| Also on Encarta |
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| Basic Facts |
| Official name |
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| Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka |
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| Capital |
Sri Jayawardenepura (legislative) |
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Colombo (administrative) |
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| Area |
65,610 sq km |
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25,332 sq mi |
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| Largest cities (population) |
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| Colombo |
642,163 (2001) |
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| Dehiwala |
209,787 (2001) |
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| Jaffna |
145,600 (1997 estimate) |
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| Sri Jayawardenepura |
115,826 (2001) |
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| Kandy |
110,049 (2001) |
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| Galle |
90,934 (2001) |
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| Sri Lankan Flag and Anthem |
 Expand |
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| People |
| Population |
20,926,315 (2007 estimate) |
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| Population growth rate |
0.98 per cent (2007 estimate) |
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| Population density |
323 persons per sq km (2007 estimate) |
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837 persons per sq mi (2007 estimate) |
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| Urbanization |
| Per cent urban |
21 per cent (2005 estimate) |
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| Per cent rural |
79 per cent (2005 estimate) |
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| Life expectancy |
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| Total |
74.8 years (2007 estimate) |
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| Female |
76.9 years (2007 estimate) |
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| Male |
72.8 years (2007 estimate) |
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| Infant mortality rate |
| 19 deaths per 1,000 live births (2007 estimate) |
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| Literacy rate |
| Total |
92.8 per cent (2005 estimate) |
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| Female |
90.6 per cent (2005 estimate) |
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| Male |
95 per cent (2005 estimate) |
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| Ethnic divisions |
| Sinhalese |
74 per cent |
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| Tamil |
18 per cent |
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| Moor (Arabs) |
7 per cent |
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| Burgher (Dutch), Malay, and Vedda |
1 per cent |
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| Languages |
| Sinhala (official), Tamil (official), English, Sri Lankan Creole Malay |
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| Religions |
| Buddhist, Hindu, Christian, Muslim |
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| Government |
| Type of government |
Republic |
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| Independence |
February 4, 1948 (from the United Kingdom) |
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| Constitution |
September 7, 1978 |
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| Voting rights |
Universal at age 18 |
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| Economy |
| Gross domestic product (GDP) (US$) |
| 23,479 million (2005) |
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| GDP per capita (US$) |
1,196.40 (2005) |
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| GDP by economic sector |
| GDP, agriculture |
16.8 per cent (2005) |
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| GDP, industry |
26.1 per cent (2005) |
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| GDP, services |
57.1 per cent (2005) |
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| National budget (US$) |
| Total revenue |
4,929 million (2005) |
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| Total expenditure |
3,778 million (2005) |
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| Monetary unit |
| 1 Sri Lankan rupiyala (rupee) (SLRe), consisting of 100 cents |
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| Exports |
| Garments and textiles, tea, diamonds, other gems, petroleum products, rubber and other agricultural products, marine products, graphite |
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| Imports |
| Textiles and textile materials, machinery and equipment, transport equipment, petroleum, building materials |
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| Major trading partners for exports |
| United States, United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, Belgium |
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| Major trading partners for imports |
| India, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong SAR, Taiwan |
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| Industries |
| Processing of rubber, tea, coconuts, and other agricultural commodities; clothing, cement, petroleum refining, textiles, tobacco |
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| Agriculture |
| Field crops: rice, sugar cane, grains, pulses, oilseeds, roots, spices; cash crops: tea, rubber, coconuts; animal products: milk, eggs, hides, meat |
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| Natural resources |
| Limestone, graphite, mineral sands, gems, phosphates, clay |
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| Sources |
| Basic Facts and People sections |
| Area data are from the statistical bureaus of individual countries. Population, population growth rate, and population projections are from the United States Census Bureau, International Programs Center, International Data Base (IDB) (www.census.gov). Urban and rural population data are from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN), FAOSTAT database (www.fao.org). Largest cities population data and political divisions data are from the statistical bureaus of individual countries. Ethnic divisions and religion data are largely from the latest Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook and from various country censuses and reports. Language data are largely from the Ethnologue, Languages of the World, Summer Institute of Linguistics International (www.sil.org). |
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| Health and Education section |
| Life expectancy and infant mortality data are from the United States Census Bureau, International Programs Center, International database (IDB) (www.census.gov). Population per physician and population per hospital bed data are from the World Health Organization (WHO) (www.who.int). Education data are from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) database (www.unesco.org). |
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| Government section |
| Government, independence, legislature, constitution, highest court, and voting qualifications data are largely from various government Web sites, the latest Europa World Yearbook, and the latest Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook. The armed forces data are from Military Balance. |
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| Economy section |
| Gross domestic product (GDP), GDP per capita, GDP by economic sectors, employment, and national budget data are from the World Bank database (www.worldbank.org). Monetary unit, agriculture, mining, manufacturing, exports, imports, and major trade partner information is from the latest Europa World Yearbook and various International Monetary Fund (IMF) publications. |
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| Energy, Communication, and Transportation section |
| Electricity information is from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) database (www.eia.doe.gov). Radio, telephone, television, and newspaper information is from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) database (www.unesco.org). Internet hosts, motor vehicles, and road data are from the World Bank database (www.worldbank.org). |
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| Note |
| Figures may not total 100 per cent due to rounding. |
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