| Dates | Period | Period | Span (years) | Subperiod | Span (years) | Main government |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 300,000 BP–~1000 BC | Prehistoric Sri Lanka | Stone Age | – | 300,000 | Unknown | |
| Bronze Age | – | |||||
| ~1000 BC–543 BC | Iron Age | – | 457 | |||
| 543 BC–437 BC | Ancient Sri Lanka | Pre-Anuradhapura | – | 106 | Monarchy | |
| 437 BC–463 AD | Anuradhapura | 1454 | Early Anuradhapura | 900 | ||
| 463–691 | Middle Anuradhapura | 228 | ||||
| 691–1017 | Post-classical Sri Lanka | Late Anuradhapura | 326 | |||
| 1017–1070 | Polonnaruwa | 215 | Chola conquest | 53 | ||
| 1055–1232 | 177 | |||||
| 1232–1341 | Transitional | 365 | Dambadeniya | 109 | ||
| 1341–1412 | Gampola | 71 | ||||
| 1412–1597 | Early Modern Sri Lanka | Kotte | 185 | |||
| 1597–1815 | Kandyan | – | 218 | |||
| 1815–1948 | Modern Sri Lanka | British Ceylon | – | 133 | Colonial monarchy | |
| 1948–1972 | Contemporary Sri Lanka | Sri Lanka since 1948 | 76 | Dominion | 24 | Constitutional monarchy |
| 1972–present | Republic | 52 | Unitary semi-presidential constitutional republic |
