BackgroundThe 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.
| Strategic location near major Indian Ocean sea lanes | |
| Location: | Southern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of India |
| Geographic coordinates: | 7 00 N, 81 00 E |
| Area: | total: 65,610 sq km land: 64,630 sq km water: 980 sq km Size comparison: slightly larger than West Virginia |
| Land Boundaries: | 0 km |
| Coastline: | 1,340 km |
| Maritime claims: | territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
| 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, hydropower |
| Land use: | arable land: 13.96% permanent crops: 15.24% other: 70.8% (2005) |
| Irrigated land: | 7,430 sq km (2003) |
| Natural hazards: | occasional cyclones and tornadoes |
| Current Environment 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 Environment Agreements: | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation |
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| People | |
| Population: | 21,324,791 country comparison to the world: 54 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 2009 est.) |
| Age structure: | 0-14 years: 23.9% (male 2,594,815/female 2,493,002) 15-64 years: 68% (male 7,089,307/female 7,418,123) 65 years and over: 8.1% (male 803,172/female 926,372) (2009 est.) |
| Median age: | total: 30.9 years male: 29.9 years female: 31.8 years (2009 est.) |
| Population growth rate: | 0.904% (2009 est.) |
| Birth rate: | 16.26 births/1,000 population (2009 est.) |
| Death rate: | 6.13 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.) |
| Net migration rate: | -1.09 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.) |
| 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 (2009 est.) |
| Infant mortality rate: | total: 18.57 deaths/1,000 live births male: 20.33 deaths/1,000 live births female: 16.73 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.) |
| Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 75.14 years male: 73.08 years female: 77.28 years (2009 est.) |
| Total fertility rate: | 1.99 children born/woman (2009 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: | less than 0.1% (2001 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: | 3,800 (2007 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - deaths: | fewer than 200 (2003 est.) |
| Nationality: | noun: Sri Lankan(s) adjective: Sri Lankan |
| 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 |
| Literacy: | definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 90.7% male: 92.3% female: 89.1% (2001 census) |
| 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 |
| Government 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) |
| Administrative divisions: | 8 provinces; Central, North Central, North Eastern, North Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Uva, Western note: in October 2006, a Sri Lankan Supreme Court ruling voided a presidential directive merging the North and Eastern Provinces; a parliamentary decision on the issue is pending |
| Independence: | 4 February 1948 (from the UK) |
| National holiday: | Independence Day, 4 February (1948) |
| Constitution: | adopted 16 August 1978, certified 31 August 1978; amended 20 December 2000 |
| Legal system: | a highly complex mixture of English common law, Roman-Dutch, Kandyan, and Jaffna Tamil law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
| Suffrage: | 18 years of age; universal |
| Executive branch: | chief of state: President Mahinda Percy RAJAPAKSA (since 19 November 2005); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government; Ratnasiri WICKREMANAYAKE (since 21 November 2005) holds the largely ceremonial title of prime minister head of government: President Mahinda Percy RAJAPAKSA (since 19 November 2005) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president in consultation with the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 17 November 2005 (next scheduled for 26 January 2010) election results: Mahinda RAJAPAKSA elected president; percent of vote - Mahinda RAJAPAKSA 50.3%, Ranil WICKREMESINGHE 48.4%, other 1.3% |
| Legislative branch: | unicameral Parliament (225 seats; members elected by popular vote on the basis of an open-list, proportional representation system by electoral district to serve six-year terms) elections: last held on 2 April 2004 (next to be held by April 2010) election results: percent of vote by party or electoral alliance - SLFP and JVP (no longer in United People's Freedom Alliance) 45.6%, UNP 37.8%, TNA 6.8%, JHU 6%, SLMC 2%, UPF 0.5%, EPDP 0.3%, other 1%; seats by party - UNP 68, SLFP 57, JVP 39, TNA 22, CWC 8, JHU 7, SLMC 6, SLMC dissidents 4, Communist Party 2, JHU dissidents 2, LSSP 2, MEP 2, NUA 2, UPF 2, EPDP 1, UNP dissident 1 |
| Judicial branch: | Supreme Court; Court of Appeals; judges for both courts are appointed by the president |
| Political parties and leaders: | All Ceylon Tamil Congress or ACTC [G.PONNAMBALAM]; Ceylon Workers Congress or CWC [Arumugam THONDAMAN]; Communist Party or CP [D. GUNASEKERA]; Eelam People's Democratic Party or EPDP [Douglas DEVANANDA]; Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front or EPRLF [Suresh PREMACHANDRAN]; Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna or JVP [Somawansa AMARASINGHE]; Lanka Sama Samaja Party or LSSP [Tissa VITHARANA]; Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (People's United Front) or MEP [D. GUNAWARDENE]; National Freedom Front [Wimal WEERAWANSA]; National Heritage Party or JHU [Ellawala METHANANDA]; National Unity Alliance or NUA [Ferial ASHRAFF]; People's Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam or PLOTE [D. SIDHARTHAN]; Sri Lanka Freedom Party or SLFP [Mahinda RAJAPAKSA]; Sri Lanka Muslim Congress or SLMC [Rauff HAKEEM]; Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization or TELO [Selvam ADAIKALANATHAN]; Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal or TMVP [Chandrakanthan SIVANESATHURAI, aka "PILLAIYAN"] (paramilitary breakaway from LTTE operating as a political party); Tamil National Alliance or TNA [R. SAMPANTHAN]; Tamil United Liberation Front or TULF [V. ANANDASANGAREE]; United National Party or UNP [Ranil WICKREMASINGHE]; Up-country People's Front or UPF [P. CHANDRASEKARAN] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders: | Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam or LTTE [P. SIVAPARAN, Chief of International Secretariat; V. RUDRAKUMARAN, legal advisor]; note - this insurgent group suffered military defeat in May 2009; some cadres remain scattered throughout country; other: Buddhist clergy; labor unions; radical chauvinist Sinhalese groups such as the National Movement Against Terrorism; Sinhalese Buddhist lay groups |
| 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, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), OPCW, PCA, SAARC, SACEP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIS, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
| Diplomatic representation in the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Jaliya Chitran WICKRAMASURIYA chancery: 2148 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 483-4025 through 4028 FAX: [1] (202) 232-7181 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles consulate(s): New York |
| Diplomatic representation from the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Patricia A. BUTENIS embassy: 210 Galle Road, Colombo 3 mailing address: P. O. Box 106, Colombo telephone: [94] (11) 249-8500 FAX: [94] (11) 243-7345 |
