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.

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

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

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

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

Birth rate: 21 births/1000 population (1990)

Death rate: 6 deaths/1000 population (1990)

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

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

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)

Literacy: 87%

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)

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

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

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

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.

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.)

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

Fiscal year: calendar year

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

Debt external: $5.6 billion (1989)

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)

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

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

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

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

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