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