Sri Lanka Facts

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Official nameDemocratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
Government typerepublic
LocationLatitude 5° 55. to 9° 50. north, longitude 79° 42. to 81° 52., 650km north of the equator
Dimensions430km north to south, 225km east to west
Coastline1,340km
Area65,525km
Currency (code)Sri Lankan rupee (LKR)
Independence4 February 1948
Administrative capitalSri Jayewardenepura
Commercial capitalColombo
Administrative divisions9 provinces; Central, North Central, Northern, North Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Uva, Western, Eastern Province
Climate Typically tropical, with a northeast monsoon (December to March) bringing unsettled weather to the north and east, and a southwest monsoon (June to October) bringing bad weather to the south and west
Terrain Mostly low, flat to rolling plain; mountains in south-central interior
Highest mountain: Pidurutalagala, 2,524m
 Highest waterfall: Bambarakanda, 263m
 National Flower The Blue Water Lily (Nymphaea stellata)
 National parks and nature reserves area 8,000sq.km
 Population 21,128,773 (? Census)
 Population growth rate 1.3%
 Population Density 309 people per sq km
 Life Expectancy at Birth 74 female, 64 male
 Literacy rate Female 87.9 Male 92.5
 Ethnic groups Sinhalese 73.8%, Sri Lankan Moors 7.2%, Indian Tamil 4.6%, Sri Lankan Tamil 3.9%, other 0.5%, unspecified 10% (2001 census)
 Languages: Sinhala (official and national language) 74%, Tamil (national language) 18%, other 8%English (a link language commonly) is used in government and spoken competently by about 10% of the population
 Religion Buddhist 69.1%, Muslim 7.6%, Hindu 7.1%, Christian 6.2%, unspecified 10% (2001 census)
 Time zone Sri Lanka Standard Time is five and a half hours ahead of GMT. (Allowance should be made for summer-time changes in Europe.)
 International dialing +94
 Electricity 230 . 240 volts, 50 cycles AC. If you travel with a laptop computer bring a stabilizer
 Economy Sri Lanka.s most dynamic sectors are food processing, textiles and apparel, food and beverages, port construction, telecommunications, and insurance and banking. In 2006, plantation crops made up only 15% of exports (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 US$1 billion a year.
 Labour force 34.3% of the labour population is employed in agriculture, 25.3% in industry and 40.4% in services: 40.4% (30 June 2006 est.) The unemployment rate is 5.7% (2007 est.)
 Agriculture & products Rice, sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseed, spices, tea, rubber, coconutsm 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 Textiles and apparel; tea and spices; diamonds, emeralds, rubies; coconut products, rubber manufactures, fish
 Imports Main import commodities are textile fabrics, mineral products, petroleum, foodstuffs, machinery and transportation equipment: $10.61 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.). Percentage of main commodities from main import partners: India 19.6%, China 10.5%, Singapore 8.8%, Iran 5.7%, Malaysia 5.1%, Hong Kong 4.2%, Japan 4.1% (2006)
 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Purchasing power parity: $81.29 billion (2007 est.). Official exchange rate: $30.01 billion (2007 est.) Real growth rate: 6.3% (2007 est.) Per capita: $4,100 (2007 est.) composition by sector: Agriculture: 16.5% Industry: 26.9%