Facts of Sri Lanka

Official Name

Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka

Government Type

Republic

Location

Latitude 5° 55. To 9° 50. North, Longitude 79° 42. to 81° 52., 650km north of the equator

Dimensions

430km North to South, 225km East to West

Coastline

1,340km

Area

65,525km

Currency (code)

Sri Lankan Rupee (LKR)

Independence

4 February 1948

Administrative Capital

Sri Jayewardenepura

Commercial Capital

Colombo

Administrative Divisions

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 bad weather to the south and west

Terrain

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

Highest Mountain

Pidurutalagala, 2,524m

Highest Waterfall

Bambarakanda, 263m

National Flower

The Blue Water Lily (Nymphaeastellata)

National Parks and Nature Reserves Area

8,000sq.km

Population

21,128,773

Population Growth Rate

1.3%

Population Density

309 people per sq km

Life Expectancy at Birth

74 female, 64 male

Literacy Rate

Female 87.9 Male 92.5

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 census)

Languages

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

Religion

Buddhist 69.1%, Muslim 7.6%, Hindu 7.1%, Christian 6.2%, unspecified 10% (2001 census)

Time Zone

Sri Lanka Standard Time is five and a half hours ahead of GMT. (Allowance should be made for summer-time changes in Europe.)

International Dialing

+94

Electricity

230 . 240 volts, 50 cycles AC. If you travel with a laptop computer bring a stabilizer

Economy

Sri Lanka's most dynamic sectors are food processing, textiles and apparel, food and beverages, port construction, telecommunications, insurance and banking. In 2006, plantation crops made up only 15% of exports (90% in 1970), 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$1 billion a year.

Labor Force

34.3% of the labor 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.)

Agriculture & Products

Rice, Sugarcane, Grains, Pulses, Oilseed, Spices, Tea, Rubber, Coconuts, milk, Eggs, Hides, Beef, Fish

Industries

Processing of rubber, tea, coconuts, tobacco and other agricultural commodities, telecommunications, insurance, banking; clothing, textiles, cement, petroleum refining.

Exports

Textiles and apparel; tea and spices; diamonds, emeralds, rubies; coconut products, rubber manufactures, fish.

Imports

Main import commodities are textile fabrics, mineral products, petroleum, foodstuffs, and machinery and transportation equipment: $10.61 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.). Percentage of main commodities from main import partners: India 19.6%, China 10.5%, Singapore 8.8%, Iran 5.7%, Malaysia 5.1%, Hong Kong 4.2%, Japan 4.1% (2006)

Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

Purchasing power parity: $81.29 billion (2007 est.). Official exchange rate: $30.01 billion (2007 est.) Real growth rate: 6.3% (2007 est.) Per capita: $4,100 (2007 est.) composition by sector: Agriculture: 16.5% Industry: 26.9%.

Gross National Product (GNP)

Sri Lanka is placed in 76th place in GNP figures of the world’s nations with $22.8 billion (2005)

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