouse of PR254
Other296
0 20,000 40,000 60,000 2010 2015 2020 2025 Female 27,464 Male 51,664

Where they live (2025)

By region — heat map

Hover or tap a region to see its breakdown.
Hokkaido Hokkaido 0.9% 0.9% Tohoku Tohoku 1.9% 1.9% Kanto Kanto 2,621 2,621 Chubu Chubu 16.0% 16.0% Kansai Kansai 12.4% 12.4% Chugoku Chugoku 1.5% 1.5% Shikoku Shikoku 0.6% 0.6% Kyushu Kyushu 5.4% 5.4%
Fewer
More
Selected region
Kanto
60.4%
44,102 residents
Top Visa Categories
Prefectures
Chiba
13,146
Kanagawa
8,456
Ibaraki
6,281
Tokyo
5,759
Saitama
4,524
Tochigi
3,594
Gunma
2,342

Highest and Lowest Prefectures

Share of all Sri Lankan residents in Japan (2025)
Top 10
Chiba
Kanto
17.7%
Kanagawa
Kanto
11.4%
Ibaraki
Kanto
8.7%
Aichi
Chubu
7.5%
Tokyo
Kanto
7.4%
Saitama
Kanto
6.3%
Tochigi
Kanto
4.8%
Osaka
Kansai
4.5%
Shizuoka
Chubu
4.5%
Gunma
Kanto
3.0%
Bottom 10
Shimane
Chugoku
0.03%
Yamagata
Tohoku
0.03%
Iwate
Tohoku
0.04%
Tottori
Chugoku
0.1%
Kochi
Shikoku
0.1%
Aomori
Tohoku
0.1%
Fukui
Chubu
0.1%
Toyama
Chubu
0.1%
Akita
Tohoku
0.2%
Kagawa
Shikoku
0.2%

Prefecture Growth, 2015 to 2025

Percentage change in Sri Lankan residents over the past decade · hover a row for real numbers
Fastest growth
Akita
Tohoku
+6050%
Wakayama
Kansai
+3800%
Miyazaki
Kyushu
+2640%
Tokushima
Shikoku
+2620%
Yamaguchi
Chugoku
+2586%
Slowest growth
Shimane
Chugoku
+133%
Niigata
Chubu
+192%
Yamanashi
Chubu
+223%
Nagano
Chubu
+225%
Tokyo
Kanto
+252%
0 5,000 10,000 15,000 2010 2015 2020 2025 Chiba Kanagawa Ibaraki Aichi Tokyo Saitama Tochigi Osaka

Fun Fact

Sri Lankans play a major role in Japan's used-car export business, with Chiba its largest hub. The community grew +502% in a decade.
Interested to know more about migration numbers in Japan?
Explore Overview →Immigration statistics for the whole of Japan — 4.13 million foreign residentsAll Nationalities/Regions →This page is one of 67 — explore every major community in Japan
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