Sri Lanka

republicIndependence 4 February 1948 (from UK)

Sri Lanka as the 1994 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 123 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalColombo

LocationSouthern Asia, 29 km southeast of India across the Palk Strait in the

Populationas each edition published it

18.13 million July 1994 est. · 17.2m in 1990

Population growth% a year

1.18% 1994 est. · 1.11% in 1993

Median ageyears

Not in this edition 28.7 yrs in 2003

Life expectancyyears at birth

Not in this edition 71.51 yrs in 1993

Fertility ratechildren per woman

2.12 children per woman 1994 est. · 2.3 in 1990

Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births

21.9 deaths per 1,000 live births 1994 est. · 31 in 1990

GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars

$3,000 1993 est. · $440 in 1993

GDP real growth% a year

5% 1993 est. · 4.5% in 1993

Geography

Southern Asia, 29 km southeast of India across the Palk Strait in the | Indian Ocean

25 fields

Coastline

1,340km

land boundaries: 0 km

Irrigated land

5,600sq km

(1989 est.)

Location

Southern Asia, 29 km southeast of India across the Palk Strait in the Indian Ocean

total area

65,610 sq km

land area

64,740 sq km

comparative area

slightly larger than West Virginia

contiguous zone

24 nm

continental shelf

200 nm or the edge of 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

Natural resources

limestone, graphite, mineral sands, gems, phosphates, clay

arable land

16%

permanent crops

17%

meadows and pastures

forest and woodland

37%

other

23%

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

natural hazards

occasional cyclones and tornadoes

international agreements

party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands;
signed, but not ratified - Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation

Note

strategic location near major Indian Ocean sea lanes

People

23 fields

Population

18,129,850

(July 1994 est.)growth rate: 1.18% (1994 est.)

Per 1,000 population(1994 est.)

Birth

18.51Death

5.77Net migration

-0.91

Religions

Buddhist 69%Hindu 15%Christian 8%Muslim 8%

Labor force

6.6million

Literacy

15and over can read and write

age · (1990 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 1992, nearly 115,000 were housed in refugee camps in south India, another 95,000 lived outside the Indian camps, and more than 200,000 Tamils have sought political asylum in the West

Infant mortality rate

21.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)

total population

71.9 years

male

69.37 years

female

74.55 years (1994 est.)

noun

Sri Lankan(s)

adjective

Sri Lankan

Ethnic divisions

Sinhalese 74%, Tamil 18%, Moor 7%, Burgher, Malay, and Vedda 1%

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

total population

88%

male

93%

female

84%

by occupation

agriculture 45.9%, mining and manufacturing 13.3%, trade and transport 12.4%, services and other 28.4% (1985 est.)

Government

Republic

32 fields

Presidential electionpercent of vote

51%

UNP 51%SLFP 32%SLMC 4%TULF 3%USA 3%EROS 3%MEP 1%other 3%

Legislature, 225 seatsone dot, one seat

UNP 125SLFP 67other 33

conventional long form

Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka

conventional short form

Sri Lanka

former

Ceylon

Administrative divisions

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

National holiday

Independence and National Day, 4 February (1948)

Legal system

a highly complex mixture of English common law, Roman-Dutch, Muslim, Sinhalese, and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

chief of state and head of government

President Dingiri Banda WIJETUNGA (since 7 May 1993);
election last held 19 December 1988 (next to be held NA December 1994);
results - Ranasinghe PREMADASA (UNP) 50%, Sirimavo BANDARANAIKE (SLFP) 45%, other 5%;
note - following the assassination of President PREMADASA on 1 May 1993, Prime Minister WIJETUNGA became acting president;
on 7 May 1993, he was confirmed by a vote of Parliament to finish out the term of the assassinated president

cabinet

Cabinet; appointed by the president in consultation with the prime minister

Parliament

elections last held 15 February 1989 (next to be held by NA February 1995);
results - UNP 51%, SLFP 32%, SLMC 4%, TULF 3%, USA 3%, EROS 3%, MEP 1%, other 3%;
seats - (225 total) UNP 125, SLFP 67, other 33

Political parties and leaders

United National Party (UNP), Dingiri Banda WIJETUNGA;
Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), Sirimavo BANDARANAIKE;
Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC), M. H. M. ASHRAFF;
All Ceylon Tamil Congress (ACTC), C. G. Kumar PONNAMBALAM;
People's United Front (MEP, or Mahajana Eksath Peramuna), Dinesh GUNAWARDENE;
Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF), M. SIVASITHAMBARAM;
New Socialist Party (NSSP, or Nava Sama Samaja Party), Vasudeva NANAYAKKARA;
Lanka Socialist Party/Trotskyite (LSSP, or Lanka Sama Samaja Party), Colin R. DE SILVA;
Sri Lanka People's Party (SLMP, or Sri Lanka Mahajana Party), Ossie ABEYGUNASEKERA;
Communist Party, K. P. SILVA;
Communist Party/Beijing (CP/B), N. SHANMUGATHASAN;
Democratic United National Front (DUNF), G. M. PREMACHANDRA;
Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP), Douglas DEVANANDA;
Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO), leader NA;
Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRL), Suresh PREMACHANDRAN;
Eelam Revolutionary Organization of Students (EROS), Shankar RAJI;
People's Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE), Dharmalingam SIDARTHAN;
Liberal Party (LP), Chanaka AMARATUNGA;
Ceylon Workers Congress (CLDC), S. THONDAMAN;
several ethnic Tamil and Muslim parties, represented in either parliament or provincial councils

note

the United Socialist Alliance (USA), which was formed in 1987 and included the NSSP, LSSP, SLMP, CP/M, and CP/B, was defunct as of 1993, following the formation of the People's Alliance Party (PEP)

Other political or pressure groups

Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and other smaller Tamil separatist groups;
other radical chauvinist Sinhalese groups;
Buddhist clergy;
Sinhalese Buddhist lay groups;
labor unions

AsDB, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-24, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM, PCA, SAARC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

chief of mission

Ambassador Ananda W.P. GURUGE

chancery

2148 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone

(202) 483-4025 through 4028

FAX

(202) 232-7181

consulate(s)

New York

chief of mission

Ambassador Teresita C. SCHAFFER

embassy

210 Galle Road, Colombo 3

mailing address

P. O. Box 106, Colombo

telephone

[94] (1) 44-80-07

FAX

[94] (1) 57-42-64

Flag

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

25 fields

GDP per capita, PPP

$3,000

(1993 est.)

Real growth rate

(1993 est.)industrial production growth: growth rate 7% (1991 est.); accounts for 16.5% of GDP

Inflation, consumer prices

11.6%

(1992)

Unemployment rate

15%

(1991 est.)

Overview

Industry - dominated by the fast-growing apparel industry - has surpassed agriculture as the main source of export earnings and accounts for over 16% of GDP. The economy has been plagued by high rates of unemployment since the late 1970s. Economic growth, which has been depressed by ethnic unrest, accelerated in 1991-93 as domestic conditions began to improve and conditions for foreign investment brightened.

National product

GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $53.5 billion (1993 est.)

revenues

$2.3 billion

expenditures

$3.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.5 billion (1993)

Exports

$2.3 billion (f.o.b., 1992)

commodities

garments and textiles, teas, gems, petroleum products, coconuts, rubber, other agricultural products, marine products, graphite

partners

US 33.4%, Germany, UK, Netherlands, Japan, France, Singapore (1992)

Imports

$3 billion (c.i.f., 1992)

commodities

food and beverages, textiles and textile materials, petroleum and petroleum products, machinery and equipment

partners

Japan, India, US 4.3%, UK, Singapore, Germany, Hong King, Taiwan, South Korea (1991)

External debt

$5.2 billion (1991)

capacity

1,300,000 kW

production

3.6 billion kWh

consumption per capita

200 kWh (1992)

Industries

processing of rubber, tea, coconuts, and other agricultural commodities; clothing, cement, petroleum refining, textiles, tobacco

Agriculture

accounts for one-fourth of GDP and nearly half of labor force;
most important staple crop is paddy rice;
other field crops - sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseeds, roots, spices;
cash crops - tea, rubber, coconuts;
animal products - milk, eggs, hides, meat;
not self-sufficient in rice production

recipient

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $1 billion;
Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1980-89), $5.1 billion;
OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $169 million;
Communist countries (1970-89), $369 million

Currency

1 Sri Lankan rupee (SLRe) = 100 cents

Exchange rates

Sri Lankan rupees (SLRes) per US$1 - 49.672 (January 1994), 48.322 (1993), 43.687 (1992), 41.372 (1991), 40.063 (1990), 36.047 (1989)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Communications

15 fields

Networkskm

Railroads

1,948Inland waterways

430

Railroads: (1990); all 1.868-meter broad gauge; 102 km double track; no electrification; government owned · Inland waterways: ; navigable by shallow-draft craft

Railroads

1,948 km total (1990);
all 1.868-meter broad gauge;
102 km double track;
no electrification;
government owned

total

75,263 km

paved

mostly bituminous treated 27,637 km

unpaved

crushed stone, gravel 32,887 km; improved, unimproved earth 14,739 km

total

usable

with permanent-surface runways

with runways over 3,659 m

with runways 2,440-3,659 m

with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications

very inadequate domestic service, good international service;
114,000 telephones (1982);
broadcast stations - 12 AM, 5 FM, 5 TV;
submarine cables extend to Indonesia and Djibouti;
2 Indian Ocean INTELSAT earth stations

Defense Forces

Army, Navy, Air Force, Police Force

3 fields

Branches

Army, Navy, Air Force, Police Force

Manpower availability

males age 15-49 4,906,666;
fit for military service 3,825,774;
reach military age (18) annually 178,213 (1994 est.)

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $417 million, 3.5% of GDP (1994 est.)

Central Intelligence Agency. “Sri Lanka.” The World Factbook 1994. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/sri-lanka/1994.

How to cite ← 1993 edition 1995 edition →

Geography

total area

land area

comparative area

contiguous zone

continental shelf

exclusive economic zone

territorial sea

arable land

permanent crops

meadows and pastures

forest and woodland

other

current issues

natural hazards

international agreements

People

note

total population

male

female

noun

adjective

note

total population

male

female

by occupation

Government

conventional long form

conventional short form

former

chief of state and head of government

cabinet

note

chief of mission

chancery

consulate(s)

chief of mission

embassy

mailing address

Economy

revenues

expenditures

commodities

partners

commodities

partners

capacity

production

consumption per capita

recipient

Communications

total

paved

unpaved

total

usable

with permanent-surface runways

with runways over 3,659 m

with runways 2,440-3,659 m

with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Defense Forces

Cite this entry