CIA - The World Factbook

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. 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.

Southern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of India

slightly larger than West Virginia

tropical monsoon; northeast monsoon (December to March); southwest monsoon (June to October)

mostly low, flat to rolling plain; mountains in south-central interior

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

occasional cyclones and tornadoes

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

strategic location near major Indian Ocean sea lanes

15.88 births/1,000 population (2010 est.)

6.2 deaths/1,000 population (July 2010 est.)

-1.05 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2010 est.)

1.96 children born/woman (2010 est.)

less than 0.1% (2001 est.)

fewer than 200 (2003 est.)

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)

Buddhist 69.1%, Muslim 7.6%, Hindu 7.1%, Christian 6.2%, unspecified 10% (2001 census provisional data)

Sinhala (official and national language) 74%, Tamil (national language) 18%, other 8%

9 provinces; Central, Eastern, North Central, Northern, North Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Uva, Western

4 February 1948 (from the UK)

Independence Day, 4 February (1948)

adopted 16 August 1978, certified 31 August 1978; amended 20 December 2001

a highly complex mixture of English common law, Roman-Dutch, Kandyan, and Jaffna Tamil law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

18 years of age; universal

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)

Supreme Court; Court of Appeals; judges for both courts are appointed by the president

All Ceylon Tamil Congress or ACTC [G.PONNAMBALAM]; Ceylon Workers Congress or CWC [Arumugam THONDAMAN]; Communist Party or CP [D. GUNASEKERA]; Democratic People's Front [Mano GANESAN]; 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

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;

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, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

yellow with two panels; the smaller hoist-side panel has two equal vertical bands of green (hoist side) and orange; the other larger panel depicts a yellow lion holding a sword on a dark red rectangular field that also displays a yellow bo leaf in each corner; the yellow field appears as a border around the entire flag and extends between the two panels

In 1977, Colombo abandoned statist- and import substitution-policies for more market- and export-oriented policies, including encouragement of foreign investment. Sri Lanka suffered through a brutal civil war from 1983 to 2009. Despite the war, Sri Lanka saw GDP growth average nearly 5% in the last 10 years. Government spending on development and fighting the LTTE drove GDP growth to about 7% per year in 2006-08. Growth was around 3.5% in 2009. Sri Lanka's most dynamic sectors are now food processing, textiles and apparel, food and beverages, port construction, telecommunications, and insurance and banking. About 1.5 million Sri Lankans work abroad, 90% of them in the Middle East. They send home more than $3 billion a year. President RAJAPAKSA's reelection in 2010 means that the Government of Sri Lanka will likely continue its more statist economic approach, that 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 end of the 26-year conflict with the LTTE has opened the door for reconstruction and development projects in the north and east. Funding these projects will be difficult, as the government already is faced with high debt interest payments, a bloated civil service, and high budget deficits. The 2008-09 global financial crisis and recession exposed Sri Lanka's economic vulnerabilities and nearly caused a balance of payments crisis, which was alleviated by a $2.6 billion IMF standby agreement in July 2009. But the end of the civil war and the IMF loan restored investors' confidence. The Sri Lankan stock market gained over 100% in 2009, one of the best performing markets in the world. Official foreign reserves improved to more than $5 billion by November 2009, providing over 6 months of imports cover.

$96.43 billion (2009 est.)

$93.17 billion (2008 est.)

$87.9 billion (2007 est.)

$41.81 billion (2009 est.)

23.1% of GDP (2009 est.)

82.9% of GDP (2009 est.)

76.7% of GDP (2008 est.)

7.5% (31 December 2009)

10.5% (31 December 2008)

10.91% (31 December 2009)

18.89% (31 December 2008)

$2.441 billion (31 December 2008)

$2.465 billion (31 December 2007)

$11.15 billion (31 December 2008)

$10.46 billion (31 December 2007)

$16.5 billion (31 December 2008)

$14.82 billion (31 December 2007)

$9.541 billion (31 December 2009)

$4.326 billion (31 December 2008)

$7.553 billion (31 December 2007)

rice, sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseed, spices, vegetables, fruit, tea, rubber, coconuts; milk, eggs, hides, beef; fish

processing of rubber, tea, coconuts, tobacco and other agricultural commodities; telecommunications, insurance, banking; tourism, shipping; clothing, textiles; cement, petroleum refining, information technology services, construction

9.901 billion kWh (2008 est.)

8.417 billion kWh (2008 est.)

0 bbl/day (2008 est.)

89,000 bbl/day (2008 est.)

968 bbl/day (2007 est.)

87,690 bbl/day (2007 est.)

0 bbl (1 January 2009 est.)

0 cu m (1 January 2009 est.)

$100 million (2009 est.)

-$3.876 billion (2008 est.)

$7 billion (2009 est.)

$8.137 billion (2008 est.)

textiles and apparel, tea and spices; diamonds, emeralds, rubies; coconut products, rubber manufactures, fish

US 22.1%, UK 12.1%, Germany 5.2%, Belgium 4.9%, Italy 4.8%, India 4.5% (2008)

$9.6 billion (2009 est.)

$14.08 billion (2008 est.)

textile fabrics, mineral products, petroleum, foodstuffs, machinery and transportation equipment

India 18.9%, China 12.4%, Iran 7.7%, Singapore 7.5%, South Korea 4.8% (2008)

$5.2 billion (30 November 2009 est.)

$2.655 billion (31 December 2008 est.)

$19.45 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$16.78 billion (31 December 2008 est.)

Sri Lankan rupees (LKR) per US dollar - 115 (2009), 108.33 (2008), 110.78 (2007), 103.99 (2006), 100.498 (2005)

3.446 million (2008)

11.082 million (2008)

AM 15, FM 52, shortwave 4 (2007)

1.164 million (2008)

160 km (primarily on rivers in southwest) (2008)

Sri Lanka Army, Sri Lanka Navy, Sri Lanka Air Force (2010)

18 years of age for voluntary military service; 5-year service obligation (2007)