Sri Lanka

The Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is an island, located in South Asia. It is 31 km away from the most southern coast of India. Sri Lanka is world famous for the production and export of tea, coffee, coconuts and rubber. It has the highest per capita income among South Asian countries. The capital city is Colombo but officially Sri Jayewardenepura-Kotte is the capital and the site of Parliament. The military force is divided into three branches- Army, Navy, and Air Force. Violation of human rights in Sri Lanka is badly criticized. Sri Lanka is the first Asian country to have a female ruler- Queen Anula in 47 BC.


HISTORY:- The Wanniyala-Aetto people were the first inhabitants of Sri Lanka. Ancient Sri Lanka was invaded and ruled by the Sinha royal dynasty, Chola dynasty, the Pandya dynasty, the Chera dynasty, the Pallava dynasty, kingdoms of Kalinga successively. Buddhism was introduced to Sri Lanka from India in the 3rd century. The island was divided into three kingdoms -Kandy in the central hills, Kotte at the Western coast, and Yarlpanam in the north. The Dutch colonies were set up in the 17th century. Entire Sri Lanka came under European control, except Kandy. In 1802, British East India Company declared Sri Lanka as a crown colony. In 1815, the downfall of the kingdom of Kandy was resulted in the British command over entire Sri Lanka. Struggle for independence started in the 1930s. During World War II, Sri Lanka served as the military base of the Allied force. On 4th February, 1948, the island became independent.

 

GEOGRAPHY:- Sri Lanka is situated at 7 00 N, 81 00 E in Southern Asia, capturing total 65,610 sq km (land-64,740 sq km, water-870 sq km) area. The coastline is 1,340 km long along with the Bay of Bengal, Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean. The Mahaweli ganga is the main river. Sri Lanka comprises mostly low land to flat rolling plains. South central of the island is mountainous. The lowest point is the Indian Ocean (0 m) and the highest point is Pidurutalagala (2,524 m).

 

CLIMATE:- The climate of Sri Lanka is mostly tropical and hot. In the northeast region, light rainfall can be found in fall and winter with an average of 50 in, while in southwest region heavy rainfall can be found in summer and fall with an average of 200 in.

 

GOVERNMENT:-The unitary state of Sri Lanka is a democratic, socialist republican country. The government is a fusion of the presidential system and the parliamentary system. The constitution was adopted on 16th August, 1978. The three branches of the government are set up as follows:

Executive branch comprises the President (head of state, the commander in chief of the armed forces, head of government) and cabinet.

Legislative branch comprises the unicameral Parliament (225 seats).

Judicial branch comprises the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, High Court, other subordinate courts.

Important political parties are Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, National Freedom Front, Jathika Hela Urumaya, Sri Lanka Freedom Party, Tamil National Alliance, United National Party, Tamileela Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal. Suffrage is universal above 18.

President  Mahinda Rajapaksa

Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake

 

ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS:- Sri Lanka is decomposed of 9 provinces and 25 districts.

 

CULTURE:- Sri Lankan cuisine is characterized by its traditional food with the western touch in it. Coconut is an important ingredient of Sri Lankan cuisine. In dishes like Lamprais, Breudher and Bolo Fiado, we can found Dutch influences. Sinhala and Tamil people celebrate ‘Sinhala and Tamil New Year’ festival every year on or before 13th April. Muslims celebrate Ramadan. Esala Perahera festival is another popular festival in Esala. Baila is the most popular music while Cricket is the most popular sport in the country. Volleyball is the national sport. Sri Lanka has been the one time champion of World Cup Cricket tournament.

 

ECONOMY:- From plantation economy Sri Lanka has been transforming into industrialization.

GDP/PPP (2005 est.): $87.15 billion; per capita $4,300.

Real growth rate: 5%.

Inflation: 11.2%.

Unemployment: 8.4%.

Arable land: 14%.

Agriculture: rice, sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseed, spices, tea, rubber, coconuts; milk, eggs, hides, beef; fish.

Labor force: 8.08 million; services 45%, agriculture 38%, industry 17% (1998 est.).

Industries: processing of rubber, tea, coconuts, tobacco and other agricultural commodities; telecommunications, insurance, banking; clothing, textiles; cement, petroleum refining.

Budget:  

Revenues: $5.379 billion

Expenditures: $7.611 billion (2007 est.)

Public debt: 85.9% of GDP (2007 est.)

Debt - external: $13.52 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

Natural resources: limestone, graphite, mineral sands, gems, phosphates, clay, hydropower.

Exports: $6.442 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.): textiles and apparel, tea and spices; diamonds, emeralds, rubies; coconut products, rubber manufactures, fish.

Exports - partners: US 27.6%, UK 11.3%, India 9.3%, Belgium 4.7%, Germany 4.3% (2006)

Imports: $8.37 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.): textile fabrics, mineral products, petroleum, foodstuffs, machinery and transportation equipment.

Imports - partners: India 19.5%, China 10.4%, Singapore 8.7%, Iran 5.6%, Malaysia 5%, Hong Kong 4.2%, Japan 4% (2006)

Major trading partners: U.S., UK, India, Germany, Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Iran, Japan, Malaysia (2004).

Monetary unit: Sri Lanka rupee

 

LANGUAGE:- The official languages are Sinhala (74%) and Tamil (18%). English (10%) is also spoken.

 

CITIES:- Colombo is the largest city and Sri Jayawardenapura-Kotte is the capital city. Other large cities are Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia, Moratuwa, and Kandy.

 

POPULATION:- Sri Lankan population is 20,926,315 with a growth rate of 1.0%.

Density per sq mi: 809

Literacy rate: 92% (2003 est.)

 

RACE:-

Sinhalese 73.8%

Sri Lankan Moors 7.2%

Indian Tamil 4.6%

Sri Lankan Tamil 3.9%

Other 0.5%

Unspecified 10% (2001)

 

RELIGION:-

Buddhist 70%

Islam 8%

Hindu 7%

Christian 6% (2001)

 

HEALTH:- degree of risk is high in Sri Lanka.

Birth rate: 16.63 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate: 6.07 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Infant mortality rate: total: 19.01 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 74.97 years

Total fertility rate: 2.02 children born/woman (2008 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths: less than 200 (2003 est.)

Total expenditure on health per capita (Intl $, 2005): 189

 

UNICEF:- UNICEF in Sri Lanka works on the regions of providing health care services and nutrition to women and children. It also focuses on bringing back children from the war front to society. Immunization programmes are also carried out. Another issue that UNICEF in Sri Lanka faces is the after effects of 2004 tsunami. UNICEF is carrying out recovery process to the jobless and homeless tsunami victims.

 

TRANSPORTATION:-

Railways: total: 1,508 km (2002).

Highways: total: 96,695 km; paved: 91,860 km; unpaved: 4,835 km (1999).

Waterways: 430 km.

Ports and harbors: Colombo, Galle, Jaffna, Trincomalee.

Airports: 15 (2002).

COUNTRIES    US STATES    US CITIES    CLASSIFIEDS    EVENTS    YELLOW PAGES    MAJOR CITIES    CATEGORY SITES     AVOO SEARCH     WORLD NEWS    POLLS     YSpan