Sri Lanka At A Glance

Official Name

Democratic Socialist Republic of sri Lanka

Government Type

Republic

Location

Latitude 5 55. to 9 50. North
Longitude 79 42. to 81 52., 650 km North of the Equator

Dimension

430 km North to South
25 km East to West

Coast Line

1,340 km

Area

5,525 km

Currency Code

Sri Lankan Rupees (LKR)

Independence

04th February 1948

Administrative Capital

Sri Jayawardhanapura Kotte

Commercial Capital

Colombo

Administrative Division

9 Provinces
Nothern, North Central, Central, North Western, Western, Eastern, Sabaragamuwa, Uva

Climate

Typically tropical, with a Northeast monsoon (December to March) bringing unsettled weather to the North and East and 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

Piduruthalagala

Highest Waterfall

Bambarakanda

Longest River

Mahaweli

National Flower

The Blue Water Lily (Nymphet satellite)

National Tree

Na Tree (Mesua Nagassuriam)

National Bird

Jungle Fowl

National Game

Volley Ball

National Parks and Nature Reserves area

8,000 sq.km

Population

21,128,773

Population Growth Rate

Population Density

309 people per sq.km

Life expectancy at Birth

Female 74 Male 64

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%

Languages

Sinhala 74% (Official and National Language), Tamil 18% (National Language) Other 8%

Note

English ( A Link Language commonly is used in Government and Spoken Competently by about 10% of the Population)

Religion

Buddhist 69.1%, Islamic 7.6%, Hindu 7.19%, Christian 6.2%, Unspecified

Time Zone

Sri Lanka standard Time is Five and Half hours ahead of GMT. (Allowance should be made for summer time changes in Europe)

International Dialling

+94

International TLD

.lk

Electricity

230.240 volts, 50 cycle 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 constructions, telecommunications and insurance And banking. Population crops made up only 15% Of exports. 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 Dollar a year.

Labour Force

34.3% of the Labor Population is employed in Agriculture, 25.3% in Industry and 40.4% in services The Unemployment rate is 5.7%

Agriculture and Products

Rice, Sugercane, Grains, Pulses, Coconutsm Milk, Eggs, Hides, Beef and Fish

Industries

Processing of Rubber, Tea, Coconuts, Tobacco and Other Agricultural Commodities, Telecommunication, Insurance, Banking, Clothing, Textiles, Cement, Petroleum refinning.

Exports

Textiles and Appare, Tea and Spices, Diamonds, Emaralds, Rubies, Coconut Products, Rubber Manufactures, Fish

Import

Main Import commodities are Textiles fabrics, Mineral Products, Petroleum, Food Stuffs, Machinery and Transpotation Equipment 10.61 Billion dollars F.O.B. Precentage of main commodities form 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%

Flag Description

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.