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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
land: 64,740 sq km
water: 870 sq km
Area—comparative: slightly larger than West Virginia
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 1,340 km
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 24 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental
margin
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm
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
Land use:
arable land: 14%
permanent crops: 15%
permanent pastures: 7%
forests and woodland: 32%
other: 32% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 5,500 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: occasional cyclones and tornadoes
Environment—current issues: deforestation; soil erosion;
wildlife populations threatened by poaching; coastal degradation
from mining activities and increased pollution; freshwater resources
being polluted by industrial wastes and sewage runoff
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, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation
Geography—note: strategic location near major Indian
Ocean sea lanes
Population: 19,144,875 (July 1999 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 late 1996, 63,068 were
housed in refugee camps in south India, another 30,000-40,000 lived
outside the Indian camps, and more than 200,000 Tamils have sought
political asylum in the West
Age structure:
0-14 years: 27% (male 2,650,135; female 2,535,092)
15-64 years: 67% (male 6,231,987; female 6,500,782)
65 years and over: 6% (male 592,539; female 634,340) (1999
est.)
Population growth rate: 1.1% (1999 est.)
Birth rate: 18.16 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Death rate: 6.02 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Net migration rate: -1.13 migrant(s)/1,000 population
(1999 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.93 male(s)/female
total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (1999 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 16.12 deaths/1,000 live births
(1999 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 72.67 years
male: 69.89 years
female: 75.59 years (1999 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.1 children born/woman (1999 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Sri Lankan(s)
adjective: Sri Lankan
Ethnic groups: Sinhalese 74%, Tamil 18%, Moor 7%, Burgher,
Malay, and Vedda 1%
Religions: Buddhist 69%, Hindu 15%, Christian 8%, Muslim
8%
Languages: Sinhala (official and national language) 74%,
Tamil (national language) 18%
note: English is commonly used in government and is spoken
by about 10% of the population
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 90.2%
male: 93.4%
female: 87.2% (1995 est.)
Country name:
conventional long form: Democratic Socialist Republic of
Sri Lanka
conventional short form: Sri Lanka
former: Ceylon
Data code: CE
Government type: republic
Capital: Colombo
Administrative divisions: 8 provinces; Central, North
Central, North Eastern, North Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Uva,
Western
Independence: 4 February 1948 (from UK)
National holiday: Independence and National 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—Sirimavo BANDARANAIKE is the
prime minister; in Sri Lanka the president is considered to be both
the chief of state and the head of the government, this is in contrast
to the more common practice of dividing the roles between the president
and the prime minister when both offices exist
head of government: President Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA
(since 12 November 1994); note—Sirimavo BANDARANAIKE is the
prime minister; in Sri Lanka the president is considered to be both
the chief of state and the head of the government, this is in contrast
to the more common practice of dividing the roles between the president
and the prime minister when both offices exist
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 9 November 1994 (next to be held NA November
2000)
election results: Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA elected
president; percent of vote—Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA
(People's Alliance) 62%, Srima DISSANAYAKE (United National Party)
37%, other 1%
Legislative branch: unicameral Parliament (225 seats;
members elected by popular vote on the basis of a modified proportional
representation system to serve six-year terms)
elections: last held 16 August 1994 (next to be held by
August 2000)
election results: percent of vote by party—PA 49.0%,
UNP 44.0%, SLMC 1.8%, TULF 1.7%, SLPF 1.1%, EPDP 0.3%, UPF 0.3%,
PLOTE 0.1%, other 1.7%; seats by party—PA 105, UNP 94, EPDP
9, SLMC 7, TULF 5, PLOTE 3, SLPF 1, UPF 1
Judicial branch: Supreme Court, judges are appointed by
the Judicial Service Commission; Court of Appeals
Political parties and leaders: All Ceylon Tamil Congress
or ACTC [C. G. Kumar PONNAMBALAM]; Ceylon Workers Congress or CLDC
[S. THONDAMAN]; Communist Party [K. P. SILVA]; Communist Party/Beijing
or CP/B [N. SHANMUGATHASAN]; Democratic People's Liberation Front
or DPLF [leader NA]; Democratic United National (Lalith) Front or
DUNLF [Srimani ATHULATHMUDALI]; Eelam People's Democratic Party
or EPDP [Douglas DEVANANDA]; Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation
Front or EPRL [Suresh PREMACHANDRAN]; Eelam Revolutionary Organization
of Students or EROS [Shankar RAJI]; Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna or
JVP [Somawansa AMERASINGHE]; Lanka Socialist Party/Trotskyite or
LSSP (Lanka Sama Samaja Party) [Batty WEERAKOON]; Liberal Party
or LP [Rajira WIJESINGHE]; New Socialist Party or NSSP (Nava Sama
Samaja Party) [Vasudeva NANAYAKKARA]; People's Alliance or PA [Chandrika
Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA]; People's Liberation Organization of Tamil
Eelam or PLOTE [Uma MAHESWARAN]; People's United Front or MEP (Mahajana
Eksath Peramuna) [Dinesh GUNAWARDENE]; Sri Lanka Freedom Party or
SLFP [Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA]; Sri Lanka Muslim Congress
or SLMC [M. H. M. ASHRAFF]; Sri Lanka People's Party or SLMP (Sri
Lanka Mahajana Party) [Y. P. DE SILVA]; Sri Lanka Progressive Front
or SLPF [Ariya BULEGODA]; Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization or
TELO [M. K. SIVAJILINGHAM]; Tamil United Liberation Front or TULF
[M. SIVASITHAMBARAM]; United National Party or UNP [Ranil WICHREMESINGHE];
Upcountry People's Front or UPF [Periyasamy CHANDRASEKARAN]; Desha
Vimukthi Janatha Party or DVJP [P.M. Podi APPUHAMY]; several ethnic
Tamil and Muslim parties, represented in either parliament or provincial
councils
Political pressure groups and leaders: Liberation Tigers
of Tamil Eelam or LTTE; other radical chauvinist Sinhalese groups;
Buddhist clergy; Sinhalese Buddhist lay groups; labor unions
International organization participation: AsDB, C, CCC,
CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM,
IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol,
IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), OPCW, PCA, SAARC, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Warnasena RASAPUTRAM
chancery: 2148 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 483-4025 through 4028
FAX: [1] (202) 232-7181
consulate(s): New York
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Shaun E. DONNELLY
embassy: 210 Galle Road, Colombo 3
mailing address: P. O. Box 106, Colombo
telephone: [94] (1) 448007
FAX: [94] (1) 437345, 446013
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 that goes around the
entire flag and extends between the two panels
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 industries
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 annual average
rate of 5.5% throughout the 1990s until a drought and a deteriorating
security situation lowered growth to 3.8% in 1996. The economy rebounded
in 1997-98 with growth of 6.4% and 4.7%. For the next round of reforms,
the central bank of Sri Lanka recommends that Colombo expand market
mechanisms in nonplantation agriculture, dismantle the government's
monopoly on wheat imports, and promote more competition in the financial
sector. A continuing cloud over the economy is the fighting between
the Sinhalese and the minority Tamils, which has cost 50,000 lives
in the past 15 years. The global slowdown will temper growth in
1999.
GDP: purchasing power parity—$48.1 billion (1998
est.)
GDP—real growth rate: 4.7% (1998 est.)
GDP—per capita: purchasing power parity—$2,500
(1998 est.)
GDP—composition by sector:
agriculture: 18%
industry: 31%
services: 51% (1997)
Population below poverty line: 35.3% (1990-91 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 3.8%
highest 10%: 25.2% (1990)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 9.3% (1998)
Labor force: 6.2 million (1997)
Labor force—by occupation: services 46%, agriculture
37%, industry 17% (1997 est.)
Unemployment rate: 11% (1997 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $3 billion
expenditures: $4.2 billion, including capital expenditures
of $1 billion (1997 est.)
Industries: processing of rubber, tea, coconuts, and other
agricultural commodities; clothing, cement, petroleum refining,
textiles, tobacco
Industrial production growth rate: 6.5% (1996 est.)
Electricity—production: 5.05 billion kWh (1996)
Electricity—production by source:
fossil fuel: 4.95%
hydro: 95.05%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1996)
Electricity—consumption: 5.05 billion kWh (1996)
Electricity—exports: 0 kWh (1996)
Electricity—imports: 0 kWh (1996)
Agriculture—products: rice, sugarcane, grains, pulses,
oilseed, spices, tea, rubber, coconuts; milk, eggs, hides, beef
Exports: $4.5 billion (f.o.b., 1998)
Exports—commodities: textiles and apparel, tea, diamonds
and other gems, coconut products, rubber products, petroleum products
(1997)
Exports—partners: US 36%, UK 11%, Japan 6%, Germany
5%, Belgium-Luxembourg 4% (1997)
Imports: $5.3 billion (f.o.b., 1998)
Imports—commodities: machinery and equipment, textiles,
petroleum, building materials, sugar (1997)
Imports—partners: India 10%, Japan 9%, South Korea
8%, Hong Kong 7%, Taiwan 7% (1997)
Debt—external: $8.8 billion (1998)
Economic aid—recipient: $559.3 million (1995)
Currency: 1 Sri Lankan rupee (SLRe) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: Sri Lankan rupees (SLRes) per US$1—67.948
(January 1999), 64.593 (1998), 58.995 (1997), 55.271 (1996), 51.252
(1995), 49.415 (1994)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Telephones: 352,681 (1997 est.); 114,888 cellular telephone
subscribers (1997 est.)
Telephone system: very inadequate domestic service, but
expanding with the entry of two wireless loop operators and privatization
of national telephone company; good international service
domestic: NA
international: submarine cables to Indonesia and Djibouti;
satellite earth stations—2 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 12, FM 5, shortwave 0
Radios: 3.6 million (1996 est.)
Television broadcast stations: 21 (19 network stations,
two low-power stations) (1997)
Televisions: 1.6 million (1996 est.)
Railways:
total: 1,501 km
broad gauge: 1,442 km 1.676-m gauge
narrow gauge: 59 km 0.762-m gauge (1995)
Highways:
total: 99,200 km
paved: 39,680 km
unpaved: 59,520 km (1996 est.)
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: 22 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 178,867 GRT/276,363
DWT
ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 14, container 1, oil tanker
1, refrigerated cargo 5 (1998 est.)
Airports: 13 (1998 est.)
Airports—with paved runways:
total: 12
over 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 5
914 to 1,523 m: 6 (1998 est.)
Airports—with unpaved runways:
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (1998 est.)
Military branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Police Force
Military manpower—military age: 18 years of age
Military manpower—availability:
males age 15-49: 5,223,590 (1999 est.)
Military manpower—fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 4,062,758 (1999 est.)
Military manpower—reaching military age annually:
males: 199,196 (1999 est.)
Military expenditures—dollar figure: $719 million
(1998)
Military expenditures—percent of GDP: 4.2% (1998)
Disputes—international: none
Source: 1999 CIA World Factbook
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