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| President: |
Mahinda Rajapakse |
| Prime Minister: |
Rathnasiri Wickramanayake |
| Area |
65,610 sq km |
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Sri Lanka has a generally warm subtropical
climate; the average lowland temperature
is 27°C, but humidity is high. Rainfall,
largely carried by monsoons, is adequate
for agriculture, except in the subhumid
north. Administratively, the country
is divided into nine provinces. About
four fifths of the island is flat or
gently rolling; mountains in the south
central area include Adam's Peak (2,243
m) and rise to Pidurutalagala (2,527
m), the highest point on the island.
The pear-shaped island is 225 km across
at its widest point and 435 km long.
The narrow northern end is almost linked
to SE India by Adam's Bridge, a chain
of limestone shoals that, although partly
submerged, present an obstacle to navigation.
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| Population
(2004 census est.): |
19,905,165
(growth rate: 0.8%) |
| Birth
rate: |
15.9/1000 |
| Infant
mortality rate: |
14.8/1000 |
| Life
expectancy: |
72.9 |
| Density
per sq mi: |
786 |
| Capital: |
Colombo,
2,436,000 (metro. area), 656,100
(city proper); |
| Largest
city: |
Colombo,
2,436,000 (metro. area), 656,100
(city proper); |
| Legislative
and Judicial capital: |
Sri
Jayawardenepura Kotte, 118,300 |
| Other
large cities: |
Dehiwala-Mount
Lavinia 214,300;
Moratuwa, 181,000;
Kandy, 112,400 |
| Languages: |
Sinhala
74% (official and national)
Tamil 18% (national)
other 8%
English is commonly used in government
and spoken competently by about
10% |
| Ethnicity/race: |
Sinhalese
74%
Tamil 18%
Moor 7%
Burgher
Malay
and Vedda 1% |
| Religions: |
Buddhist
70%
Hindu 15%
Christian 8%
Islam 7% (1999) |
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The country's economy is primarily agricultural;
the emphasis is on export crops such
as tea, rubber, and coconut (all plantation-grown).
Cocoa, coffee, cinnamon, cardamom, pepper,
cloves, nutmeg, citronella, and tobacco
are also exported. Rice, fruit, and
vegetables are grown for local consumption.
Sri Lanka is an exporter of amorphous
graphite, its principal mineral industry.
Petroleum refining is also important,
and precious and semiprecious gems,
mineral sands, clays, and limestones
are mined. Substantial deposits of iron
ore have not yet been exploited. The
island's swift rivers have considerable
hydroelectric potential. Industry has
been centered chiefly around the processing
of agricultural products, especially
the money crops-tea, rubber, and coconut.
By the mid-1980s, however, textiles
and garments had become Sri Lanka's
biggest export. A great variety of consumer
goods are also manufactured. Sri Lanka
opened itself to foreign banks in 1979
and has developed an offshore insurance
and banking industry. Although coastal
lagoons provide many sheltered harbors,
only Southern Sri Lanka lies on the
main world shipping routes. The port
of Colombo, on which most of the country's
railroads converge, handles most of
the foreign trade. The United States,
Japan, India, and the United Kingdom
are the largest trading partners.
| GDP/PPP
(2003 est.): |
$73.49
billion; per capita $3,700. |
| Real
growth rate: |
5.2%.
Inflation: 9%. Unemployment: 8%.
Arable land: 13% |
| Agriculture: |
rice,
sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseed,
spices, tea, rubber, coconuts; milk,
eggs, hides, beef |
| Labour
force: |
6.6
million (1998); services 45%, agriculture
38%, industry 17% (1998 est.) |
| Industries: |
rubber
processing, tea, coconuts, and other
agricultural commodities; clothing,
cement, petroleum refining, textiles,
tobacco |
| Natural
resources: |
limestone,
graphite, mineral sands, gems, phosphates,
clay, hydropower |
| Exports: |
$5.269
billion (f.o.b., 2003 est.): textiles
and apparel, tea, gemstones, coconut
products, petroleum products |
| Imports: |
$6.626
billion (f.o.b., 2003 est.): textiles,
mineral products, petroleum, foodstuffs,
machinery and equipment |
| Major
trading partners: |
U.S.,
UK, Belgium, Germany, India, Hong
Kong, Singapore, China, Taiwan,
South Korea, Japan, Iran |
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| Telephones: |
main
lines in use: 494,509 (1998); mobile
cellular: 228,604 (1999) |
| Radio
broadcast stations: |
AM
26, FM 45, shortwave 1 (1998) |
| Radios: |
3.85
million (1997) |
| Television
broadcast stations: |
21
(1997) |
| Televisions: |
1.53
million (1997) |
| Internet
Service Providers (ISPs): |
5
(2000) |
| Internet
users: |
121,500
(2001) |
| Transportation: |
Railways:
total: 1,508 km (2002). Highways:
total: 96,695 km; paved: 91,860
km; unpaved: 4,835 km (1999) |
| Waterways: |
430
km; navigable by shallow-draft craft |
| Ports
and harbors: |
Colombo,
Galle, Jaffna, Trincomalee. Airports:
15 (2002) |
| Monetary
unit: |
Sri
Lanka rupee |
| Literacy
rate: |
92%
(2003 est.) |
| International
disputes: |
none |
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