1996 Edition

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

Location

7 00 N, 81 00 E -- Southern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of India Flag ----

Area

comparative area

slightly larger than West Virginia

land area

64,740 sq km

total area

65,610 sq km

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

international agreements

party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Marine Life Conservation

natural hazards

occasional cyclones and tornadoes

Geographic coordinates

7 00 N, 81 00 E

Geographic note

strategic location near major Indian Ocean sea lanes

International disputes

none

Irrigated land

5,600 sq km (1989 est.)

Land boundaries

0 km

Land use

arable land

16%

forest and woodland

37%

meadows and pastures

7%

other

23%

permanent crops

17%

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

Terrain

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

highest point

Pidurutalagala 2,524 m

lowest point

Indian Ocean 0 m

Age structure

0-14 years: 28% (male 2,673,943; female 2,559,569) 15-64 years: 66% (male 6,023,759; female 6,171,964) 65 years and over: 6% (male 553,940; female 569,899) (July 1996 est.)

Birth rate

17.89 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate

5.8 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Ethnic divisions

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

Infant mortality rate

20.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 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

female

75.06 years (1996 est.)

male

69.77 years

total population

72.35 years

Literacy

age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)

female

87.2%

male

93.4%

total population

90.2%

Nationality

adjective

Sri Lankan

noun

Sri Lankan(s)

Net migration rate

-0.78 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Population

18,553,074 (July 1996 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

1.13% (1996 est.)

Religions

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

Sex ratio

all ages

1 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

at birth

1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years

1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.97 male(s)/female

Total fertility rate

2.05 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Administrative divisions

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

Capital

Colombo

Constitution

adopted 16 August 1978

Data code

CE

Diplomatic representation in US

chancery

2148 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

chief of mission

Ambassador Jayantha Cudah Bandara DHANAPALA

telephone

[1] (202) 483-4025 through 4028

Executive branch

cabinet

Cabinet was appointed by the president in consultation with the prime minister

chief of state and head of government

President Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA (since 12 November 1994) was elected for a six-year term by popular vote; 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%

FAX

[1] (202) 232-7181

[94] (1) 437345

consulate(s)

New York

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)

International organization participation

AsDB, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-24, G-77, 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, WToO, WTrO

Judicial branch

Supreme Court, judges are appointed by the Judicial Service Commission

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

Name of country

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), Dingiri Banda WIJETUNGA; 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 of government

republic

US diplomatic representation

chief of mission

Ambassador A. Peter BURLEIGH

embassy

210 Galle Road, Colombo 3

mailing address

P. O. Box 106, Colombo

telephone

[94] (1) 448007

Agriculture

rice, sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseed, roots, spices, tea, rubber, coconuts; milk, eggs, hides, meat

Budget

expenditures

$3.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $851 million (1995)

revenues

$2.7 billion

Currency

1 Sri Lankan rupee (SLRe) = 100 cents

Economic aid

recipient

ODA, $423 million (1993)

Economic overview

Industry - dominated by the fast-growing apparel industry - has surpassed agriculture as the main source of export earnings. The economy has been plagued by high rates of unemployment since the late 1970s. Economic growth accelerated in 1991-94 as domestic conditions began to improve and conditions for foreign investment brightened. In 1995, however, the government's emphasis on populist measures and its preoccupation with the stepped-up Tamil insurgency have clouded Sri Lanka's economic prospects and discouraged foreign investors. A further problem for 1996 is the need to curb government overspending.

Electricity

capacity

1,410,000 kW

consumption per capita

168 kWh (1993)

production

3.2 billion kWh

Exchange rates

Sri Lankan rupees (SLRes) per US$1 - 54.158 (January 1996), 51.252 (1995), 49.415 (1994), 48.322 (1993), 43.830 (1992), 41.372 (1991)

Exports

$3.2 billion (f.o.b., 1994)

commodities

garments and textiles, teas, diamonds, other gems, petroleum products, rubber products, other agricultural products, marine products, graphite

partners

US 34.7%, UK, Germany, Japan, Netherlands, France (1994)

External debt

$8.8 billion (1994 est.)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP

purchasing power parity - $65.6 billion (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector

agriculture

24%

industry

24%

services

52% (1994 est.)

GDP per capita

$3,600 (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate

5% (1995 est.)

Imports

$4.8 billion (c.i.f., 1994)

commodities

textiles and textile materials, machinery and equipment, transport equipment, food, petroleum, building materials

partners

Japan, India, UK, Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, China (1994)

Industrial production growth rate

9% (1994 est.)

Industries

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

8.4% (1994 est.)

Labor force

6.1 million

by occupation

agriculture 45%, services 37%, industry 18% (1993 est.)

Unemployment rate

13% (1994 est.)

Branches

Army, Navy, Air Force, Police Force

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $640 million, 4.4% of GDP (1996)

Manpower availability

males age 15-49

5,085,306

males fit for military service

3,960,070

males reach military age (18) annually

180,825 (1996 est.)

Radio broadcast stations

AM 12, FM 5, shortwave 0

Radios

3.525 million (1992 est.)

Telephone system

very inadequate domestic service, good international service

domestic

NA

international

submarine cables to Indonesia and Djibouti; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)

Telephones

175,000 (1991 est.)

Television broadcast stations

5

Televisions

865,000 (1992 est.) Defense

Airports

total

13

with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m

6

with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m

6 (1995 est.)

with paved runways over 3 047 m

1

Highways

paved

25,749 km

total

94,651 km

unpaved

68,902 km (1990)

Merchant marine

ships by type

bulk 2, cargo 13, container 1, oil tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 8 (1995 est.)

total

26 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 220,508 GRT/329,410 DWT

Pipelines

crude oil and petroleum products 62 km (1987)

Ports

Colombo, Galle, Jaffna, Trincomalee

Railways

broad gauge

1,459 km 1.676-m gauge

narrow gauge

25 km .762-m gauge (1995)

total

1,484 km

Waterways

430 km; navigable by shallow-draft craft