Map of Sri Lanka | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024 | 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
Comparative: slightly larger than West Virginia

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 1340 km

Maritime claims

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

Natural resources: limestone graphite mineral sands gems phosphates clay hydropower

Land use

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: 19,238,575
Growth rate: 0.89% (2000 est.)
Below poverty line: 22% (1997 est.)

Nationality

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

Languages: Sinhala (official and national language) 74% Tamil (national language) 18%

Religions: Buddhist 70% Hindu 15% Christian 8% Muslim 7% (1999)

Demographic profile

Age structure

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate: 0.89% (2000 est.)

Birth rate: 16.78 births/1000 population (2000 est.)

Death rate: 6.43 deaths/1000 population (2000 est.)

Net migration rate: -1.47 migrant(s)/1000 population (2000 est.)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

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

Air pollutants

Sex ratio

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 16.51 deaths/1000 live births (2000 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

Total fertility rate: 1.98 children born/woman (2000 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

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name

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

Legislative branch: unicameral Parliament (225 seats; members elected by popular vote on the basis of a modified proportional representation system by district to serve six-year terms)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court judges are appointed by the president; Court of Appeals judges are appointed by the president

Political parties and leaders: All Ceylon Tamil Congress or ACTC [leader NA]; Ceylon Workers Congress or CLDC [leader NA]; Communist Party [leader NA]; Communist Party/Beijing or CP/B [leader NA]; Democratic People's Liberation Front or DPLF [leader NA]; Democratic United National (Lalith) Front or DUNLF [leader NA]; Desha Vimukthi Janatha Party or DVJP [leader NA]; Eelam People's Democratic Party or EPDP [leader NA]; Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front or EPRLF [leader NA]; Eelam Revolutionary Organization of Students or EROS [leader NA]; Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna or JVP [leader NA]; Lanka Socialist Party/Trotskyite or LSSP (Lanka Sama Samaja Party) [leader NA]; Liberal Party or LP [leader NA]; New Socialist Party or NSSP (Nava Sama Samaja Party) [leader NA]; People's Alliance or PA [Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA]; People's Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam or PLOTE [D. SIDDHARTHAN]; People's United Front or MEP (Mahajana Eksath Peramuna) [Dinesh GUNAWARDENE]; Sri Lanka Freedom Party or SLFP [Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA]; Sri Lanka Muslim Congress or SLMC [leader NA]; Sri Lanka People's Party or SLMP (Sri Lanka Mahajana Party) [leader NA]; Sri Lanka Progressive Front or SLPF [leader NA]; Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization or TELO [leader NA]; Tamil United Liberation Front or TULF [leader NA]; United National Party or UNP [Ranil WICKREMASINGHE]; Upcountry People's Front or UPF [leader NA]; several ethnic Tamil and Muslim parties represented in either parliament or provincial councils

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 OAS (observer) OPCW PCA SAARC UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNIDO UNU UPU WCL WFTU WHO WIPO WMO WToO WTrO

Diplomatic representation

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: In 1977 Colombo abandoned statist economic policies and its import substitution trade policy for market-oriented policies and export-oriented trade. Sri Lanka's most dynamic industries now are food processing textiles and apparel food and beverages telecommunications and insurance and banking. By 1996 plantation crops made up only 20% of exports (compared with 93% in 1970) while textiles and garments accounted for 63%. GDP grew at an annual average rate of 5.5% throughout the 1990s until a drought and a deteriorating security situation lowered growth to 3.8% in 1996. The economy rebounded in 1997-98 with growth of 6.4% and 4.7% - but slowed to 3.7% in 1999. For the next round of reforms the central bank of Sri Lanka recommends that Colombo expand market mechanisms in nonplantation agriculture dismantle the government's monopoly on wheat imports and promote more competition in the financial sector. A continuing cloud over the economy is the fighting between the Sinhalese and the minority Tamils which has cost 50,000 lives in the past 15 years.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate: 3.7% (1999 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity - $2,600 (1999 est.)

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin

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

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

Industrial production growth rate: 6.3% (1998)

Labor force: 6.6 million (1998)
By occupation services: 45%
By occupation agriculture: 38%
By occupation industry: 17% (1998 est.)

Unemployment rate: 9.5% (1998 est.)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: 22% (1997 est.)

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 6% (1999 est.)

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: $4.7 billion (f.o.b. 1998)
Commodities: textiles and apparel tea diamonds coconut products petroleum products (1998)
Partners: US 40% UK 11% Middle East 9% Germany 5% Japan 4% (1998)

Imports: $5.3 billion (f.o.b. 1998)
Commodities: machinery and equipment textiles petroleum foodstuffs (1998)
Partners: India 10% Japan 10% South Korea 8% Hong Kong 7% Taiwan 6% (1998)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $8.4 billion (1998)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: Sri Lankan rupees (SLRe) per US$1 - 72.364 (January 2000) 70.402 (1999) 64.593 (1998) 58.995 (1997) 55.271 (1996) 51.252 (1995)


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Electricity
Production: 5.505 billion kWh (1998)
Consumption: 5.12 billion kWh (1998)
Exports: 0 kWh (1998)
Imports: 0 kWh (1998)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Main lines in use: 494,509 (1998)
Mobile cellular: 228,604 (1999)

Telephone system: very inadequate domestic service particularly in rural areas; some hope for improvement with privatization of national telephone company and encouragement to private investment; good international service (1999)

Broadcast media

Internet
Service providers isps: 4 (1999)

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $719 million (FY98)
Percent of gdp: 4.2% (FY98)

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 (1999 est.)

Heliports

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

Railways

Roadways

Waterways: 430 km; navigable by shallow-draft craft

Merchant marine

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international: none

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs