The town has been known since ancient times, but being a heavily forested area, less than 100,000 people lived in the entire district before the Sri Lankan Civil War.

This city has a long history of being ruled by the Sinhala kings, who built many tanks and placed Naga Sacred Guard Stones near them with inscriptions.

Vavuniya has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen: As)[1] with warm to hot temperatures throughout the year and a distinct wet season from October to December.

Most of the Sri Lankan Tamils are Hindus, and the other religious persuasions in the province are Christians, Muslims, and a small number of Buddhists.

The Vavuniya city reflects the composition of the district quite closely, even more so than the provincial percentages.