Sri Lanka
Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri LankaShri Lamka Prajatantrika Samajaya di Janarajaya/
republicIndependence 4 February 1948 (from UK)
Sri Lanka as the 2008 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 135 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.
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Introduction
1 fieldBackground
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. Tens of thousands have died in the ethnic conflict that continues to fester. 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 January 2008, the government officially withdrew from the ceasefire, and has begun engaging the LTTE in the northern portion of the country.
Geography
Southern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of India
20 fieldsLand useshare of 65,610 sq km
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)
- total:
- 12.61 cu km/yr (2%/2%/95%)
- per capita:
- 608 cu m/yr (2000)
Environment - 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
Environment - international 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
People
21 fieldsAge structuremale left, female right · (2008 est.)
Note
Per 1,000 population(2008 est.)
Male · female
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:
- 0.88 male(s)/female
- total population:
- 0.97 male(s)/female (2008 est.)
Major infectious diseases
- degree of risk:
- high
- food or waterborne diseases:
- bacterial diarrhea and hepatitis A
- vectorborne disease:
- dengue fever and malaria
- water contact disease:
- leptospirosis (2008)
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
Government
Republic; President Mahinda RAJAPAKSA (since 19 November 2005); President Mahinda RAJAPAKSA (since 19 November 2005)
18 fieldsPresidential electionpercent of vote
Parliament, 225 seats, elected 2 April 2004one dot, one seat
Percent of vote
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
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; many have defended the merger as a prerequisite for a negotiated settlement to the ethnic conflict; a parliamentary decision on the issue is pending
Legal system
a highly complex mixture of English common law, Roman-Dutch, Kandyan, and Jaffna Tamil law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Executive branch
- chief of state:
- President Mahinda 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 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 to be held in 2011)
- 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 2010)
- election results:
- percent of vote by party or electoral alliance - SLFP and JVP (no longer in formal UPFA 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 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 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 [Velupillai PRABHAKARAN](insurgent group fighting for a separate state);
- Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP) or Karuna Faction [Vinayagamurthi MURALITHARAN] (paramilitary breakaway from LTTE and fighting LTTE)
- other:
- Buddhist clergy;
- labor unions;
- radical chauvinist Sinhalese groups such as the National Movement Against Terrorism;
- Sinhalese Buddhist lay groups
International organization participation
ADB, 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 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 Robert O. BLAKE, Jr.
- embassy:
- 210 Galle Road, Colombo 3
- mailing address:
- P. O. Box 106, Colombo
- telephone:
- [94] (11) 249-8500
- FAX:
- [94] (11) 243-7345
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 around the entire flag and extends between the two panels
Economy
In 1977, Colombo abandoned statist economic policies and its import substitution trade policy for more market-oriented policies, export-oriented trade, and encouragement of foreign investment.
50 fieldsGDP - composition by sector(2007 est.)
Trading partnersexports left, imports right
Electricity
Economy - overview
In 1977, Colombo abandoned statist economic policies and its import substitution trade policy for more market-oriented policies, export-oriented trade, and encouragement of foreign investment. Recent changes in government, however, have brought some policy reversals. Currently, the ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party has a more statist economic approach, which seeks to reduce poverty by steering investment to disadvantaged areas, developing small and medium enterprises, promoting agriculture, and expanding the already enormous civil service.
The government has halted privatizations. Although suffering a brutal civil war that began in 1983, Sri Lanka saw GDP growth average 4.5% in the last 10 years with the exception of a recession in 2001. In late December 2004, a major tsunami took about 31,000 lives, left more than 6,300 missing and 443,000 displaced, and destroyed an estimated $1.5 billion worth of property.
Government spending and reconstruction drove growth to more than 7% in 2006 but reduced agriculture output probably slowed growth to about 6 percent in 2007. Government spending and loose monetary policy drove inflation to nearly 16% in 2007. Sri Lanka's most dynamic sectors now are food processing, textiles and apparel, food and beverages, port construction, telecommunications, and insurance and banking.
In 2006, plantation crops made up only about 15% of exports (compared with more than 90% in 1970), while textiles and garments accounted for more than 60%. About 800,000 Sri Lankans work abroad, 90% of them in the Middle East. They send home more than $1 billion a year. The struggle by the Tamil Tigers of the north and east for an independent homeland continues to cast a shadow over the economy.
Agriculture - products
- rice, sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseed, spices, tea, rubber, coconuts;
- milk, eggs, hides, beef;
- fish
Industries
- processing of rubber, tea, coconuts, tobacco and other agricultural commodities;
- telecommunications, insurance, banking;
- clothing, textiles;
- cement, petroleum refining
Exports - commodities
- textiles and apparel, tea and spices;
- diamonds, emeralds, rubies;
- coconut products, rubber manufactures, fish
Imports - commodities
textile fabrics, mineral products, petroleum, foodstuffs, machinery and transportation equipment
Exchange rates
Sri Lankan rupees (LKR) per US dollar - 110.78 (2007), 103.99 (2006), 100.498 (2005), 101.194 (2004), 96.521 (2003)
Communications
8 fieldsTelephone system
- general assessment:
- telephone services have improved significantly and are available in most parts of the country
- domestic:
- national trunk network consists mostly of digital microwave radio relay;
- fiber-optic links now in use in Colombo area and fixed wireless local loops have been installed;
- competition is strong in mobile cellular systems and mobile cellular subscribership is increasing;
- combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity is about 50 per 100 persons
- international:
- country code - 94;
- the SEA-ME-WE-3 and SEA-ME-WE-4 submarine cables provide connectivity to Asia, Australia, Middle East, Europe, US;
- satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)
Transportation
8 fieldsAirports by runway lengthpaved left, unpaved right
Networkskm
Merchant marine
- total:
- 26
- by type:
- bulk carrier 4, cargo 18, chemical tanker 1, container 1, petroleum tanker 2
- foreign-owned:
- 5 (Germany 5)
- registered in other countries:
- 1 (Panama 1) (2008)
Military
Sri Lanka Army, Sri Lanka Navy, Sri Lanka Air Force (2008)
6 fieldsManpower available for military service
- males age 16-49:
- 5,458,720
- females age 16-49:
- 5,594,006 (2008 est.)
Transnational Issues
3 fieldsRefugees and internally displaced persons
IDPs: 460,000 (both Tamils and non-Tamils displaced due to long-term civil war between the government and the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)) (2007)
Trafficking in persons
- current situation:
- Sri Lanka is a source and destination country for men and women trafficked for the purposes of involuntary servitude and commercial sexual exploitation;
- Sri Lankan men and women migrate willingly to the Persian Gulf, Middle East, and East Asia to work as construction workers, domestic servants, or garment factory workers, where some find themselves in situations of involuntary servitude when faced with restrictions on movement, withholding of passports, threats, physical or sexual abuse, and debt bondage;
- children are trafficked internally for commercial sexual exploitation and, less frequently, for forced labor
- tier rating:
- Tier 2 Watch List - for a second consecutive year, Sri Lanka is on the Tier 2 Watch List for failing to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat severe forms of human trafficking, particularly in the area of law enforcement;
- the government failed to arrest, prosecute, or convict any person for trafficking offenses and continued to punish some victims of trafficking for crimes committed as a result of being trafficked;
- Sri Lanka has not ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol (2008)
Cite this entry
Central Intelligence Agency. “Sri Lanka.” The World Factbook 2008. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/sri-lanka/2008.