Fast Facts

Country Name:
Conventional long form:
Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka

Conventional short form: Sri Lanka
former: Ceylon

Government Type: Republic

Legislative Capital:
Sri Jayewardenepura- Kotte

Commercial Capital:
Colombo

Location:
Sri Lanka is an island in located in the Indian Ocean. It is 880 km north of the equator and positioned off the south eastern tip of India.

Currency:
Sri Lankan Rupee (Code: LKR)

Independence:
4 February 1948 (declaration of independence from United Kingdom)

National Holiday:
Independence Day, 4 February (1948)

Climate:
Humid and warm; South west monsoon during the months of May to July; North eastern monsoon during the months of December to January.

Geographic Coordinates:
7 00 N, 81 00 E

Area:
total: 65,610 sq km
land: 64,740 sq km
water: 870 sq km

Coastline:
1,340 km

Terrain:
mostly low, flat and sloping plain, mountains at south-central interior

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)

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

Population:
21,2 million (2016)

Population density:
323 people per sq km (2007)

Nationality:
noun: Sri Lankan(s)
adjectives: 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)

Religions:
Buddhism (70%), Brahmanism (15.%), Christianity (8%) and Islam (7%)

Languages:
Sinhala (official and national language) 74%, Tamil (national language) 18%, other 8%; English is proficiently spoken by about 10% of the population, commonly used in government

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 90.7%
male: 92.3%
female: 89.1% (2001 census)

Administrative divisions:
Administrative subdivisions: Nine provinces and 25 administrative districts.

Constitution:
adopted 16 August 1978, certified 31 August 1978

Suffrage:
18 years of age, universal

Branches:

Executive:
President Mahinda RAJAPAKSA, chief of state and head of government, elected for a 6-year term
Prime Minister Ratnasiri WICKREMANAYAKE

Legislative:
Unicameral 225-member Parliament

Judicial:
Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, High Court, subordinate courts.

Political parties:
Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, Jathika Hela Urumaya, Sri Lanka Freedom Party, Tamil National Alliance, United National Party, several small Tamil and Muslim parties, and others

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

GDP (official exchange rate):
$83.2 billion (2007)

Annual growth rate:
6.7%. (2007)

GDP – per capita:
$4,100 (2007)

Labor force:
7.67 million (2007)

Labor force – by occupation:
agriculture: 34.3%
industry: 25.3%
services: 40.4% (30 June 2006 est.)

Unemployment rate:
6.3% (2007)

Population below poverty line:
22% (2002)

Public debt:
85.9% if GDP (2007)

External debt:
$ 13.52 billion (2007)

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

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

Telephones – main lines in use:
2.742 million (2007)

Telephones – mobile cellular:
7.983 million (2007

Internet country code:
.lk

Internet hosts:
6,198 (2007)

Internet users:
428,000 (2006)

Airports:
18 (2007)

Railways:
total: 1,449 km
broad gauge: 1,449 km 1.676-m gauge (2006)

Roadways:
total: 97,287 km
paved: 78,802 km
unpaved: 18,485 km (2003)

Waterways:
160 km (primarily on rivers in southwest) (2006)

Military branches:
Sri Lanka Army, Sri Lanka Navy, Sri Lanka Air Force

Military service age and obligation:
18 years of age for voluntary military service

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)