Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an island country in the northern Indian Ocean off the southern coast of the Indian sub-continent in South Asia. Known until 1972 as Ceylon, Sri Lanka has maritime borders with India to the northwest across the Gulf of Mannar and Palk Strait, and the Maldives to the southwest.
As a result of its location in the path of major sea routes, Sri Lanka is a strategic naval link between West Asia and South East Asia. It was an important stop on the ancient Silk Road. Sri Lanka has also been a center of the Buddhist religion and culture from ancient times, being the nation where the Buddhist teachings were first written down as well as the oldest continually Buddhist country. Sri Lanka boasts a diverse range of cultures, languages and religions. The Sinhalese people from the majority of the population; Tamils, who are concentrated in the north and east of the island, form the largest ethnic minority. Other communities include Moors, Burghers, Kaffirs, Malays and the aboriginal Vedda people.
Sri Lanka is a republic and a unitary state which is governed by a semi-presidential system with its official seat of government in Sri Jayawardenapura-Kotte, the capital. The country is famous for the production and export of tea, coffee, gemstones, coconuts, rubber and cinnamon, the last of which is native to the country. Sri Lanka has been called The Pearl of the Indian Ocean. The island contains tropical forests, and diverse landscapes with high biodiversity.
Sri Lanka At Glance
Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
Republic
Latitude 5° 55. To 9° 50. North, longitude 79° 42. To 81° 52
430km North to South, 225 km East to West
1,340 km
65,525 km
Sri Lankan Rupee (LKR)
4 February 1948
Sri Jayawardenapura
Colombo
9 provinces, Central, North Central, North Eastern, North Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Uva, Western & Eastern Province
Typically tropical with a northeast monsoon (December to March) bringing unsettled Weather to the north and east, and a southwest monsoon (June to October) bringing Weather to the south and west.
Mostly low, flat to rolling plain, mountains in south-central interior
Pidurutalagala – 2,524 m
Bambarakanda 263m
The Blue Water Lily (Nymphea Stellata)
8,000sq km
21,128,773
1.3%
309 people per sq km
Female 87.9 , Male 92.5
Sinhalese 73.8%, Sri Lankan Moors 7.2%, Indian Tamil 4.6%, Sri Lankan Tamil 3.9%,other 0.5%,unspecified 10% (2001 census)
Sinhala (official and national language) 74%, Tamil (National language) 18%, other 8% Note: English (a link language commonly) is used in government and spoken competently by about 10% of the population
Buddhist 69.1%, Muslim 7.6%, Hindu 7.1%, Christian 6.2%, unspecified 10% (2001 census)
Sri Lanka Standard Rime is five and a half hours ahead of GMT. (Allowance should be made for summer-time changes in Europe)
+94
230. 240 volts, 50 cycles AC. If you travel with a laptop computer bring a stabilizer
Sri Lanka’s most dynamic sectors are food processing, textiles and apparel, food and beverages, port construction, telecommunications and insurance and banking. In 2006, plantations crops made up only 15% of exports (90% in1970), while textiles and garments accounted for more than 60%. About 800,000 Sri Lankans work abroad, 90% of them in the Middle East. They send home more than US$ billion a year.
34.3% of the labour population is employed in agriculture, 25.3% in industry and 40.4% in services. 40.4% (30 June 2006 est.) The unemployment rate is 5.7% (2007 est)
Rice, sugarcane, grains, oilseed, pulses, spices, tea, rubber, coconut, milk, eggs, beef, fish
Processing of rubber, tea, coconuts, tobacco and other agricultural commodities, telecommunications, insurance, banking, clothing, textiles, cement Petroleum, refining.
Textiles and apparel; tea and spices, diamonds, emeralds, rubies, coconut products, rubber manufacture, fish
Main import commodities are textile fabrics, mineral products, petroleum, foodstuffs, machinery and transportation, equipment: $10.61 billion f.o .b(2007 est).
India 19.6%. China 10.5%, Singapore 8.8%, Iran 5.7%, Malaysia 5.1%, Hong Kong 4.2%, Japan 4.1% (2006 est)
Purchasing power parity : $81.29 billion (2007 est). Official exchange rate : $30.01 billion (2007 est). Real growth rate 6.3% (2007 est)
$4,100 (2007) composition by sector: Agriculture 16.5%,Industry 26.9 %
Sri Lanka is placed in 76th place in GNP figures of the world’s nations with $22.8 billion (2005)