Sri Lanka General Information

Official Name: Known as the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, but most commonly known as Sri Lanka, Lanka/Ilankai, or Ceylon/Serendib.

Capital: The Capital of Sri Lanka is Colombo. The city is located on the southwestern coast of the island.

Location: The island of Sri Lanka is situated in southern Asia right off the southeastern coast of India. The country has no terrestrial borders but is found between the Indian Ocean, the Bay of Bengal and the Gulf of Mannar.

Size: The total land area of Sri Lanka is approximately 65,610 Sq Km, and this ranks 128th worldwide. Sri Lanka is comparable in size to the U.S. state of West Virginia.

Climate: Sri Lanka goes through two contrasting seasons, the wet and dry seasons. The northeast monsoon season take place from December through March and the Southwest from June through October. The monsoon is known for creating dangerous conditions in the country, due to heavy flooding and damage.

Population: Sri Lanka has a total estimated population of approximately 21.3 million people, and this ranks 54th globally. It is important to note, however, that due to hostilities between the government and the armed Tamil separatist movements in the mid-80s several hundred thousand people have left the island nation contributing to the ambiguity of actual population figures.

Life expectancy at birth: The average life expectancy at birth for Sri Lanka is 75.14 years, placing 84th globally. There is a 4 year gap between male and female averages, with males averaging 73.08 years compared to women at 77.28 years.

Prevalence of HIV/AIDS: There are rough 3,800 people in living with HIV/AIDS in Sri Lanka. This is the equivalent of less than 0.1% of the total Sri Lankan population and ranks 164th in the world.

Major illnesses: There are a handful of major illnesses endemic to Sri Lanka. Serious health risks include Hepatitis A, B, and C, Multiple Drug Resistant Tuberculosis, Dengue Fever, Malaria, Typhoid, Avian Flu, Cholera and Polio.

Ethnic Groups: Sri Lanka, given its diverse historical record, consists of a number of ethnic groups. The breakdown is as follows: Sinhalese 73.8%, Sri Lankan Moors 7.2%, Indian Tamil 4.6%, Sri Lankan Tamil 3.9%, other 0.5%, Unspecified Ethnicity 10%.

Languages: The official language of Sri Lanka is Sinhalese with 74% speaking it as their first language. 18% of Sri Lankans speaks Tamil, while English is spoken fluently by close to 10% of the population, and predominantly in government affairs.

Religion: Sri Lanka’s most widely practiced religion is Buddhism (69.1%) with Islam (7.6%) and Hindu (7.1%) comprising a smaller number of followers. 6.2% of the total population are Christians or identify themselves with some denomination, while 10% of the country have no overriding religious preference.

Government: Sri Lanka is a Republic; this means that the government is permitted continual rule as long as it has consent from its people. The rule of law plays a predominant part in the formation of government standards and practices. While certain countries may interpret the idea of “republic” to differing degrees, typically countries identified as republics will rely on the consent of the populace being governed for the current administration in power.

Head of State: President Mahinda Rajapaksa is the Head of State of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. The president is also the head of the government, although this position is filled by the ceremonial Prime Minister.

Head of Government: Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake is the ceremonial head of the Sri Lankan Republic. The Prime Minister has no official power but acts more as a ceremonial figure in government proceedings.

Military: The Sri Lanka Armed Forces, consisting of the Army, Navy and Air Force is composed of around 230,000 active personnel. There is no draft in the country, so all personnel are voluntary members. This voluntary membership is granted for persons above the age of 18 years, and there is a 5 year obligation of service. As of 2006 Sri Lanka was spending 2.6% of its GDP on military expenditures, placing 63rd worldwide.

Economy: Since the late 1970's Sri Lanka has been transitioning from the state owned socialist approach to greater privatization of key industries and the general economy. The Sri Lankan economy has been able to expand and prosper in the face of sustained violence and civil unrest since the mid-80s and has grown approximately 4.5% each year since then. This has lead many foreign owned and international corporations to reconsider their Sri Lankan investment approach. Sri Lanka major exports include food items with tea and coffee comprising its two most important trade items. Textiles, insurance and banking also occupy an important role in the Sri Lankan economy. The ongoing conflict between the official government and the Tamil separatist forces however, is continuing to raise doubts about Sri Lanka's economic potential in the next decades.