Country Facts - Sri Lanka

The People

Nationality

Sri Lankan(s)

Ethnic Composition

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

Religious Composition

Buddhism	70%
Hindu	15%
Christian	8%
Muslim	7%

Languages Spoken

Sinhala (official)	74%
Tamil (national)	18%
Other	8%

Note: English is commonly used in government and is spoken competently by about 10% of the population.

Education and Literacy

More than 90 percent of the population over the age of 15 is considered literate. Education is compulsory for 10 years. All schools, including universities, are free. The educational system has been separated into Sinhala and Tamil.

Labor Force

Total: 6.6 million (1998)

By occupation:

Services	45%
Agriculture	38%
Industry and commerce	17%

Geography

Land Mass Total

25,332 sq mi (65,610 sq km)

Land

24,996 sq mi (64,740 sq km)

Water

335 sq mi (870 sq km)

Land Boundaries

0 mi (0 km)

Coastline

832 mi (1,340 km)

Maritime claim

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

Climate/Weather

Tropical monsoon; northeast monsoon (December to March); southwest monsoon (June to October)

Terrain

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

Elevation extremes

Lowest: Indian Ocean 0 ft (0 m)
Highest: Pidurutalagala 8,280 ft (2,524 m)

Natural Resources

Limestone, graphite, mineral sands, gems, phosphates, clay, hydropower

Land use

Arable land	13%
Permanent crops	16%
Other	71%

(1998)

Natural hazards

Occasional cyclones, tornadoes

Environment - current issues

Deforestation; soil erosion; wildlife populations threatened by poaching and urbanization; coastal degradation from mining activities and increased pollution; freshwater resources being polluted by industrial wastes and sewage runoff; waste disposal; air pollution in Colombo.

Geography Note

Strategic location near major Indian Ocean sea-lanes

Demographics

Population

19,576,783 (July 2002)
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 mid-1999, approximately 66,000 were housed in 133 refugee camps in south India, another 40,000 lived outside the Indian camps, and more than 200,000 Tamils have sought refuge in the West.

Age structure

0-14 years:	25.6%	Male: 2,559,246	Female: 2,446,393
15-64 years:	67.7%	Male: 6,446,320	Female: 6,802,515
65 years and over:	6.7%	Male: 628,398	Female: 693,911

(2002))

Growth Rate

0.85% (2002)

Life Expectancy

72.35 years (2002)
female: 75 years
male: 69.83 years

GDP Per Capita

Purchasing power parity
US$3,250 (2001)

Infant Mortality

15.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2002)

Sex ratio

At birth:	1.05 male(s)/female
Under 15 years:	1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years:	0.95 male(s)/female
65 years and over:	0.91 male(s)/female
Total population:	0.97 male(s)/female

(2002)

Net migration rate

-1.39 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002)

Economy & Trade

In 1977, Colombo abandoned centrally planned statist economic policies and its import substitution trade policy for market-oriented policies and export-oriented trade. Sri Lanka's most dynamic sectors now are food processing, textiles and apparel, food and beverages, telecommunications, and insurance and banking. By 1996 plantation crops made up only 20 percemt of exports (compared with 93 percent in 1970), while textiles and garments accounted for 63 percent. GDP grew at an average annual rate of 5.5% throughout the 1990s until a drought and a deteriorating security situation lowered growth to 3.8 percent in 1996. The economy rebounded in 1997 to 2000 with average growth of 5.3 percent. But 2001 saw the first contraction (-1.4%) in the country's history, due to a combination of power shortages, severe budgetary problems, the global slowdown, and continuing civil strife. By 2002, the country had rebounded to 3.7-percent growth, and inflation had been dropped from 14.2 percent in 2001 to a manageable 6.6 percent in 2003. The economy has yet to see widespread foreign investment, however, due to the undercurrent of political instability.

Unemployment

7.7% (2001)

Inflation Rate

14.2% (2001)

Industries

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

Exports

US$4.9 billion (f.o.b., 2001)

Imports

US$6 billion (f.o.b., 2001)

Total Trade

Purchasing power parity
GDP US$62.7 billion (2001)

Top Export Partners

US 39%, UK 13%, Middle East 8%, Germany 4%, Japan 4% (2000)

Top Import Partners

Japan 9%, India 8%, Hong Kong 7%, Singapore 7%, South Korea 5% (2000)

Top Exports

Textiles and apparel 15%, tea, diamonds, coconut products, petroleum products

Top Imports

Machinery and equipment, textiles, petroleum, foodstuffs

Debt - external

US$9.9 billion (2000)

Economic aid

US$577 million (1998)

Fiscal Year:

Calendar year

Business Workweek

	Monday - Friday	Saturday - Sunday
Offices	8:30a.m. to 4:30p.m.	Some businesses are open until 1p.m. on Saturdays.
Retail	9a.m. to 7p.m.	Slightly shorter hours on weekends.
Banks	9a.m. to 3p.m. Private bank hours may vary.	Closed
Government	9a.m. to 3p.m.	Closed

Holidays

Official Holidays

Holidays	2003	2004	2005
New Year's Day	January 1	January 1	January 1
Independence Commemoration Day	February 4	February 4	February 4
Festival of Sacrifice (Eid Al Adha)¹	February 12	February 2	January 21
Islamic New Year²	March 5	February 22	February 10
Good Friday	April 18	April 9	March 25
Easter³	April 20	April 11	March 27
Labor Day	May 1	May 1	May 1
National Heroes' Day	May 22	May 22	May 22
Birthday of Prophet Mohammad (Mawlid an Nabi)*¹	May 14	May 2	April 21
Special Bank Holiday	June 30	June 30	June 30
Ascent of the Prophet (Lailat al Miraj, Islamic Observance)*²	September 24	September 12	September 1
Start of Ramadan*³	October 27	October 15	October 4
End of Ramadan (Eid Al Fitr)**¹	November 26	November 14	November 3
Christmas Day**²	December 25	December 25	December 25
Bank Holiday	December 31	December 31	December 31

¹	Culmination of the Hajj or Holy Pilgrimage.
²	The lunar Islamic Hijra calendar is made up of 12 months, each month alternating between 29 and 30 days per month, culminating in a total of 354 days per year. The Hijra calendar is based on the cycles of the moon and annually moves 11 days backward through the seasons.
³	Easter, a Christian holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ, is the first Sunday after the full moon and the vernal equinox (fixed in the Gregorian calendar at March 21), and often observed with Good Friday and Easter Monday. In the West, Easter is predicted using the Gregorian calendar, while Eastern Orthodox Christians use the much older Julian calendar, and celebrate 13 days later.
*¹	The Birthday of the Prophet Mohammad is celebrated on the twelfth day in the month of Rabi'l of the Islamic calendar.
*²	The Ascent of the Prophet Mohammad is celebrated on the twenty-seventh day in the month of Rajab of the Islamic calendar.
*³	Ramadan (the month of fasting) begins with the first appearance of the new moon in the ninth month of the lunar Islamic Hijra calendar, and lasts 30 days. Dates for the start of Ramadan will vary from country to country, depending on the first appearance of the moon.
**¹	Feasting that officially marks the end of Ramadan, and commonly lasts for three days.
**²	Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. In A.D.320, Pope Julius I fixed the date at December 25 based on the Gregorian calendar. The Orthodox church calculates Christmas using the Julian calendar and celebrates 13 days later on January 7.

Note: Saturday and Sunday are normal holidays in Sri Lanka, along with the day of the full moon (Poya Day). Entertainment locales will be closed and liquor not sold on Poya Days. Make ordering arrangements in advance if you need alcohol for an event.

Country information used by permission of World Trade Press