| Country (long form) |
Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka |
| Capital |
Colombo
note: Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte is the legislative capital |
| Total Area |
25,332.16 sq mi
65,610.00 sq km
(slightly larger than West Virginia) |
| Population |
19,408,635 (July 2001 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 mid-1999, approximately 66,000 were housed in 133 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 |
| Estimated Population in 2050 |
23,085,782 |
| 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 |
| Literacy |
90.2% total, 93.4% male, 87.2% female (1995 est.) |
| Religions |
Buddhist 70%, Hindu 15%, Christian 8%, Muslim 7% (1999) |
| Life Expectancy |
69.58 male, 74.73 female (2001 est.) |
| Government Type |
republic |
| Currency |
1 Sri Lankan rupee (SLRe) = 100 cents |
| GDP (per capita) |
$3,250 (2000 est.) |
| Industry |
processing of rubber, tea, coconuts, and other agricultural commodities; clothing, cement, petroleum refining, textiles, tobacco |
| Agriculture |
rice, sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseed, spices, tea, rubber, coconuts; milk, eggs, hides, beef |
| Arable Land |
14% |
| Natural Resources |
limestone, graphite, mineral sands, gems, phosphates, clay, hydropower |
