1995 Edition

Area

total area: 65,610 sq km land area: 64,740 sq km comparative area: slightly larger than West Virginia

Climate

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

Coastline

1,340 km

Environment

current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; wildlife populations threatened by poaching; coastal degradation from mining activities and increased pollution; freshwater resources being polluted by industrial wastes and sewage runoff natural hazards: occasional cyclones and tornadoes international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Marine Life Conservation

International disputes

none

Irrigated land

5,600 sq km (1989 est.)

Land boundaries

0 km

Land use

arable land: 16% permanent crops: 17% meadows and pastures: 7% forest and woodland: 37% other: 23%

Location

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

Map references

Asia

Maritime claims

contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm

Natural resources

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

Note

strategic location near major Indian Ocean sea lanes

Terrain

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

Age structure

0-14 years: 29% (female 2,597,969; male 2,713,696) 15-64 years: 65% (female 6,042,228; male 5,902,343) 65 years and over: 6% (female 547,715; male 538,709) (July 1995 est.)

Birth rate

18.13 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Death rate

5.78 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Ethnic divisions

Sinhalese 74%, Tamil 18%, Moor 7%, Burgher, Malay, and Vedda 1%

Infant mortality rate

21.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Labor force

6.6 million by occupation: agriculture 45.9%, mining and manufacturing 13.3%, trade and transport 12.4%, services and other 28.4% (1985 est.)

Languages

Sinhala (official and national language) 74%, Tamil (national language) 18% note: English is commonly used in government and is spoken by about 10% of the population

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 72.14 years male: 69.58 years female: 74.82 years (1995 est.)

Literacy

age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.) total population: 88% male: 93% female: 84%

Nationality

noun: Sri Lankan(s) adjective: Sri Lankan

Net migration rate

-0.84 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Population

18,342,660 (July 1995 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 late 1992, nearly 115,000 were housed in refugee camps in south India, another 95,000 lived outside the Indian camps, and more than 200,000 Tamils have sought political asylum in the West

Population growth rate

1.15% (1995 est.)

Religions

Buddhist 69%, Hindu 15%, Christian 8%, Muslim 8%

Total fertility rate

2.08 children born/woman (1995 est.)

Administrative divisions

8 provinces; Central, North Central, North Eastern, North Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Uva, Western

Capital

Colombo

Constitution

adopted 16 August 1978

Digraph

CE

Diplomatic representation in US

chief of mission: Ambassador Jayantha DHANAPALA chancery: 2148 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 483-4025 through 4028

Executive branch

chief of state and head of government: President Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA (since 12 November 1994); note - Sirimavo BANDARANAIKE is the Prime Minister; in Sri Lanka the president is considered to be both the chief of state and the head of the government, this is in contrast to the more common practice of dividing the roles between the president and the prime minister when both offices exist; election last held 9 November 1994 (next to be held NA November 2000); results - Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA (People's Alliance) 62%, Srima DISSANAYAKE (United National Party) 37%, other 1% cabinet: Cabinet; appointed by the president in consultation with the prime minister

FAX

[1] (202) 232-7181 consulate(s): New York

[94] (1) 437345

Flag

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 that goes around the entire flag and extends between the two panels

Independence

4 February 1948 (from UK)

Judicial branch

Supreme Court

Legal system

a highly complex mixture of English common law, Roman-Dutch, Muslim, Sinhalese, and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Legislative branch

unicameral

Member of

AsDB, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-24, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM, PCA, SAARC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Names

conventional long form: Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka conventional short form: Sri Lanka former: Ceylon

National holiday

Independence and National Day, 4 February (1948)

Other political or pressure groups

Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and other smaller Tamil separatist groups; other radical chauvinist Sinhalese groups; Buddhist clergy; Sinhalese Buddhist lay groups; labor unions

Parliament

elections last held 16 August 1994 (next to be held by August 2000); results - PA 49.0%, UNP 44.0%, SLMC 1.8%, TULF 1.7%, SLPF 1.1%, EPDP 0.3%, UPF 0.3%, PLOTE 0.1%, other 1.7%; seats - (225 total) PA 105, UNP 94, EPDP 9, SLMC 7, TULF 5, PLOTE 3, SLPF 1, UPF 1

Political parties and leaders

All Ceylon Tamil Congress (ACTC), C. G. Kumar PONNAMBALAM; Ceylon Workers Congress (CLDC), S. THONDAMAN; Communist Party, K. P. SILVA; Communist Party/Beijing (CP/B), N. SHANMUGATHASAN; Democratic People's Liberation Front (DPLF), leader NA; Democratic United National Front (DUNF), G. M. PREMACHANDRA; Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP), Douglas DEVANANDA; Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRL), Suresh PREMACHANDRAN; Eelam Revolutionary Organization of Students (EROS), Shankar RAJI; Lanka Socialist Party/Trotskyite (LSSP, or Lanka Sama Samaja Party), Colin R. DE SILVA; Liberal Party (LP), Chanaka AMARATUNGA; New Socialist Party (NSSP, or Nava Sama Samaja Party), Vasudeva NANAYAKKARA; People's Alliance (PA), Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA; People's Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE), Dharmalingam SIDARTHAN; People's United Front (MEP, or Mahajana Eksath Peramuna), Dinesh GUNAWARDENE; Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), Sirimavo BANDARANAIKE; Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC), M. H. M. ASHRAFF; Sri Lanka People's Party (SLMP, or Sri Lanka Mahajana Party), Ossie ABEYGUNASEKERA; Sri Lanka Progressive Front (SLPF), leader NA; Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO), leader NA; Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF), M. SIVASITHAMBARAM; United National Party (UNP), Ranil WICKREMANSINGHE; Upcountry People's Front (UPF), leader NA; several ethnic Tamil and Muslim parties, represented in either parliament or provincial councils note: the United Socialist Alliance (USA), which was formed in 1987 and included the NSSP, LSSP, SLMP, CP/M, and CP/B, was defunct as of 1993, following the formation of the People's Alliance Party (PA)

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Type

republic

US diplomatic representation

chief of mission: Ambassador Teresita C. SCHAFFER embassy: 210 Galle Road, Colombo 3 mailing address: P. O. Box 106, Colombo telephone: [94] (1) 448007

Agriculture

accounts for one-fourth of GDP; field crops - rice, sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseeds, roots, spices; cash crops - tea, rubber, coconuts; animal products - milk, eggs, hides, meat; not self-sufficient in rice production

Budget

revenues: $2.3 billion expenditures: $3.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.5 billion (1993)

Currency

1 Sri Lankan rupee (SLRe) = 100 cents

Economic aid

recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $1 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1980-89), $5.1 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $169 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $369 million

Electricity

capacity: 1,410,000 kW production: 3.2 billion kWh consumption per capita: 168 kWh (1993)

Exchange rates

Sri Lankan rupees (SLRes) per US$1 - 50.115 (January 1995), 49.415 (1994), 48.322 (1993), 43.830 (1992), 41.372 (1991), 40.063 (1990)

Exports

$2.9 billion (f.o.b., 1993) commodities: garments and textiles, teas, diamonds, other gems, petroleum products, rubber products, other agricultural products, marine products, graphite partners: US 35.2%, Germany, UK, Belgium-Luxembourg, Japan, Netherlands, France (1993)

External debt

$7.2 billion (1993 est.)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Imports

$4 billion (c.i.f., 1993) commodities: textiles and textile materials, machinery and equipment, transport equipment, petroleum, building materials partners: Japan, India, Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, China (1993)

Industrial production

growth rate 9% (1993 est.); accounts for 16% of GDP

Industries

processing of rubber, tea, coconuts, and other agricultural commodities; clothing, cement, petroleum refining, textiles, tobacco

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

12% (1994 est.)

National product

GDP - purchasing power parity - $57.6 billion (1994 est.)

National product per capita

$3,190 (1994 est.)

National product real growth rate

5% (1994 est.)

Overview

Industry - dominated by the fast-growing apparel industry - has surpassed agriculture as the main source of export earnings and accounts for over 16% of GDP. The economy has been plagued by high rates of unemployment since the late 1970s. Economic growth, which has been depressed by ethnic unrest, accelerated in 1991-94 as domestic conditions began to improve and conditions for foreign investment brightened. Currently, however, the new government's emphasis on populist measures has clouded Sri Lanka's economic prospects.

Unemployment rate

13.6% (1993 est.)

Radio

broadcast stations: AM 12, FM 5, shortwave 0 radios: NA

Telephone system

114,000 telephones (1982); very inadequate domestic service, good international service local: NA intercity: NA international: submarine cables extend to Indonesia and Djibouti; 2 INTELSAT (Indian Ocean) earth stations

Television

broadcast stations: 5 televisions: NA

Airports

total: 14 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 7 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 1

Highways

total: 75,263 km paved: mostly bituminous treated 27,637 km unpaved: crushed stone, gravel 32,887 km; improved, unimproved earth 14,739 km

Inland waterways

430 km; navigable by shallow-draft craft

Merchant marine

total: 26 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 289,115 GRT/453,609 DWT ships by type: bulk 2, cargo 12, container 1, oil tanker 3, refrigerated cargo 8

Pipelines

crude oil and petroleum products 62 km (1987)

Ports

Colombo, Galle, Jaffna, Trincomalee

Railroads

total: 1,948 km broad gauge: 1,948 km 1.868-m gauge (102 km double track) (1990)

Branches

Army, Navy, Air Force, Police Force

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $412 million, 3.6% of GDP (1994) ________________________________________________________________________ SUDAN

Manpower availability

males age 15-49 4,990,661; males fit for military service 3,888,372; males reach military age (18) annually 178,926 (1995 est.)