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Introduction | Sri Lanka

Background: | The Sinhalese arrived in Sri Lanka late in the 6th century B.C., probably from northern India. Buddhism was introduced beginning 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 1000 A.D.) and Polonnaruwa (from about 1070 to 1200). In the 14th century, a south Indian dynasty seized power in the north and established a Tamil kingdom. Occupied 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 in violence in the mid-1980s. Tens of thousands have died in an ethnic war that continues to fester. After two decades of fighting, the government and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam began a ceasefire in December 2001, with Norway brokering peace negotiations.

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 water: 870 sq km land: 64,740 sq km
Area - comparative: | slightly larger than West Virginia
Land boundaries: | 0 km
Coastline: | 1,340 km
Maritime claims: | contiguous zone: 24 NM territorial sea: 12 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: 13.43% permanent crops: 15.78% other: 70.79% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: | 6,510 sq km (1998 est.)
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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, 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: | 19,742,439 (2003 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 yearend 2000, approximately 65,000 were housed in 131 refugee camps in south India, another 40,000 lived outside the Indian camps, and more than 200,000 Tamils have sought refuge in the West (July 2003 est.)
Age structure: | 0-14 years: 25.2% (male 2,543,336; female 2,431,223) 15-64 years: 67.9% (male 6,518,145; female 6,890,424) 65 years and over: 6.9% (male 641,708; female 717,603) (2003 est.)
Median age: | total: 28.7 years male: 27.7 years female: 29.7 years (2002)
Population growth rate: | 0.83% (2003 est.)
Birth rate: | 16.12 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Death rate: | 6.46 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Net migration rate: | -1.35 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Sex ratio: | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2003 est.)
Infant mortality rate: | total: 15.22 deaths/1,000 live births female: 13.92 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) male: 16.45 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 72.62 years male: 70.09 years female: 75.29 years (2003 est.)
Total fertility rate: | 1.9 children born/woman (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: | less than 0.1% (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: | 4,800 (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: | 250 (2001 est.)
Nationality: | noun: Sri Lankan(s) adjective: Sri Lankan
Ethnic groups: | Sinhalese 74%, Tamil 18%, Moor 7%, Burgher, Malay, and Vedda 1%
Religions: | Buddhist 70%, Hindu 15%, Christian 8%, Muslim 7% (1999)
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: 92.3% male: 94.8% female: 90% (2003 est.)

Government | Sri Lanka

Country name: | conventional long form: Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka conventional short form: Sri Lanka former: Serendib, Ceylon
Government type: | republic
Capital: | Colombo; note - Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte is the legislative capital
Administrative divisions: | 8 provinces; Central, North Central, North Eastern, North Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Uva, Western; note - North Eastern province may have been divided in two - Northern and Eastern
Independence: | 4 February 1948 (from UK)
National holiday: | Independence 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
Suffrage: | 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: | chief of state: President Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA (since 12 November 1994); note - Ranil WICKREMASINGHE (since 9 December 2001) is the prime minister; the president is considered both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA (since 12 November 1994); note - Ranil WICKREMASINGHE (since 9 December 2001) is the prime minister; the president is considered both the chief of state and head of government 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 21 December 1999 (next to be held NA December 2005) election results: Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA reelected president; percent of vote - Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA (PA) 51%, Ranil WICKREMASINGHE (UNP) 42%, other 7%
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) elections: last held 7 December 2001 (next to be held NA December 2007) election results: percent of vote by party or electoral alliance - UNP, SLMC and CWC 46.8%, PA and EPDP 38%, JVP 9.1%, TNA 3.89%, PLOTE 0.19%; seats by party or electoral alliance - UNP, SLMC and CWC 114, PA and EPDP 79, JVP 16, TNA 15, PLOTE 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 [KUMARGURUPARAM]; Ceylon Workers Congress or CWC [Arumugam THONDAMAN]; Communist Party or CP [D. GUNASEKERA]; Democratic United National (Lalith) Front or DUNLF [Shrimani ATULATHMUDALI]; Eelam People's Democratic Party or EPDP [Douglas DEVANANDA]; Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front or EPRLF [Suresh PREMACHANDRAN]; Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna or JVP [Tilvan SILVA]; National Unity Alliance or NUA [Ferial ASHRAFF]; People's Alliance or PA [Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA]; People's Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam or PLOTE [leader NA]; Sihala Urumaya or SU [Tilak KARUNARATNE]; Sri Lanka Freedom Party or SLFP [Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA]; Sri Lanka Muslim Congress or SLMC [Rauff HAKEEM]; Sri Lanka Progressive Front or SLPF [P. Nelson PERERA]; Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization or TELO [SABARATNAM]; Tamil National Alliance or TNA [Nadarajah RAVIRAJ]; Tamil United Liberation Front or TULF [R. SAMPATHAN]; United National Party or UNP [Ranil WICKREMASINGHE]; Upcountry People's Front or UPF [P. CHANDRASEKARAN]; several ethnic Tamil and Muslim parties, represented in either Parliament or provincial councils
Political pressure groups and leaders: | Buddhist clergy; labor unions; Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam or LTTE [Velupillai PRABHAKARAN](insurgent group fighting for a separate state); radical chauvinist Sinhalese groups such as the National Movement Against Terrorism; Sinhalese Buddhist lay groups
International organization participation: | AsDB, C, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), OPCW, PCA, SAARC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Devinda R. SUBASINGHE consulate(s): New York consulate(s) general: Los Angeles FAX: [1] (202) 232-7181 telephone: [1] (202) 483-4025 (through 4028) chancery: 2148 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
Diplomatic representation from the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador E. Ashley WILLS embassy: 210 Galle Road, Colombo 3 mailing address: P. O. Box 106, Colombo telephone: [94] (1) 448007 FAX: [94] (1) 437345
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 market-oriented policies and export-oriented trade. Sri Lanka's most dynamic sectors 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 average annual rate of 5.5% in the early 1990s until a drought and a deteriorating security situation lowered growth to 3.8% in 1996. The economy rebounded in 1997-2000 with average growth of 5.3%, but 2001 saw the first contraction in the country's history, -1.4%, due to a combination of power shortages, severe budgetary problems, the global slowdown, and continuing civil strife. Growth recovered to 3.2% in 2002. About 800,000 Sri Lankans work abroad, 90% in the Middle East. They send home about $1 billion a year.
GDP: | purchasing power parity - $73.7 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: | 3.2% (2002 est.)
GDP - per capita: | purchasing power parity - $3,700 (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: | agriculture: 20% industry: 26% services: 54% (2001)
Population below poverty line: | 22% (1997 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: | lowest 10%: 3.5% highest 10%: 28% (1995)
Distribution of family income - Gini index: | 34.4 (1995)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): | 9.6% (2002 est.)
Labor force: | 6.6 million (1998)
Labor force - by occupation: | services 45%, agriculture 38%, industry 17% (1998 est.)
Unemployment rate: | 8% (2002)
Budget: | revenues: $2.8 billion expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.)
Industries: | rubber processing, tea, coconuts, and other agricultural commodities; clothing, cement, petroleum refining, textiles, tobacco
Industrial production growth rate: | 1.1% (2002)
Electricity - production: | 6.36 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source: | fossil fuel: 51.7% hydro: 48.3% other: 0% (2001) nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption: | 5.915 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports: | 0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports: | 0 kWh (2001)
Oil - production: | 0 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption: | 75,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports: | NA (2001)
Oil - imports: | NA (2001)
Agriculture - products: | rice, sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseed, spices, tea, rubber, coconuts; milk, eggs, hides, beef
Exports: | $4.6 billion f.o.b. (2002)
Exports - commodities: | textiles and apparel, tea, diamonds, coconut products, petroleum products
Exports - partners: | US 39.1%, UK 12.9%, Belgium 4.7%, Germany 4.5% (2002)
Imports: | $5.4 billion f.o.b. (2002)
Imports - commodities: | textiles, mineral products, petroleum, foodstuffs, machinery and equipment
Imports - partners: | India 11%, Hong Kong 7.6%, Singapore 7.1%, China 6.3%, Taiwan 5.9%, South Korea 5.7%, Japan 5.3%, Iran 4.2% (2002)
Debt - external: | $9.8 billion (2002)
Economic aid - recipient: | $577 million (1998)
Currency: | Sri Lankan rupee (LKR)
Currency code: | LKR
Exchange rates: | Sri Lankan rupees per US dollar - 95.66 (2002), 89.38 (2001), 77.01 (2000), 70.64 (1999), 64.45 (1998)
Fiscal year: | calendar year

Communications | Sri Lanka

Telephones - main lines in use: | 494,509 (1998)
Telephones - mobile cellular: | 228,604 (1999)
Telephone system: | general assessment: very inadequate domestic service, particularly in rural areas; likely improvement with privatization of national telephone company and encouragement to private investment; good international service (1999) domestic: national trunk network consists mostly of digital microwave radio relay; fiber-optic links now in use in Colombo area and two fixed wireless local loops have been installed; competition is strong in mobile cellular systems; telephone density remains low at 2.6 main lines per 100 persons (1999) international: submarine cables to Indonesia and Djibouti; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) (1999)
Radio broadcast stations: | AM 26, FM 45, shortwave 1 (1998)
Radios: | 3.85 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: | 21 (1997)
Televisions: | 1.53 million (1997)
Internet country code: | .lk
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): | 5 (2000)
Internet users: | 121,500 (2001)

Transportation | Sri Lanka

Railways: | total: 1,508 km broad gauge: 1,449 km 1.676-m gauge narrow gauge: 59 km 0.762-m gauge (2002)
Highways: | total: 96,695 km paved: 91,860 km unpaved: 4,835 km (1999)
Waterways: | 430 km (navigable by shallow-draft craft)
Pipelines: | crude oil and petroleum products 62 km (1987)
Ports and harbors: | Colombo, Galle, Jaffna, Trincomalee
Merchant marine: | total: 15 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 62,157 GRT/84,898 DWT ships by type: cargo 13, container 1, petroleum tanker 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Germany 9, Hong Kong 1, UAE 1 (2002 est.)
Airports: | 15 (2002)
Airports - with paved runways: | total: 14 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 6 (2002)
Airports - with unpaved runways: | total: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2002)

Military | Sri Lanka

Military branches: | Army, Navy, Air Force, Police Force
Military manpower - military age: | 18 years of age (2003 est.)
Military manpower - availability: | males age 15-49: 5,383,661 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: | males age 15-49: 4,172,921 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: | males: 186,691 (2003 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: | $719 million (FY98)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: | 4.2% (FY98)

Transnational Issues | Sri Lanka

Disputes - international: | none

This page was last updated on 18 December, 2003