Main Page Sri Lankan Health Statistics

Hospital Statistics

Year 2000

Beds	828
Wards	29
Clinics	19
Operation theatres	04
Indoor patients - daily average -	1286
OPD patients - daily average -	1060
Admissions - daily average-	356
Clinic attendance - av. per month -	24600
Deliveries - average per month -	570
Death rate - in percent	1.1

Medical & Nursing Staff

Specialist Medical Officers	40
Other Medical Officers	157
Intern Medical Officers	89
Matrons	3
Nursing Staff	339
Midwives	46

Expenditure on Medical Supplies during 1999 = Rs 50 985 700 ( source: Ministry of Health)

Back to main page

Sri Lankan Health Statistics

Sri Lanka has fairly impressive health indices for a poor country. The free health care that is provided has helped. However preventive health has had a great deal to do with it. The high literacy and free education are important factors in the background.

The acceptance of immunization and an excellent countrywide program has made it a success.

Sri Lanka is an island of approximately 65,700 square kilometers.

Administrative divisions are

8 Provinces

25 Districts

318 Divisional Secretary areas.

Population = 19,043,000 (1999) ( Registrar Generals Dept.)

Population Density (persons per sq. km.) = 304 (1999) (Dept. of Census & Statistics)

Population Growth Rate = 1.4 (1999) ( RG's Dept.)

Urban Population % = 15.5 (1994) (Demographic survey 1994)

Adult Literacy Rate = 90.1 (1994) ( " " )

Govt. Health Expenditure as a percentage of GNP = 1.8 (1999)

Govt. Health Expenditure as a % of total Govt. expenditure = 5.6 (1999)

Per capita Health Expenditure = Rs 946 (1999)

Crude Birth Rate (per 1000 pop.) = 17.3 (RG department 1998)

Crude Death Rate (per 1000 pop.) = 5.9 (RGD 1998)

Maternal Mortality Rate (per 10,000 live births) = 2.3 (1996)

Infant Mortality Rate (per 1000 Live Births) = 15.4 (1998)

Total Health Expenditure as a percentage of GNP = 1.8 ( source: The DHS 1999)

Govt. health expenditure as a % of total government expenditure = 5.6 (1999)

Per capita health expenditure (Rs) = 946 (source: Medical Statistics Unit 1999)

Number of Hospitals = 556 (MSU 1999)

Number of Hospital Beds = 55,195 (MSU 1999)

Hospital Beds per 1000 population = 2.9 (MSU 1999)

Immunization coverage 1999- DTP, BCG, Measles = over 95%

- OPV at 5 years = 81%

Pregnant women immunized with tetanus toxoid = 91.8%

The nutritional status in a countries population plays a very important role in its health.

Millions of people with low food availability or "undernourished", 1995-7

Sri Lanka 4.6 India 204.4 Pakistan 26.3

( source: FAO 1999, State of food insecurity in the world 1990-1998)

Percentage of population with access to safe water; 89% urban and 51% rural areas (UNICEF. State of the worlds children )

Percentage of population with access to adequate sanitation; 68% urban and 62% rural areas (UNICEF. State of the worlds children 1990-1998)

Health Care Institutions in Sri Lanka 31-01-2000

Type of Institute	Number	Beds
National Hospital	01	2847
Tertiary Hospital	01	984
Teaching Hospitals	15	13109
Provincial Hospitals	05	4370
Base Hospitals	33	9688
District Hospitals	159	14448
Peripheral Units	103	4944
Other	354	8051
Total	581	58423

Health Care Personnel, Ministry of Health at 31-12-1999

Administrative Grade	99
Specialist MOO	580
Medical Officers	5866
Intern MOO	746
Dental Surgeons	480
Nurses	14419
RMP/AMP	1378
PHNs	264
Midwives	7358
PHI	1264
Pharmacist	818
Dispensers	766
MLT	727
Physiotherapists	181
Radiographers	260
Occupational therapists	41
Attendents	7242
HEO	51

Doctors to 100,000 population 1993 = 22

Nurses to 100,000 population 1993 = 110 ( Human Development Report UNDP 1998 )

Some interesting Global Health Facts

Investment in health research is focused on 10% of the worlds richest populations, and only 10% of funds available for health research is directed at improving the health of 90% of the worlds population. ( WHO. The Global Forum for health research. Geneva. 1999.)
One quarter of all deaths and and 30% of the global burden of disease are due to infectious diseases.
Unfortunately the poorer countries are having in addition to many infectious diseases, an increasing burden of disease from chronic non communicable diseases such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer.
Just FIVE risk factors account for almost 20% of the global disease burden -unsafe sexual practices, alcohol use, indoor air pollution, occupational exposures and tobacco use. ( The Global Burden of Disease. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press. 1996.)
There are 4 million tobacco related deaths each year (World Health Report 1999). More than three quarters of these are due to just three causes.: Cardiovascular disease, Lung cancer and chronic respiratory disease.
The increasing burden of non-communicable disease is going to hit the poorer countries. These are essentially preventable according to existing knowledge. Already, more than 40% of all deaths in the poorest 20% of the worlds population are due to these diseases. These are countries where infectious disease is also a major problem. This is the so called 'double burden' of disease.

Back to main page