Feb 03, Colombo: Sri Lanka has recorded an increase in the population of women and old in the country while the youth and adult populations are on the decline.

The second preliminary report of the 2011 census by the Census and Statistics Department has recorded the female population to be around 51.5 percent of the total population.

The report has also recorded a decline in the number of persons below the age of 15.

The number of persons aged 60 years and above has increased to 12.2 percent in 2012 from a 9.2 percent in 2000.

According to the report, a majority of the country's population is between the ages of 15 and 59, which is around 62 percent of the total population.

Sri Lanka's population grew only by 0.7 percent over the last ten years, according to the 2011 Census of Population and Housing data.

According to a World Bank report Sri Lanka is one of the fastest aging countries in the world. Population projections show a record aging of population with the population over 60 years old projected to reach 28.5 percent by 2050.

The decline in the fertility rate and number of births, increase in life expectancy and migration by the young and young adult population have resulted in the increase of the elderly population in the country.