Sinhalese People
Sinhalese people (Sinhala: සිංහල ජනතාව, romanized: Sinhala Janathāva) are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group native to the island of Sri Lanka. They were historically known as Hela people (Sinhala: හෙළ).[11][12] They constitute about 75% of the Sri Lankan population and number more than 16.2 million.[1][2] The Sinhalese identity is based on language, cultural heritage and nationality. The Sinhalese people speak Sinhala, an insular Indo-Aryan language, and are predominantly Theravada Buddhists.