Legend:
 Definition
 Field Listing
 Rank Order
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Background:
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The Sinhalese arrived in Sri Lanka late in the 6th century B.C., probably from northern India. Buddhism was introduced beginning 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 1000 A.D.) and Polonnaruwa (from about 1070 to 1200). In the 14th century, a south Indian dynasty seized power in the north and established a Tamil kingdom. Occupied 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 in violence in the mid-1980s. Tens of thousands have died in an ethnic war that continues to fester. After two decades of fighting, the government and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam began a ceasefire in December 2001, with Norway brokering peace negotiations.
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Location:
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Southern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of India
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Geographic coordinates:
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7 00 N, 81 00 E
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Map references:
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Asia
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Area:
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total: 65,610 sq km
water: 870 sq km
land: 64,740 sq km
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Area - comparative:
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slightly larger than West Virginia
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Land boundaries:
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0 km
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Coastline:
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1,340 km
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Maritime claims - as described in UNCLOS 1982 (see Notes and Definitions):
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territorial sea: 12 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
contiguous zone: 24 NM
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Climate:
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tropical monsoon; northeast monsoon (December to March); southwest monsoon (June to October)
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Terrain:
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mostly low, flat to rolling plain; mountains in south-central interior
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pidurutalagala 2,524 m
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Natural resources:
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limestone, graphite, mineral sands, gems, phosphates, clay, hydropower
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Land use:
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arable land: 13.43%
permanent crops: 15.78%
other: 70.79% (1998 est.)
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Irrigated land:
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6,510 sq km (1998 est.)
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Natural hazards:
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occasional cyclones and tornadoes
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Environment - current issues:
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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
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Environment - international agreements:
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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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Geography - note:
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strategic location near major Indian Ocean sea lanes
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Population:
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19,905,165 (2003 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 yearend 2000, approximately 65,000 were housed in 131 refugee camps in south India, another 40,000 lived outside the Indian camps, and more than 200,000 Tamils have sought refuge in the West (July 2004 est.)
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Age structure:
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0-14 years: 24.8% (male 2,526,143; female 2,414,876)
15-64 years: 68.2% (male 6,589,438; female 6,976,487)
65 years and over: 7% (male 655,636; female 742,585) (2004 est.)
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Median age:
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total: 29.1 years
male: 28 years
female: 30.1 years (2004 est.)
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Population growth rate:
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0.81% (2004 est.)
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Birth rate:
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15.88 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
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Death rate:
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6.47 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
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Net migration rate:
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-1.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
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Sex ratio:
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at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female
total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2004 est.)
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Infant mortality rate:
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total: 14.78 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 13.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 16.01 deaths/1,000 live births
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Life expectancy at birth:
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total population: 72.89 years
male: 70.34 years
female: 75.57 years (2004 est.)
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Total fertility rate:
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1.88 children born/woman (2004 est.)
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
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less than 0.1% (2001 est.)
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
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4,800 (2001 est.)
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HIV/AIDS - deaths:
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250 (2001 est.)
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Nationality:
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noun: Sri Lankan(s)
adjective: Sri Lankan
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Ethnic groups:
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Sinhalese 74%, Tamil 18%, Moor 7%, Burgher, Malay, and Vedda 1%
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Religions:
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Buddhist 70%, Hindu 15%, Christian 8%, Muslim 7% (1999)
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Languages:
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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
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Literacy:
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definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 92.3%
male: 94.8%
female: 90% (2003 est.)
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Country name:
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conventional long form: Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
conventional short form: Sri Lanka
former: Serendib, Ceylon
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Government type:
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republic
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Capital:
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Colombo; note - Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte is the legislative capital
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Administrative divisions:
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8 provinces; Central, North Central, North Eastern, North Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Uva, Western; note - North Eastern province may have been divided in two - Northern and Eastern
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Independence:
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4 February 1948 (from UK)
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National holiday:
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Independence Day, 4 February (1948)
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Constitution:
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adopted 16 August 1978
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Legal system:
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a highly complex mixture of English common law, Roman-Dutch, Muslim, Sinhalese, and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
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Suffrage:
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18 years of age; universal
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Executive branch:
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chief of state: President Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA (since 12 November 1994); note - Mahinda RAJAPAKSE (since 6 April 2004)i s the prime minister; the president is considered both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA (since 12 November 1994); note - Mahinda RAJAPAKSE (since 6 April 2004) is the prime minister; the president is considered both the chief of state and head of government
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president in consultation with the prime minister
elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term; election last held 21 December 1999 (next to be held NA December 2005)
election results: Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA reelected president; percent of vote - Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA 51%, Ranil WICKREMASINGHE 42%, other 7%
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Legislative branch:
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unicameral Parliament (225 seats; members elected by popular vote on the basis of a modified proportional representation system by district to serve six-year terms)
elections: last held 2 April 2004 (next to be held by 2010)
election results: percent of vote by party or electoral alliance - SLFP and JVP 45.6%, UNP 37.83%, TNA 6.84%, JHU 5.97%, SLMC 2.02%, UPF 0.54%, EPDP 0.27%, others 0.93%; seats by party or electoral alliance - SLFP and JVP 105, UNP 82, TNA 22, JHU 9, SLMC 5, UPF 1, EPDP 1
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Judicial branch:
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Supreme Court; Court of Appeals; judges for both courts are appointed by the president
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Political parties and leaders:
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All Ceylon Tamil Congress or ACTC [KUMARGURUPARAM]; Ceylon Workers Congress or CWC [Arumugam THONDAMAN]; Communist Party or CP [D. GUNASEKERA]; Democratic United National (Lalith) Front or DUNLF [Shrimani ATULATHMUDALI]; Eelam People's Democratic Party or EPDP [Douglas DEVANANDA]; Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front or EPRLF [Suresh PREMACHANDRAN]; Janatha Vimukthi Perumuna or JVP [Tilvan SILVA]; National Unity Alliance or NUA [Ferial ASHRAFF]; National Heritage Party or JHU [Uduwe DHAMMALOKA]; People's Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam or PLOTE [leader NA]; Sihala Urumaya or SU [Tilak KARUNARATNE]; Sri Lanka Freedom Party or SLFP [Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA]; Sri Lanka Muslim Congress or SLMC [Rauff HAKEEM]; Sri Lanka Progressive Front or SLPF [P. Nelson PERERA]; Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization or TELO [SABARATNAM]; Tamil National Alliance or TNA [Nadarajah RAVIRAJ]; Tamil United Liberation Front or TULF [R. SAMPATHAN]; United National Party or UNP [Ranil WICKREMASINGHE]; Up-country People's Front or UPF [P. CHANDRASEKARAN]; several ethnic Tamil and Muslim parties, represented in either Parliament or provincial councils
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Political pressure groups and leaders:
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Buddhist clergy; labor unions; Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam or LTTE [Velupillai PRABHAKARAN](insurgent group fighting for a separate state); radical chauvinist Sinhalese groups such as the National Movement Against Terrorism; Sinhalese Buddhist lay groups
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International organization participation:
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AsDB, C, CP, FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), OPCW, PCA, SAARC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
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Diplomatic representation in the US:
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chief of mission: Ambassador Devinda R. SUBASINGHE
consulate(s): New York
consulate(s) general: Los Angeles
FAX: [1] (202) 232-7181
telephone: [1] (202) 483-4025 (through 4028)
chancery: 2148 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
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Diplomatic representation from the US:
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chief of mission: Ambassador Jeffrey J. LUNSTEAD
embassy: 210 Galle Road, Colombo 3
mailing address: P. O. Box 106, Colombo
telephone: [94] (1) 448007
FAX: [94] (1) 437345
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Flag description:
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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
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Economy - overview:
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In 1977, Colombo abandoned statist economic policies and its import substitution trade policy for market-oriented policies and export-oriented trade. Sri Lanka's most dynamic sectors now are food processing, textiles and apparel, food and beverages, telecommunications, and insurance and banking. In 2003, plantation crops made up only 15% of exports (compared with 93% in 1970), while textiles and garments accounted for 63%. GDP grew at an average annual rate of 5.5% in the early 1990s until a drought and a deteriorating security situation lowered growth to 3.8% in 1996. The economy rebounded in 1997-2000 with average growth of 5.3%, but 2001 saw the first contraction in the country's history, -1.4%, due to a combination of power shortages, severe budgetary problems, the global slowdown, and continuing civil strife. Growth recovered to 4.0% in 2002 and 5.2% in 2003. About 800,000 Sri Lankans work abroad, 90% in the Middle East. They send home about $1 billion a year. The struggle by the Tamil Tigers of the north and east for a largely independent homeland continues to cast a shadow over the economy.
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GDP:
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purchasing power parity - $73.49 billion (2003 est.)
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GDP - real growth rate:
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5.2% (2003 est.)
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GDP - per capita:
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purchasing power parity - $3,700 (2003 est.)
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GDP - composition by sector:
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agriculture: 19.2%
industry: 25.3%
services: 55.5% (2002)
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Population below poverty line:
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22% (1997 est.)
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Household income or consumption by percentage share:
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lowest 10%: 3.5%
highest 10%: 28% (1995)
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Distribution of family income - Gini index:
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34.4 (1995)
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Inflation rate (consumer prices):
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9% (2003 est.)
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Labor force:
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6.6 million (1998)
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Labor force - by occupation:
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services 45%, agriculture 38%, industry 17% (1998 est.)
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Unemployment rate:
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8% (2003)
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Budget:
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revenues: $2.8 billion
expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.)
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Industries:
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rubber processing, tea, coconuts, and other agricultural commodities; clothing, cement, petroleum refining, textiles, tobacco
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Industrial production growth rate:
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7.6% (2003)
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Electricity - production:
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6.36 billion kWh (2001)
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Electricity - production by source:
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fossil fuel: 51.7%
hydro: 48.3%
other: 0% (2001)
nuclear: 0%
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Electricity - consumption:
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5.915 billion kWh (2001)
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Electricity - exports:
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0 kWh (2001)
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Electricity - imports:
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0 kWh (2001)
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Oil - production:
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0 bbl/day (2001 est.)
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Oil - consumption:
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75,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
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Oil - exports:
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NA
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Oil - imports:
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NA
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Agriculture - products:
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rice, sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseed, spices, tea, rubber, coconuts; milk, eggs, hides, beef
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Exports:
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$5.269 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)
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Exports - commodities:
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textiles and apparel, tea, diamonds, coconut products, petroleum products
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Exports - partners:
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US 37.7%, UK 12.6%, Germany 4.3% (2002)
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Imports:
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$6.626 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)
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Imports - commodities:
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textiles, mineral products, petroleum, foodstuffs, machinery and equipment
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Imports - partners:
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India 13.8%, Hong Kong 8.1%, Singapore 7.2%, Japan 5.9%, South Korea 5%, Taiwan 4.8%, UAE 4.5%, UK 4.3%, China 4.3% (2002)
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Debt - external:
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$10.1 billion (2003)
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Economic aid - recipient:
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$577 million (1998)
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Currency:
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Sri Lankan rupee (LKR)
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Currency code:
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LKR
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Exchange rates:
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Sri Lankan rupees per US dollar - 96.52 (2003), 95.66 (2002), 89.38 (2001), 77.01 (2000), 70.64 (1999)
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Fiscal year:
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calendar year
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Railways:
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total: 1,508 km
broad gauge: 1,449 km 1.676-m gauge
narrow gauge: 59 km 0.762-m gauge (2002)
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Highways:
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total: 96,695 km
paved: 91,860 km
unpaved: 4,835 km (1999)
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Waterways:
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430 km (navigable by shallow-draft craft)
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Pipelines:
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crude oil and petroleum products 62 km (1987)
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Ports and harbors:
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Colombo, Galle, Jaffna, Trincomalee
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Merchant marine:
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total: 18 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 120,924 GRT/173,604 DWT
by type: cargo 14, container 2, petroleum tanker 2
registered in other countries: 4 (2003 est.)
foreign-owned: Germany 8, Singapore 1
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Airports:
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14 (2003 est.)
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Airports - with paved runways:
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total: 13
over 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 6
914 to 1,523 m: 6 (2003 est.)
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Airports - with unpaved runways:
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total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2003 est.)
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Disputes - international:
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none
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This page was last updated on 11 May, 2004
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