Evolution of Population Policies and Programmes in Sri Lanka

Governments of nearly all countries are committed to improve the welfare and living standards of their people. Population policies are one of the tools available to the governments for this purpose. Generally, two kinds of population policies can be identified: (a) Population responsive policies or indirect policies and (b) Population influencing policies or direct policies. Policies concerning educational expansion, food supply, development of towns and cities and resource development are in the first category, while family planning programmes to reduce fertility, public health and nutrition programmes that lower mortality and transportation and industrial planning to influence migration (internal and external) are in the second. The paper examines the policies and programmes in Sri Lanka that directly and indirectly influenced a) Migration (international migration and internal migration) b) Mortality and c) Fertility.