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: Southern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of India

Geographic coordinates: 7 00 N, 81 00 E

Map reference: Asia

Area
Total: 65,610 km²
Land: 64,740 km²
Water: 870 km²
Comparative: slightly larger than West Virginia

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 1,340 km

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

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

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

Elevation
Extremes lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
Extremes highest point: Pidurutalagala 2,524 m

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

Land use
Arable land: 14%
Permanent crops: 15%
Permanent pastures: 7%
Forests and woodland: 32%
Other: 32% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 5,500 km² (1993 est.)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: occasional cyclones and tornadoes

Geography
Note: strategic location near major Indian Ocean sea lanes


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Population: 18,721,178 (July 1997 est.)
Note: since the outbreak of hostilities between the government and armed Tamil separatists in the mid-1980s, several hundred thousand Tamil civilians have fled the island; as of late 1996, 63,068 were housed in refugee camps in south India, another 30,000-40,000 lived outside the Indian camps, and more than 200,000 Tamils have sought political asylum in the West
Growth rate: 1.14% (1997 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Sri Lankan(s)
Adjective: Sri Lankan

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

Languages: Sinhala (official and national language) 74%, Tamil (national language) 18%
Note: English is commonly used in government and is spoken by about 10% of the population

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

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 28% (male 2,698,852; female 2,581,476)
15-64 years: 66% (male 6,019,140; female 6,266,311)
65 years and over: 6% (male 565,671; female 589,728) (July 1997 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate: 1.14% (1997 est.)

Birth rate: 18.64 births/1000 population (1997 est.)

Death rate: 5.9 deaths/1000 population (1997 est.)

Net migration rate: -1.37 migrant(s)/1000 population (1997 est.)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; wildlife populations threatened by poaching; coastal degradation from mining activities and increased pollution; freshwater resources being polluted by industrial wastes and sewage runoff

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
Under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.96 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (1997 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 16.5 deaths/1000 live births (1997 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 72.42 years
Male: 69.75 years
Female: 75.23 years (1997 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.15 children born/woman (1997 est.)

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
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 90.2%
Male: 93.4%
Female: 87.2% (1995 est.)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name
Conventional long form: Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
Conventional short form: Sri Lanka
Former: Ceylon

Government type: republic

Capital: Colombo

Administrative divisions: 8 provinces; Central, North Central, North Eastern, North Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Uva, Western

Dependent areas

Independence: 4 February 1948 (from UK)

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

Constitution: adopted 16 August 1978

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

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA (since 12 November 1994); note - Sirimavo BANDARANAIKE is the prime minister; in Sri Lanka the president is considered to be both the chief of state and the head of the government, this is in contrast to the more common practice of dividing the roles between the president and the prime minister when both offices exist
Head of government: President Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA (since 12 November 1994); note - Sirimavo BANDARANAIKE is the prime minister; in Sri Lanka the president is considered to be both the chief of state and the head of the government, this is in contrast to the more common practice of dividing the roles between the president and the prime minister when both offices exist
Cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president in consultation with the prime minister
Elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term; election last held 9 November 1994 (next to be held NA November 2000)
Election results: Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA elected president; percent of vote - Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA (People's Alliance) 62%, Srima DISSANAYAKE (United National Party) 37%, other 1%

Legislative branch: unicameral Parliament (225 seats; members elected by popular vote on the basis of a modified proportional representation system to serve six-year terms)
Elections: last held 16 August 1994 (next to be held by August 2000)
Election results: percent of vote by party - PA 49.0%, UNP 44.0%, SLMC 1.8%, TULF 1.7%, SLPF 1.1%, EPDP 0.3%, UPF 0.3%, PLOTE 0.1%, other 1.7%; seats by party - PA 105, UNP 94, EPDP 9, SLMC 7, TULF 5, PLOTE 3, SLPF 1, UPF 1

Judicial branch: Supreme Court, judges are appointed by the Judicial Service Commission; Court of Appeals

Political parties and leaders

International organization participation: AsDB, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM, PCA, SAARC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Geetha DE SILVA
In the us chancery: 2,148 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 483-4,025 through 4,028
In the us FAX: [1] (202) 232-7,181
In the us consulates: New York
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador A. Peter BURLEIGH
From the us embassy: 210 Galle Road, Colombo 3
From the us mailing address: P. O. Box 106, Colombo
From the us telephone: [94] (1) 448,007
From the us FAX: [94] (1) 437,345, 446,013

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: Industry - dominated by the fast-growing apparel industry - has surpassed agriculture as the main source of export earnings. The economy has been plagued by high rates of unemployment since the late 1970s. Economic growth accelerated in 1991-95 as domestic conditions began to improve and conditions for foreign investment brightened. In 1996, however, a drought, slow economic reform, and civil war exacted a heavy economic toll. Insufficient monsoon rains caused power cuts that hurt industrial and agricultural production, and the stepped-up Tamil insurgency reduced foreign investment and tourism - two key sources of foreign exchange. Meanwhile, Colombo's counterinsurgency efforts caused defense expenditures to overshoot budget targets by 42%. In 1997, agricultural production should recover from the effects of last year's drought, but industry will still be hampered by high real interest rates, slow improvement in foreign investment inflows, and stalled progress on privatization. The government's main challenge this year will be to curb defense and social welfare spending to cut the budget deficit as a percentage of GDP in half by 1998, as stipulated in its deficit reduction program.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate: 3.7% (1996 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity - $3,760 (1996 est.)

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 23.8%
Industry: 24.7%
Services: 51.5% (1994)

Agriculture products: rice, sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseed, roots, spices, tea, rubber, coconuts; milk, eggs, hides, meat

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

Industrial production growth rate: 6.2% (1996 est.)

Labor force
Total: 6.2 million (1994)
By occupation agriculture: 42%
By occupation services: 40%
By occupation industry: 18% (1994)

Unemployment rate: 13.1% (1994)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $3 billion
Expenditures: $4.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $1 billion (1997)

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
Total value: $4 billion (f.o.b., 1996 est.)
Commodities: textiles and apparel, tea, petroleum products, diamonds, other gems, rubber products (1994)
Partners: US 34.8%, UK 8.9%, Germany 6.9%, Belgium-Luxembourg 5.9% (1994)

Imports
Total value: $5 billion (c.i.f., 1996 est.)
Commodities: textiles, machinery and equipment, transport equipment, petroleum, building materials, sugar (1994)
Partners: Japan 11.0%, India 8.5%, South Korea 6.8%, Hong Kong 6.6%, Taiwan 5.2%, Singapore 4.9% (1994)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $9.6 billion (1995)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: Sri Lankan rupees (SLRes) per US$1 - 56.921 (January 1997), 55.271 (1996), 51.252 (1995), 49.415 (1994), 48.322 (1993), 43.830 (1992)


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Electricity
Capacity: 1.56 million kW (1994)
Production: 4.33 billion kWh (1994)
Consumption per capita: 236 kWh (1995 est.)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones: 175,000 (1991 est.)

Telephone system: very inadequate domestic service, good international service
Domestic: NA
International: submarine cables to Indonesia and Djibouti; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)

Broadcast media

Internet

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $736 million (1997)
Percent of gdp: 5.7% (1997)

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: 13 (1996 est.)
With paved runways total: 12
With paved runways over 3047 m: 1
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 5
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 6 (1996 est.)
With unpaved runways total: 1
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1 (1996 est.)

Heliports

Pipelines: crude oil and petroleum products 62 km (1987)

Railways
Total: 1,484 km
Broad gauge: 1,459 km 1.676-m gauge
Narrow gauge: 25 km 0.762-m gauge (1995)

Roadways

Waterways: 430 km; navigable by shallow-draft craft

Merchant marine
Total: 26 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 220,660 GRT/329,365 DWT
Ships by type: bulk 2, cargo 13, container 1, oil tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 8 (1996 est.)

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international: none

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs