Map of Sri Lanka | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 | More stats

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Background: Occupied by the Portuguese in the 16th century and the Dutch in the 17th century the island was ceded to the British in 1802. As Ceylon it became independent in 1948; its name was changed in 1972. Tensions between the Sinhalese majority and Tamil separatists erupted in violence in the mid-1980s. Tens of thousands have died in an ethnic war that continues to fester.


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Location

Geographic coordinates

Map reference

Area

Land boundaries: none

Coastline: 1,340 km

Maritime claims
Contiguous zone: 24 nm
Continental shelf: edge of continental margin or 200 nm
Extended economic zone: 200 nm
Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: tropical; monsoonal; northeast monsoon (December to March; southwest monsoon (June to October)

Terrain: mostly low, flat to rolling plain; mountains in south-central interior

Elevation

Natural resources: limestone, graphite, mineral sands, gems, phosphates, clay

Land use: 16% arable land; 17% permanent crops; 7% meadows and pastures; 37% forest and woodland; 23% other; includes 8% irrigated

Irrigated land

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards

Geography
Note: only 29 km from India across the Palk Strait; near major Indian Ocean sea lanes


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Population: 17,196,436 (July 1990), growth rate 1.5% (1990)

Nationality: noun--Sri Lankan(s; adjective--Sri Lankan

Ethnic groups: 74% Sinhalese; 18% Tamil; 7% Moor; 1% Burgher, Malay, and Veddha

Languages: Sinhala (official; Sinhala and Tamil listed as national languages; Sinhala spoken by about 74% of population, Tamil spoken by about 18%; English commonly used in government and spoken by about 10% of the population

Religions: 69% Buddhist, 15% Hindu, 8% Christian, 8% Muslim

Demographic profile

Age structure

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate

Birth rate: 21 births/1000 population (1990)

Death rate: 6 deaths/1000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: NEGL migrants/1000 population (1990)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: occasional cyclones, tornados; deforestation; soil erosion

Air pollutants

Sex ratio

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 31 deaths/1000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 68 years male, 72 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 2.3 children born/woman (1990)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy: 87%

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name: conventional long form: Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka

Government type: republic

Capital: Colombo

Administrative divisions: 24 districts; Amparai, Anuradhapura, Badulla, Batticaloa, Colombo, Galle, Gampaha, Hambantota, Jaffna, Kalutara, Kandy, Kegalla, Kurunegala, Mannar, Matale, Matara, Moneragala, Mullativu, Nuwara Eliya, Polonnaruwa, Puttalam, Ratnapura, Trincomalee, Vavuniya; note--the administrative structure may now include 8 provinces (Central, North Central, North Eastern, North Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Uva, and Western) and 25 districts (with Kilinochchi added to the existing districts)

Dependent areas

Independence: 4 February 1948 (from UK; formerly Ceylon)

National holiday: Independence and National Day, 4 February (1948)

Constitution: 31 August 1978

Legal system: a highly complex mixture of English common law, Roman-Dutch, Muslim, and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: universal at age 18

Executive branch: Chief of State--President Ranasinghe PREMADASA (since 2 January 1989; Head of Government--Prime Minister Dingiri Banda WIJETUNGE (since 6 March 1989)

Legislative branch: Army, Air Force, Navy, Police Force, Special Police Task Force, National Auxiliary Force

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders

International organization participation: ADB, ANRPC, CCC, Colombo Plan, Commonwealth, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, IRC, ITU, NAM, SAARC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us: Ambassador W. Susanta De ALWIS; Chancery at 2,148 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington DC 20,008; telephone (202) 483-4,025 through 4,028; there is a Sri Lankan Consulate in New York; US--Ambassador Marion V. CREEKMORE; Embassy at 210 Galle Road, Colombo 3 (mailing address is P. O. Box 106, Colombo; telephone p94o (1) 548,007

Flag description: yellow with two panels; the smaller hoist-side panel has two equal vertical bands of green (hoist side) and orange; the other panel is a large dark red rectangle with a yellow lion holding a sword and there is a yellow bo leaf in each corner; the yellow field appears as a border that goes around the entire flag and extends between the two panels

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: Agriculture, forestry, and fishing dominate the economy, employing about half of the labor force and accounting for about 25% of GDP. The plantation crops of tea, rubber, and coconuts provide about 50% of export earnings and almost 20% of budgetary revenues. The economy has been plagued by high rates of unemployment since the late 1970s.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate

Real gdp per capita

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Agriculture products: accounts for 25% of GDP and nearly half of labor force; most important staple crop is paddy rice; other field crops--sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseeds, roots, spices; cash crops--tea, rubber, coconuts; animal products--milk, eggs, hides, meat; not self-sufficient in rice production

Industries: processing of rubber, tea, coconuts, and other agricultural commodities; cement, petroleum refining, textiles, tobacco, clothing

Industrial production growth rate: 5% (1988)

Labor force:

Unemployment rate: 20% (1988 est.)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget: revenues $1.5 billion; expenditures $2.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $0.7 billion (1989)

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance

Exports: $1.5 billion (f.o.b., 1988)
Commodities: tea, textiles and garments, petroleum products, coconut, rubber, agricultural products, gems and jewelry, marine products
Partners: US 26%, Egypt, Iraq, UK, FRG, Singapore, Japan

Imports: $2.3 billion (c.i.f., 1988)
Commodities: petroleum, machinery and equipment, textiles and textile materials, wheat, transportation equipment, electrical machinery, sugar, rice
Partners: Japan, Saudi Arabia, US 5.6%, India, Singapore, FRG, UK, Iran

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $5.6 billion (1989)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: Sri Lankan rupees (SLRs) per US$1--40.000 (January 1990), 36.047 (1989), 31.807 (1988), 29.445 (1987), 28.017 (1986), 27.163 (1985)


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Electricity
Capacity: 1,300,000 kW capacity; 4,200 million kWh produced, 250 kWh per capita (1989)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones

Telephone system

Broadcast media

Internet

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Percent of gdp: 5% of GDP, or $300 million (1989 est.)

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 14 total, 13 usable; 12 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 7 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Heliports

Pipelines: crude and refined products, 62 km (1987)

Railways

Roadways

Waterways: 430 km; navigable by shallow-draft craft

Merchant marine: 40 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 258,923 GRT/334,702 DWT; includes 22 cargo, 8 refrigerated cargo, 4 container, 1 livestock carrier, 2 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 3 bulk

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs