Sri Lanka

B

Political Divisions

Sri Lanka is divided into 9 provinces and 25 administrative districts. Each district is headed by an appointed district minister.

C

Principal Cities

Less than one quarter (21 per cent in 2005) of Sri Lanka’s population lives in urban communities. Colombo has a population of 642,163 (2001). Most of the foreign trade of the island is routed through Colombo, and the city has been an important fuelling station for ships that pass through the Suez Canal. Other important cities are the rapidly expanding suburb of Colombo, Dehiwala, with a population of 209,787 (2001); the seaport of Jaffna, with a population of 145,600 (1997 estimate); Sri Jayavardhanapura, the capital, 117,000 (2003 estimate); the ancient capital city of Kandy, 110,049 (2001); and the seaport of Galle, 90,934 (2001).

D

Religion

Buddhism, which was introduced into Sri Lanka in the 3rd century bc, is the prevailing faith. As practised in Sri Lanka, Buddhism also exhibits elements of both Hindu and Islamic traditions. About 69 per cent of the population is Buddhist, 16 per cent is Hindu, 8 per cent is Muslim, and 7 per cent is Christian.

E

Language

The official language of Sri Lanka is Sinhala, or Sinhalese, spoken by more than 70 per cent of the population as a first language. Tamil, a Dravidian language of southern India, is spoken by people living in the northern and eastern provinces (see Indian Languages). English, the official language of the country until 1957, is still widely used. Sri Lankan Creole Malay, a Malay-based creole with Tamil influence, is a first language for a very small number of the population.

F

Education

In Sri Lanka schooling is compulsory for children from 5 to 15 years of age. Free education to university level is provided by the state. In 1996, Sri Lanka had about 9,554 primary schools and approximately 1,230 secondary schools, of which most were government institutions. In 1995 state primary schools were staffed by about 70,537 teachers and were attended by 1,962,498 pupils. In the same year there were 103,572 secondary school teachers teaching 2,135,075 pupils. The University of Sri Jayewardenepura (1959) is one of the country’s major institutions of higher education. There are another 12 university-level institutes. In 1995 approximately 63,660 students were enrolled in the country’s universities and colleges. Adult literacy is around 93 per cent. In 2001, 8 per cent of total government expenditure was spent on education.