OFFICIAL NAME: Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT: Unitary Multiparty Republic
AREA: 65,610 Sq Km (25,382 Sq Mi)
ESTIMATED 2000 POPULATION: 19,281,300
LOCATION & GEOGRAPHY: Sri Lanka is an island located in
the Indian Ocean and separated from India by the Palk Strait.
The country has two geographical regions. (1.) A rolling
plain which comprises 80% of the land area as well as the
entire northern half of the island and continues around
the coast to the southern half. (2.) The south central region
which is hilly and mountainous with two plateaux, the Hatton
and Kandy, that rise abruptly from the Ura Basin. The country
has sixteen rivers of which the Mahaweli Ganga and the Aruvi
Aru are the longest. Major Cities (pop. est.); Colombo 615,000,
Dehiwala 196,000, Moratuwa 170,000, Jaffna 129,000 (1990).
Land Use; forested 33%, pastures 7%, agricultural-cultivated
29%, other 31% (1993).
CLIMATE: Sri Lanka has a tropical climate with little seasonal
variation in conditions and humidity, which is frequently around 90%. The
island experiences the SW Monsoon in May and the NE Monsoon in November.
Average annual precipitation varies between 1,270 mm and 1,900 mm (50 and
75 inches) on the southeast plains to between 2,540 mm and 5,080 mm (100
and 200 inches) on the southwest plains. Average temperature ranges in
Colombo are from 23 to 31 degrees Celsius (73 to 88 degrees Fahrenheit)
and from 14 to 24 degrees Celsius (57 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit) in the
PEOPLE: The principal ethnic majority are the Sinhalese who account
for 74% of the population. Other ethnic minorities include the Tamils,
who are of Indian origin and account for 18% of the population while the
Moors account for 7% and the Burghers, Malays, Euro-Asians as well as others
account for the remainder.
DEMOGRAPHIC/VITAL STATISTICS: Density; 262 persons per sq km
(680 persons per sq mi) (1991). Urban-Rural; 22.0% urban, 78.0% rural (1993).
Sex Distribution; 51.0% male, 49.0% female (1991). Life Expectancy at Birth;
70.0 years male, 74.0 years female (1993). Age Breakdown; 35% under 15,
21% 15 to 24, 26% 25 to 44, 11% 45 to 59, 4% 60 to 69, 3% 70 and over (1991).
Birth Rate; 21.2 per 1,000 (1991). Death Rate; 5.8 per 1,000 (1991). Increase
Rate; 15.4 per 1,000 (1991). Infant Mortality Rate; 24.0 per 1,000 live
RELIGIONS: The national religion is Theravada Buddhism which
accounts for 69% of the population, mostly the Sinhalese. Other religious
minorities include Hindus which account for around 16%, Christians for
7.5% and Muslims for 7.6% of the population.
LANGUAGES: The official language is Sinhala and Tamil, while
English is also widely spoken.
EDUCATION: Aged 25 or over and having attained: no formal schooling
15.5%, incomplete primary 12.1%, primary 52.3%, lower secondary 14.7%,
upper secondary 3.0%, higher 1.1% (1981). Literacy; literate population
aged 15 or over 86.1% (1981).
MODERN HISTORY - WWII TO 1993: On Feb. 4, 1948 Sri Lanka became
the independent nation of Ceylon within the Commonwealth with D.S. Senanayake
as the country's first Prime Minister. The government immediately removed
the Tamils' suffrage rights and revoked their citizenships. In 1956 Solomon
Bandaranaike was elected Prime Minister and his government passed a law
that made Sinhala the country's only official language which escalated
the resentment between the Tamils and Sinhalese, and conflicts ensued.
In Sept. 1959 Bandaranaike was assassinated by a Sinhalese Buddhist monk
and Bandaranaike's widow, Sirimavo became Prime Minister. In 1965 the United
National Party (NUP) won elections and formed a coalition government with
Dudley Senanayake, son of D.S. Senanayake. In 1970 the newly elected United
Front coalition government ordered the arrest of the Sinhalese Maoist Janata
Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and in Apr. 1970 the JVP launched a revolt. In
1972 the country changed its name from Ceylon to Sri Lanka. In Oct. 1977
the National Assembly approved the adoption of a presidential system of
government and in 1978 J.R. Jayawardene became President. In Oct. 1982
Pres. Jayawardene was re-appointed as President. In May 1983 a State of
Emergency was declared as Tamil guerrilla rebels fought for a separate
state called Ealem in the north and east of the island, and by 1987 the
Tamil Tigers or Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealem had brought the Sri Lankan
armed forces to a standstill. In July 1987 the Sri Lankan and Indian governments
agreed to a plan for Indian troops to enter the northern regions of the
island and disarm the Tamil Tigers, which resulted in the deaths of some
1,200 Indian soldiers. In Dec. 1988 Prime Minister Ranasinghe Premadsa
was elected President and in Sept. 1989 the Indian and Sri Lankan governments
agreed to a withdrawal of the Indian troops from the northern and eastern
provinces, which was complete by Mar. 1990. During late 1989 the JVP insurgence
in the south escalated resulting in the deaths of hundreds of government
officials and ultimately in the arrest or death of most of the JVP leaders.
In Aug. 1990 after the withdrawal of Indian troops, the Tamil Tigers began
killing Muslim minorities who in turn established the Jihad and retaliated
by killing the Tamils. In 1991 the Indian government imposed direct rule
on a southern Indian Tamil state that was believed to be supporting the
Sri Lankan based Tigers who controlled large parts of northeastern Sri
Lanka. On May 21, 1991 a Tamil Tiger assassinated the Indian Prime Minister
Rajiv Gandhi in a suicide bomb attack. In Aug. 1991 Pres. Ranasinghe Premadasa
narrowly survived calls for his impeach over alleged corruption. Also in
1991 the government banned all gambling houses claiming they assisted organize
crime. During 1992 the Tamil Tigers continued their campaign of terrorist
attacks and bombings that had resulted in the deaths of nearly 20,000 people.
On Mar. 16, 1992 some 10,000 demonstrators began an 18 day protest march
for peace and on Mar. 19, 1992 the government narrowly survived a vote
of no confidence following allegations of government corruption. On June
10, 1992 ten people died following 50 cm (21 inches) of rainfall while
a further 150,000 were temporarily displaced. On Aug. 8, 1992 nine high-level
Sri Lankan military officials were killed in a land mine explosion. In
Sept. 1992 the Supreme Court dismissed an application to invalidate Pres.
Premadasa's 1988 election. In Oct. 1992 some 140 mostly Muslim people were
killed in Tiger raids on three northern villages. On Nov. 16, 1992 a Tamil
Tiger suicide bomber assassinated Sri Lanka's naval commander and three
aides in Colombo. On May 1, 1993 Pres. Premadasa was assassinated by a
suspected Tamil Tiger suicide bomber as he watched the May Day parade in
Colombo. On May 7, 1993 the Parliament elected Prime Minister Dingiri Banda
Wijetunga as the new President, following which Pres. Wijetunga appointed
Ranil Wickremasinghe Prime Minister. The Parliament appointed a 45-member
committee to derive a solution to the conflict and recommended two separate
councils for the north and east in a quasi-federal system, although the
proposal was rejected by the Tigers. In Aug. 1993 the government began
a campaign to recruit a further 10,000 soldiers to fight the Tamils Tigers
and on Aug. 17, 1993 the Speaker of the Parliament named an 18-member committee
to investigate constitutional reforms involving the powers of the President
and Parliament. In Sept. 1993 the government launched a major offensive
involving 9,000 troops and on Oct. 1, 1993 had captured the Tiger sea base
at Kilali, destroying some 120 vessels. In Nov. 1993 the Tamil Tigers reinitiated
attacks on government military bases.
CURRENCY: The official currency is the Rupee (SLRs) divided into
ECONOMY: Gross National Product; USD $10,573,000,000 (1993).
Public Debt; USD $5,936,000,000 (1993). Imports; SLRs 181,484,000,000 (1993).
Exports; SLRs 137,286,000,000 (1993). Tourism Receipts; USD $208,000,000
(1993). Balance of Trade; SLRs -53,894,000,000 (1994). Economically Active
Population; 5,948,221 or 40.9% of total population (1992). Unemployed;
MAIN TRADING PARTNERS: Its main trading partners are the USA,
the UK, Egypt and Japan.
MAIN PRIMARY PRODUCTS: Cassava, Coconuts, Fish, Fruit, Graphite,
Iron Ore, Rice, Rubber, Semi Precious Gemstones, Spices, Tea, Timber.
MAJOR INDUSTRIES: Agriculture, Fishing, Forestry, Mining, Oil Refining,
MAIN EXPORTS: Coconut Products, Gemstones, Petroleum Products, Rubber,
TRANSPORT: Railroads; route length 1,453 km (903 mi) (1990),
passenger-km 2,484,700,000 (1,543,921,000 passenger-mi) (1990), cargo ton-km
167,000,000 (114,378,000 short ton-mi) (1990). Roads; length 25,684 km
(15,959 mi) (1988). Vehicles; cars 155,194 (1988), trucks and buses 139,206
(1988). Merchant Marine; vessels 78 (1990), deadweight tonnage 528,102
(1990). Air Transport; passenger-km 3,424,000,000 (2,128,000,000 passenger-mi)
(1990), cargo ton-km 91,198,000 (62,462,000 short ton-mi) (1990).
COMMUNICATIONS: Daily Newspapers; total of 10 with a total circulation
of 480,000 (1992). Radio; receivers 3,300,000 (1994). Television; receivers
700,000 (1994). Telephones; units 157,800 (1993).
MILITARY: 126,000 (1994) total active duty personnel with 83.3%
army, 8.2% navy and 8.5% air force while military expenditure accounts
for 4.8% (1993) of the Gross National Product (GNP).
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