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Sri Lanka

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Background :

The first Sinhalese arrived in Sri Lanka late in the 6th century B.C. probably from northern India. Buddhism was introduced 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 A.D. 1000) and Polonnaruwa (from about 1070 to 1200). In the 14th century, a south Indian dynasty established a Tamil kingdom in northern Sri Lanka. The coastal areas of the island were controlled 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. Tensions between the Sinhalese majority and Tamil separatists erupted into war in 1983. After two decades of fighting, the government and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) formalized a cease-fire in February 2002 with Norway brokering peace negotiations. Violence between the LTTE and government forces intensified in 2006 and the government regained control of the Eastern Province in 2007. In May 2009, the government announced that its military had finally defeated the remnants of the LTTE and that its leader, Velupillai PRABHAKARAN, had been killed. 

Location :

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

Geographic Coordinates Center :

7 00 N, 81 00 E  (Latitude, Longtitude)

Geographic Coordinates Rectangle :

West 79.65
North 9.83
East 81.88
South 5.92

Area :

total 65 610 square km
land 64 630 square km
water 980 square km

Coastline :

1340.00 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 

Elevation extremes :

lowest point 0 metres
highest point 2 524 metres

Natural resources :

clay gems
graphite hydropower
limestone mineral sands
phosphates

Land use :

arable land 13.96 %
permanent crops 15.24 %
other 70.80 %

Irrigated land :

7 430 square km

current issues :

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 

international agreements :

Biodiversity Climate Change
Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol Desertification
Endangered Species Environmental Modification
Hazardous Wastes Law of the Sea
Marine Life Conservation Ozone Layer Protection
Ship Pollution Wetlands

Population :

21 324 791 

Indicators :

Growth rate 0.90 %
Birth rate 16.26 births/1,000 population
Total fertility rate 1.99 children born/woman
Death rate 6.13 deaths/1,000 population
Net migration rate -1.09 migrant(s)/1,000 population

Age structure :

0-14 years 23.90 %
15-64 years 68.00 %
65 years and over 8.10 %

Median age :

total 30.90 years
male 29.90 years
female 31.80 years

Sex ratio :

at birth 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years 0.96 male(s)/female
65 years and over 0.87 male(s)/female
total population 0.97 male(s)/female

Health :

Infant mortality rate 18.57 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth - total population 75.14 years
Life expectancy at birth - male 73.08 years
Life expectancy at birth - female 77.28 years
HIV-AIDS adult prevalence rate 0.10 %
HIV-AIDS people living with HIV-AIDS 3 800
HIV-AIDS deaths 200

Religions :

Buddhist 69.10 %
Muslim 7.60 %
Hindu 7.10 %
Christian 6.20 %
unspecified 10.00 %

Languages :

Sinhala 74.00 %
Tamil 18.00 %

Literacy :

total population 90.70 %
male 92.30 %
female 89.10 %

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

Country Codes :

ISO 3166 LK
ISO Numeric 144
ISO3 LKA
FIPS CE
ccTLD lk
English Sri Lanka

Administrative divisions :

8 provinces; Central, North Central, North Eastern, North Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Uva, Western| 

Capital :

name Colombo
geographic coordinates 6 56 N, 79 51 E
time difference 5.50

International organization participation :

ADB ARF
BIMSTEC C
CP FAO
G-15 G-24
G-77 IAEA
IBRD ICAO
ICC ICRM
IDA IFAD
IFC IFRCS
IHO ILO
IMF IMO
IMSO IOC
IOM IPU
ISO ITSO
ITU ITUC
Interpol MIGA
MINURSO MINUSTAH
MONUC NAM
OAS (observer) OPCW
PCA SAARC
SACEP UN
UNCTAD UNESCO
UNIDO UNMIS
UNWTO UPU
WCO WFTU
WHO WIPO
WMO WTO

Independence :

1948-02-04 

National holiday :

Independence Day

1948-02-04

Executive branch :

President Mahinda Percy RAJAPAKSA

Legislative branch :

UNP 37.80 %
TNA 6.80 %
JHU 6.00 %
SLMC 2.00 %
UPF 0.50 %
EPDP 0.30 %
other 1.00 %

GDP - Gross Domestic product :

PPP - Purchasing Power Parity 96 460 000 000 $
Official Exchange Rate 41 320 000 000
RGR - Real Growth rate 3.50 %
PPP - per capita 4 500 $

GDP Composition by sector :

agriculture 12.80 %
industry 29.20 %
services 58.00 %

Labor force - by occupation :

agriculture 32.70 %
industry 26.30 %
services 41.00 %

Other Indicators :

Labor force 8 100 000 people
Unemployment rate 5.90 %
Population below poverty line 23.00 %
Distribution of family income - Gini index 49.00
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 3.40 %
Investment (gross fixed) 23.10 % of GDP
Current account balance 100 000 000 $
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold 5 200 000 000 $
Debt external 19 450 000 000 $
Market value of publicly traded shares 4 326 000 000 $
Military expenditures 2.60 % of GDP
Public debt 82.90 % of GDP

Household income or consumption by percentage share :

lowest 10% 1.10 %
highest 10% 39.70 %

Budget :

revenues 6 224 000 000 $
expenditures 9 801 000 000 $

Agriculture - products :

beef coconuts
eggs fish
fruits grain
hides milk
oilseed pulses
rice rubber
spices sugarcane
tea vegetables

Industries :

banking cement
clothing coconuts
construction information technology services
insurance petroleum refining
processing of rubber shipping
tea telecommunications
textiles tobacco and other agricultural commodities
tourism

Energy :

Electricity Production 9 901 000 000 kWh
Electricity Consumption 8 417 000 000 kWh
Oil Consumption 89 000 bbl/day
Oil Exports 968 bbl/day
Oil Imports 87 690 bbl/day

Value :

7 000 000 000 $

Commodities :

coconut products diamonds
emeralds fish
rubber manufactures rubies
tea and spices textiles and apparel

Value :

9 600 000 000 $

Partners :

India (in) 18.90 %
China (cn) 12.40 %
Iran (ir) 7.70 %
Singapore (sg) 7.50 %
South Korea 4.80 %

Commodities :

foodstuffs machinery and transportation equipment
mineral products petroleum
textile fabrics

Currency-name :

Sri Lankan rupee 

Communications :

Telephons Main lines in use 3 446 000
Telephons Mobile, Cellular 11 082 000
FM Radio broadcast stations 52
Television broadcast stations 12
Internet Country code (ccTLD) lk
Internet Hosts 6 090
Internet Users 1 164 000

Transportation :

Airports with paved runways 14
Roadways - total 97 286 km
Roadways - paved 78 802 km
Roadways - unpaved 18 484 km
Railways 1 449 km
Waterways 160 km

Photos

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