Cultural Production in
Present Day
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka ranks #121 by number of biographies on Pantheon, behind Guatemala, Burkina Faso, and Kuwait. The most famous people from Sri Lanka are Ranil Wickremesinghe, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, and Sirimavo Bandaranaike. The most famous people who died in Sri Lanka are Arthur C. Clarke, Buddhaghosa, and Sirimavo Bandaranaike. Sri Lanka has been the birthplace of many politicians, and cricketers and the death place of many politicians, and religious figures. The top cities in Sri Lanka by number of people born are Colombo, British Ceylon, Galle, Kandy, and Sri Lanka.
People
Between 200 and 1997, present-day Sri Lanka was the birthplace of 60 globally memorable people, including Ranil Wickremesinghe, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, and Sirimavo Bandaranaike. Additionally, 21 globally memorable people died in present-day Sri Lanka, including Arthur C. Clarke, Buddhaghosa, and Sirimavo Bandaranaike.
People Born in Present-Day Sri Lanka
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Ranil Wickremesinghe
Politician
1949 - Present
HPI: 75.53
Rank: 1
Gotabaya Rajapaksa
Politician
1949 - Present
HPI: 73.46
Rank: 2
Sirimavo Bandaranaike
Politician
1916 - 2000
HPI: 71.36
Rank: 3
Velupillai Prabhakaran
Mafioso
1954 - 2009
HPI: 69.46
Rank: 4
J. R. Jayewardene
Politician
1906 - 1996
HPI: 67.88
Rank: 5
Chandrika Kumaratunga
Politician
1945 - Present
HPI: 65.73
Rank: 6
Ananda Coomaraswamy
Philosopher
1877 - 1947
HPI: 65.11
Rank: 7
Tony Hoare
Computer Scientist
1934 - 2026
HPI: 64.52
Rank: 8
Anagarika Dharmapala
Writer
1864 - 1933
HPI: 63.38
Rank: 9
Mahinda Rajapaksa
Politician
1945 - Present
HPI: 63.27
Rank: 10
Aryadeva
Writer
200 - 250
HPI: 63.10
Rank: 11
Malcolm Ranjith
Religious Figure
1947 - Present
HPI: 61.50
Rank: 12
Newly Added People Born in Present-Day Sri Lanka
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Anura Kumara Dissanayake
Politician
1968 - Present
HPI: 54.77
Rank: 27
Harini Amarasuriya
Politician
1970 - Present
HPI: 45.80
Rank: 42
Jayanthi Kuru-Utumpala
Mountaineer
1979 - Present
HPI: 36.07
Rank: 49
Asha de Vos
Biologist
HPI: 31.82
Rank: 54
Wanindu Hasaranga
Cricketer
1997 - Present
HPI: 25.34
Rank: 57
People Deceased in Present-Day Sri Lanka
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Arthur C. Clarke
Writer
1917 - 2008
HPI: 76.34
Rank: 1
Buddhaghosa
Philosopher
401 - 500
HPI: 76.08
Rank: 2
Sirimavo Bandaranaike
Politician
1916 - 2000
HPI: 71.36
Rank: 3
Velupillai Prabhakaran
Mafioso
1954 - 2009
HPI: 69.46
Rank: 4
Mahinda
Religious Figure
285 BC - 205 BC
HPI: 69.02
Rank: 5
Sanghamitta
Politician
281 BC - 202 BC
HPI: 68.90
Rank: 6
J. R. Jayewardene
Politician
1906 - 1996
HPI: 67.88
Rank: 7
Julia Margaret Cameron
Photographer
1815 - 1879
HPI: 67.46
Rank: 8
Joseph Vaz
Religious Figure
1651 - 1711
HPI: 61.20
Rank: 9
S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike
Politician
1899 - 1959
HPI: 60.62
Rank: 10
D. S. Senanayake
Politician
1883 - 1952
HPI: 59.32
Rank: 11
Prince Vijaya
Politician
543 BC - 504 BC
HPI: 58.08
Rank: 12
Occupations
Most people born in present-day Sri Lanka were politicians (21), cricketers (8), athletes (7), writers (4), and military personnels (4), while most who died were politicians (14), religious figures (3), writers (1), philosophers (1), and mafiosos (1).
Places
Overlapping Lives
Below is a visualization of the lifespans of the top 25 globally memorable people born in present-day Sri Lanka since 1700.
