B.C. probably from northern India. Buddhism was introduced in about
the mid-third century B.C., and a great civilization developed at
the cities of Anuradhapura (kingdom from circa 200 B.C. to circa
A.D. 1000) and Polonnaruwa (from about 1070 to 1200). In the 14th
century, a south Indian dynasty established a Tamil kingdom in
northern Sri Lanka. The coastal areas of the island were controlled
by the Portuguese in the 16th century and by the Dutch in the 17th
century. The island was ceded to the British in 1796, became a crown
colony in 1802, and was united under British rule by 1815. As
Ceylon, it became independent in 1948; its name was changed to Sri
Lanka in 1972. Tensions between the Sinhalese majority and Tamil
separatists erupted into war in 1983. Tens of thousands have died in
the ethnic conflict that continues to fester. After two decades of
fighting, the government and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)
formalized a cease-fire in February 2002 with Norway brokering peace
negotiations. Violence between the LTTE and government forces
intensified in 2006 and the government regained control of the
Eastern Province in 2007. In May 2009, the government announced that
its military had finally defeated the remnants of the LTTE and that
its leader, Velupillai PRABHAKARAN, had been killed.
Geography ::Sri Lanka
Location:
Southern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of India
Geographic coordinates:
7 00 N, 81 00 E
Map references:
Asia
Area:
total: 65,610 sq km
country comparison to the world: 121
land: 64,630 sq km
water: 980 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly larger than West Virginia
Land boundaries:
0 km
Coastline:
1,340 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
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
highest point: Pidurutalagala 2,524 m
Natural resources:
limestone, graphite, mineral sands, gems, phosphates, clay,
hydropower
Land use:
arable land: 13.96%
permanent crops: 15.24%
other: 70.8% (2005)
Irrigated land:
7,430 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources:
50 cu km (1999)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
total: 12.61 cu km/yr (2%/2%/95%)
per capita: 608 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards:
occasional cyclones and tornadoes
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
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental
Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer
Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation
Geography - note:
strategic location near major Indian Ocean sea lanes
People ::Sri Lanka
Population:
21,324,791
country comparison to the world: 53
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 and more than 200,000 Tamils
have sought refuge in the West (July 2009 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 23.9% (male 2,594,815/female 2,493,002)
15-64 years: 68% (male 7,089,307/female 7,418,123)
65 years and over: 8.1% (male 803,172/female 926,372) (2009 est.)
Median age:
total: 30.9 years
male: 29.9 years
female: 31.8 years (2009 est.)
Population growth rate:
0.904% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 134
Birth rate:
16.26 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 130
Death rate:
6.13 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 158
Net migration rate:
-1.09 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 124
Urbanization:
urban population: 15% of total population (2008)
rate of urbanization: 0.5% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.87 male(s)/female
total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2009 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 18.57 deaths/1,000 live births
country comparison to the world: 111
male: 20.33 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 16.73 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 75.14 years
country comparison to the world: 84
male: 73.08 years
female: 77.28 years (2009 est.)
Total fertility rate:
1.99 children born/woman (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 131
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
less than 0.1% (2001 est.)
country comparison to the world: 164
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
3,800 (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 127
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
fewer than 200 (2003 est.)
country comparison to the world: 124
Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk: high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea and hepatitis A
vectorborne disease: dengue fever and chikungunya
water contact disease: leptospirosis
animal contact disease: rabies (2009)
Nationality:
noun: Sri Lankan(s)
adjective: Sri Lankan
Ethnic groups:
Sinhalese 73.8%, Sri Lankan Moors 7.2%, Indian Tamil 4.6%, Sri
Lankan Tamil 3.9%, other 0.5%, unspecified 10% (2001 census
provisional data)
Religions:
Buddhist 69.1%, Muslim 7.6%, Hindu 7.1%, Christian 6.2%, unspecified
10% (2001 census provisional data)
Languages:
Sinhala (official and national language) 74%, Tamil (national
language) 18%, other 8%
note: English is commonly used in government and is spoken
competently by about 10% of the population
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 90.7%
male: 92.3%
female: 89.1% (2001 census)
Education expenditures:
NA
Government ::Sri Lanka
Country name:
conventional long form: Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
conventional short form: Sri Lanka
local long form: Shri Lamka Prajatantrika Samajaya di
Janarajaya/Ilankai Jananayaka Choshalichak Kutiyarachu
local short form: Shri Lamka/Ilankai
former: Serendib, Ceylon
Government type:
republic
Capital:
name: Colombo
geographic coordinates: 6 56 N, 79 51 E
time difference: UTC+5.5 (10.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during
Standard Time)
note: Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte (legislative capital)
Administrative divisions:
8 provinces; Central, North Central, North Eastern, North Western,
Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Uva, Western
note: in October 2006, a Sri Lankan Supreme Court ruling voided a
presidential directive merging the North and Eastern Provinces; many
have defended the merger as a prerequisite for a negotiated
settlement to the ethnic conflict; a parliamentary decision on the
issue is pending
Independence:
4 February 1948 (from the UK)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 4 February (1948)
Constitution:
adopted 16 August 1978, certified 31 August 1978; amended 20
December 2000
Legal system:
a highly complex mixture of English common law, Roman-Dutch,
Kandyan, and Jaffna Tamil law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Mahinda Percy RAJAPAKSA (since 19 November
2005); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of
government; Ratnasiri WICKREMANAYAKE (since 21 November 2005) holds
the largely ceremonial title of prime minister
head of government: President Mahinda Percy RAJAPAKSA (since 19
November 2005)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president in consultation with the
prime minister
elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term
(eligible for a second term); election last held on 17 November 2005
(next to be held in 2011)
election results: Mahinda RAJAPAKSA elected president; percent of
vote - Mahinda RAJAPAKSA 50.3%, Ranil WICKREMESINGHE 48.4%, other
1.3%
Legislative branch:
unicameral Parliament (225 seats; members elected by popular vote on
the basis of an open-list, proportional representation system by
electoral district to serve six-year terms)
elections: last held on 2 April 2004 (next to be held by 2010)
election results: percent of vote by party or electoral alliance -
SLFP and JVP (no longer in United People's Freedom Alliance) 45.6%,
UNP 37.8%, TNA 6.8%, JHU 6%, SLMC 2%, UPF 0.5%, EPDP 0.3%, other 1%;
seats by party - UNP 68, SLFP 57, JVP 39, TNA 22, CWC 8, JHU 7, SLMC
6, SLMC dissidents 4, Communist Party 2, JHU dissidents 2, LSSP 2,
MEP 2, NUA 2, UPF 2, EPDP 1, UNP dissident 1
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court; Court of Appeals; judges for both courts are
appointed by the president
Political parties and leaders:
All Ceylon Tamil Congress or ACTC [G.PONNAMBALAM]; Ceylon Workers
Congress or CWC [Arumugam THONDAMAN]; Communist Party or CP [D.
GUNASEKERA]; Eelam People's Democratic Party or EPDP [Douglas
DEVANANDA]; Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front or EPRLF
[Suresh PREMACHANDRAN]; Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna or JVP [Somawansa
AMARASINGHE]; Lanka Sama Samaja Party or LSSP [Tissa VITHARANA];
Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (People's United Front) or MEP [D.
GUNAWARDENE]; National Heritage Party or JHU [Ellawala METHANANDA];
National Unity Alliance or NUA [Ferial ASHRAFF]; People's Liberation
Organization of Tamil Eelam or PLOTE [D. SIDHARTHAN]; Sri Lanka
Freedom Party or SLFP [Mahinda RAJAPAKSA]; Sri Lanka Muslim Congress
or SLMC [Rauff HAKEEM]; Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization or TELO
[Selvam ADAIKALANATHAN]; Tamil National Alliance or TNA [R.
SAMPANTHAN]; Tamil United Liberation Front or TULF [V.
ANANDASANGAREE]; United National Party or UNP [Ranil
WICKREMASINGHE]; Up-country People's Front or UPF [P. CHANDRASEKARAN]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam or LTTE [Velupillai
PRABHAKARAN](insurgent group fighting for a separate state); Tamil
Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP) or Karuna Faction [Vinayagamurthi
MURALITHARAN] (paramilitary breakaway from LTTE and fighting LTTE)
other: Buddhist clergy; labor unions; radical chauvinist Sinhalese
groups such as the National Movement Against Terrorism; Sinhalese
Buddhist lay groups
International organization participation:
ADB, BIMSTEC, C, CP, FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC,
ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol,
IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSTAH, MONUC,
NAM, OAS (observer), OPCW, PCA, SAARC, SACEP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
UNIDO, UNMIS, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Jaliya Chitran WICKRAMASURIYA
chancery: 2148 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 483-4025 through 4028
FAX: [1] (202) 232-7181
consulate(s) general: Los Angeles
consulate(s): New York
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Robert O. BLAKE, Jr.
embassy: 210 Galle Road, Colombo 3
mailing address: P. O. Box 106, Colombo
telephone: [94] (11) 249-8500
FAX: [94] (11) 243-7345
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 around the entire flag and extends between the two panels
Economy ::Sri Lanka
Economy - overview:
In 1977, Colombo abandoned statist economic policies and its import
substitution trade policy for more market-oriented policies,
export-oriented trade, and encouragement of foreign investment.
Recent changes in government, however, have brought some policy
reversals. Currently, the ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party has a more
statist economic approach, which seeks to reduce poverty by steering
investment to disadvantaged areas, developing small and medium
enterprises, promoting agriculture, and expanding the already
enormous civil service. The government has halted privatizations.
Although suffering a brutal civil war that began in 1983, Sri Lanka
saw GDP growth average 4.5% in the last 10 years with the exception
of a recession in 2001. In late December 2004, a major tsunami took
about 31,000 lives, left more than 6,300 missing and 443,000
displaced, and destroyed an estimated $1.5 billion worth of
property. Government spending on development and fighting the LTTE
drove GDP growth to about 7% per year in 2006-07 before the global
recession slow growth in 2008, but high government spending and high
oil and commodity prices also raised inflation to around 15% in
2008. Sri Lanka's most dynamic sectors now are food processing,
textiles and apparel, food and beverages, port construction,
telecommunications, and insurance and banking. In 2008, plantation
crops made up only about 20% of exports (compared with more than 90%
in 1970), while textiles and garments accounted for more than 40%.
About 1.5 million Sri Lankans work abroad, 90% of them in the Middle
East. They send home more than $2.5 billion a year. The 25-year
civil conflict between LTTE and the government of Sri Lanka has been
a serious impediment to economic activities. By mid February 2009,
the LTTE remained in control of small and shrinking area in the
North. The conflict continues to cast a shadow over the economy.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$92.09 billion (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 68
$86.88 billion (2007 est.)
$81.35 billion (2006 est.)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars
GDP (official exchange rate):
$39.6 billion (2008 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
6% (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 62
6.8% (2007 est.)
7.7% (2006 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):
$4,400 (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 150
$4,200 (2007 est.)
$3,900 (2006 est.)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 13.4%
industry: 29.4%
services: 57.3% (2008 est.)
Labor force:
7.569 million
country comparison to the world: 59
note: excludes northern and eastern provinces (2008 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 34.7%
industry: 26.1%
services: 39.2% (30 September 2008 est.)
Unemployment rate:
5.2% (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 64
6% (2007 est.)
Population below poverty line:
22% (2002 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 1.1%
highest 10%: 39.7% (2004)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
49 (2004)
country comparison to the world: 28
34.4 (1995)
Investment (gross fixed):
24.5% of GDP (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 54
Budget:
revenues: $7.8 billion
expenditures: $11 billion (2009 est.)
Public debt:
76.7% of GDP (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 13
104.3% of GDP (2004 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
22.6% (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 208
15.8% (2007 est.)
Central bank discount rate:
15% (31 December 2008)
country comparison to the world: 13
15% (31 December 2007)
Commercial bank prime lending rate:
18.89% (31 December 2008)
Stock of money:
$2.55 billion (30 September 2008)
country comparison to the world: 65
$2.465 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of quasi money:
$9.01 billion (30 September 2008)
country comparison to the world: 54
$10.46 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of domestic credit:
$15.92 billion (30 September 2008)
country comparison to the world: 65
$14.82 billion (31 December 2007)
Market value of publicly traded shares:
$4.326 billion (31 December 2008)
country comparison to the world: 76
$7.553 billion (31 December 2007)
$7.769 billion (31 December 2006)
Agriculture - products:
rice, sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseed, spices, tea, rubber,
coconuts; milk, eggs, hides, beef; fish
Industries:
processing of rubber, tea, coconuts, tobacco and other agricultural
commodities; telecommunications, insurance, banking; clothing,
textiles; cement, petroleum refining, information technology services
Industrial production growth rate:
5.9% (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 41
Electricity - production:
9.507 billion kWh (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 92
Electricity - consumption:
7.946 billion kWh (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 92
Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2008 est.)
Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2008 est.)
Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 200
Oil - consumption:
89,000 bbl/day (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 80
Oil - exports:
968.4 bbl/day (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 121
Oil - imports:
87,690 bbl/day (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 68
Oil - proved reserves:
0 bbl (1 January 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 198
Natural gas - production:
0 cu m (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 199
Natural gas - consumption:
0 cu m (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 200
Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2008)
country comparison to the world: 194
Natural gas - proved reserves:
0 cu m (1 January 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 196
Current account balance:
-$3.876 billion (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 153
-$1.464 billion (2007 est.)
Exports:
$8.137 billion (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 94
$7.741 billion (2007 est.)
Exports - commodities:
textiles and apparel, tea and spices; diamonds, emeralds, rubies;
coconut products, rubber manufactures, fish
Exports - partners:
US 21.6%, UK 11.9%, India 6.8%, Germany 5.1%, Belgium 4.8%, Italy
4.7% (2008)
Imports:
$12.61 billion (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 88
$10.17 billion (2007 est.)
Imports - commodities:
textile fabrics, mineral products, petroleum, foodstuffs, machinery
and transportation equipment
Imports - partners:
India 20.3%, China 12.2%, Iran 7.6%, Singapore 7.4%, South Korea
4.7% (2008)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$2.655 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 99
$3.644 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Debt - external:
$16.78 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 76
$12.2 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
$250.2 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 19
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
$NA
Exchange rates:
Sri Lankan rupees (LKR) per US dollar - 108.33 (2008), 110.78
(2007), 103.99 (2006), 100.498 (2005), 101.194 (2004)
Communications ::Sri Lanka
Telephones - main lines in use:
3.446 million (2008)
country comparison to the world: 44
Telephones - mobile cellular:
11.082 million (2008)
country comparison to the world: 56
Telephone system:
general assessment: telephone services have improved significantly
and are available in most parts of the country
domestic: national trunk network consists mostly of digital
microwave radio relay; fiber-optic links now in use in Colombo area
and fixed wireless local loops have been installed; competition is
strong in mobile cellular systems and mobile cellular subscribership
is increasing
international: country code - 94; the SEA-ME-WE-3 and SEA-ME-WE-4
submarine cables provide connectivity to Asia, Australia, Middle
East, Europe, US; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Indian
Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 15, FM 52, shortwave 4 (2007)
Television broadcast stations:
14 (2006)
Internet country code:
.lk
Internet hosts:
6,090 (2009)
country comparison to the world: 134
Internet users:
1.164 million (2008)
country comparison to the world: 83
Transportation ::Sri Lanka
Airports:
18 (2009)
country comparison to the world: 138
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 14
over 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 6
914 to 1,523 m: 7 (2009)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 4
914 to 1,523 m: 1
under 914 m: 3 (2009)
Railways:
total: 1,449 km
country comparison to the world: 82
broad gauge: 1,449 km 1.676-m gauge (2007)
Roadways:
total: 97,286 km
country comparison to the world: 44
paved: 78,802 km
unpaved: 18,484 km (2003)
Waterways:
160 km (primarily on rivers in southwest) (2008)
country comparison to the world: 101
Merchant marine:
total: 26
country comparison to the world: 89
by type: bulk carrier 4, cargo 18, chemical tanker 1, container 1,
petroleum tanker 2
foreign-owned: 5 (Germany 5)
registered in other countries: 1 (Panama 1) (2008)
Ports and terminals:
Colombo
Military ::Sri Lanka
Military branches:
Sri Lanka Army, Sri Lanka Navy, Sri Lanka Air Force (2009)
Military service age and obligation:
18 years of age for voluntary military service; 5-year service
obligation (2007)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 16-49: 5,458,720
females age 16-49: 5,594,006 (2008 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16-49: 4,498,667
females age 16-49: 4,693,895 (2009 est.)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:
male: 173,256
female: 167,645 (2009 est.)
Military expenditures:
2.6% of GDP (2006)
country comparison to the world: 63
Transnational Issues ::Sri Lanka
Disputes - international:
none
Refugees and internally displaced persons:
IDPs: 460,000 (both Tamils and non-Tamils displaced due to long-term
civil war between the government and the separatist Liberation
Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)) (2007)
Trafficking in persons:
current situation: Sri Lanka is a source and destination country for
men and women trafficked for the purposes of involuntary servitude
and commercial sexual exploitation; Sri Lankan men and women migrate
willingly to the Persian Gulf, Middle East, and East Asia to work as
construction workers, domestic servants, or garment factory workers,
where some find themselves in situations of involuntary servitude
when faced with restrictions on movement, withholding of passports,
threats, physical or sexual abuse, and debt bondage; children are
trafficked internally for commercial sexual exploitation and, less
frequently, for forced labor
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - for a second consecutive year, Sri
Lanka is on the Tier 2 Watch List for failing to provide evidence of
increasing efforts to combat severe forms of human trafficking,
particularly in the area of law enforcement; the government failed
to arrest, prosecute, or convict any person for trafficking offenses
and continued to punish some victims of trafficking for crimes
committed as a result of being trafficked; Sri Lanka has not
ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol (2008)
page last updated on November 11, 2009
======================================================================
@Sudan (Africa)
Introduction ::Sudan
Background: