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.

Southern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south east of India

7 00 N, 81 00 E

Asia

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

No land boundaries

1,340 km

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

tropical monsoon; northeast monsoon (December to March); southwest monsoon (June to October)

mostly low, flat to rolling plain; mountains in south-central interior

lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pidurutalagala 2,524 m

limestone, graphite, mineral sands, gems, phosphates, clay, hydropower

arable land: 13.43%
permanent crops: 15.78%
other: 70.79% (1998 est.)

6,510 sq km (1998 est.)

occasional cyclones, tornadoes and rarely land slides

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

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

strategic location near major Indian Ocean sea lanes

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.)

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.)

total: 28.7 years
male: 27.7 years
female: 29.7 years (2002)

0.83% (2003 est.)

16.12 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)

6.46 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)

-1.35 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)

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.)

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

total population: 72.62 years
male: 70.09 years
female: 75.29 years (2003 est.)

1.9 children born/woman (2003 est.)

less than 0.1% (2001 est.)

4,800 (2001 est.)

250 (2001 est.)

noun: Sri Lankan(s)
adjective: Sri Lankan

Sinhalese 74%, Tamil 18%, Moor 7%, Burgher, Malay, and Vedda 1%

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

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

definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 92.3%
male: 94.8%
female: 90% (2003 est.)
 

conventional long form: Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
conventional short form: Sri Lanka
former: Serendib, Ceylon

republic

Colombo; note - Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte is the legislative capital

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

4 February 1948 (from UK)

Independence Day, 4 February (1948)

adopted 16 August 1978

a highly complex mixture of English common law, Roman-Dutch, Muslim, Sinhalese, and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

18 years of age; universal

Supreme Court; Court of Appeals; judges for both courts are appointed by the president

National Flag of Sri Lanka is the Lion Flag. A Lion bearing a sword in its right hand is depicted in gold on red background with a yellow border. Four Bo leaves pointing inwards are at the four corners. Two vertical bands of green and orange at the mast end represent the minority ethnic groups. It is an adaptation of the standard of the last King of Sri Lanka.

"Sri Lanka Matha" composed by late Mr. Ananda Samarakoon.

The Blue Water Lily (Nymphaea stellata) is the National Flower.

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.

purchasing power parity - $73.7 billion (2002 est.)

3.2% (2002 est.)

purchasing power parity - $3,700 (2002 est.)

agriculture: 20%
industry: 26%
services: 54% (2001)

22% (1997 est.)

lowest 10%: 3.5%
highest 10%: 28% (1995)

34.4 (1995)

9.6% (2002 est.)

6.6 million (1998)

services 45%, agriculture 38%, industry 17% (1998 est.)

8% (2002)

revenues: $2.8 billion
expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.)

rubber processing, tea, coconuts, and other agricultural commodities; clothing, cement, petroleum refining, textiles, tobacco

1.1% (2002)

6.36 billion kWh (2001)

fossil fuel: 51.7%
hydro: 48.3%
other: 0% (2001)
nuclear: 0%

5.915 billion kWh (2001)

0 kWh (2001)

0 kWh (2001)

0 bbl/day (2001 est.)

75,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

NA (2001)

NA (2001)

rice, sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseed, spices, tea, rubber, coconuts; milk, eggs, hides, beef

$4.6 billion f.o.b. (2002)

textiles and apparel, tea, diamonds, coconut products, petroleum products

US 39.1%, UK 12.9%, Belgium 4.7%, Germany 4.5% (2002)

$5.4 billion f.o.b. (2002)

textiles, mineral products, petroleum, foodstuffs, machinery and equipment

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)

$9.8 billion (2002)

$577 million (1998)

Sri Lankan rupee (LKR)

LKR

Sri Lankan rupees per US dollar - 95.66 (2002), 89.38 (2001), 77.01 (2000), 70.64 (1999), 64.45 (1998)

calendar year

 

494,509 (1998)

228,604 (1999)

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)

AM 26, FM 45, shortwave 1 (1998)

21 (1997)

.lk

5 (2000)

121,500 (2001)

total: 1,508 km
broad gauge: 1,449 km 1.676-m gauge
narrow gauge: 59 km 0.762-m gauge (2002)

total: 96,695 km
paved: 91,860 km
unpaved: 4,835 km (1999)

430 km (navigable by shallow-draft craft)

crude oil and petroleum products 62 km (1987)

Colombo, Galle, Jaffna, Trincomalee

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.)

15 (2002)

total: 14
over 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 6 (2002)

total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2002)

Army, Navy, Air Force, Police Force

18 years of age (2003 est.)

males age 15-49: 5,383,661 (2003 est.)

males age 15-49: 4,172,921 (2003 est.)

males: 186,691 (2003 est.)

$719 million (FY98)

4.2% (FY98)