A preliminary report on the census released by the Sri Lankan government appears to show dramatic changes in the population of the North-East of the island since the 1981 census.
According to the government figures, there were large increases in the eastern districts, but also huge losses in the north. The decline is thought to be due to Tamils fleeing the conflict.
"Our estimate is that out of the one million Tamils who fled the fighting and are living abroad, at least 80 percent were from Jaffna," said Suresh Premachandran, a member of parliament for the TNA.
"If not for the war, the population in Jaffna would have been over 1.4 million,"
The overall population of Sri Lanka appears to have grown by nearly 5.5 million, while the population of the North-East increased by almost 546,000.
The government data shows that the increase in the Northeast was slower than on the rest of the island, with the population share decreasing from 13.89% to 12.86%.
Jaffna district registered the largest drop in population, from 734,474 to 583,017.
Mannar’s population also declined, however the district of Vavuniya nearly doubled its population, according to the preliminary report.
The eastern districts saw substantial increases, thought to be due to rising Sinhalese and Muslim populations, according to Lanka Business Online.
The government data shows that Batticaloa’s population increased by 195,843 to 525,186, while Amparai saw the largest increase in the North-East, with the population growing from 383,275 to 645,825.
"It is evident that out-migration of those who have been displaced due to the conflict situation in those districts have been the reason for the observed reduction in population in those districts," the Census department said in its preliminary report.
The population drop is likely to affect parliamentary representation of Tamils, as seats in the parliament are allocated according to the population of the districts.
According to Premachandran, the number of MPs from Jaffna will drop from nine to six, due to the decline.
More than 100,000 people, the vast majority of who were Tamil, are thought to have died during the conflict between Sri Lanka and the LTTE.
The UN Panel of Experts report estimates that over 40,000 died during the last stages of the armed conflict in 2009.
