Sri Lanka
|
| Basic Facts |
| Country name |
conventional long form: Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
conventional short form: Sri Lanka local long form: Shri Lamka Prajatantrika Samajaya di Janarajaya/Ilankai Jananayaka Choshalichak Kutiyarachu local short form: Shri Lamka/Ilankai former: Serendib, Ceylon |
| Gevernment type | republic |
| Capital |
name: Colombo
geographic coordinates: 6 56 N, 79 51 E time difference: UTC+5.5 (10.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) note: Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte (legislative capital) |
| 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 |
| Currency | Sri Lankan rupee (LKR) |
| Internet country code | .lk |
| Ports and terminals | Colombo, Galle |
| 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 |
| Geography |
| Location | Southern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of India |
| Coordinates | 7 00 N, 81 00 E |
| Continent | Asia |
| Area |
total: 65,610 sq km
land: 64,740 sq km water: 870 sq km |
| Boundaries | 0 km |
| Coastline | 1,340 km |
| 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 |
| Natural resources | limestone, graphite, mineral sands, gems, phosphates, clay, hydropower |
| Natural hazards | occasional cyclones and tornadoes |
| People |
| Population | 20,222,240
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 and more than 200,000 Tamils have sought refuge in the West (July 2006 est.) |
| 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 provisional data) |
| Religions | Buddhist 69.1%, Muslim 7.6%, Hindu 7.1%, Christian 6.2%, unspecified 10% (2001 census provisional data) |
| Languages | 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 |
