| Official Name: | Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka | 
  | Government Type: | Republic | 
  | Location: | Latitude 5° 55. to 9° 50. north, Longitude 79° 42. to 81° 52.,   650km north of the equator | 
  | Dimensions: | 430km North to South, 225km East to West | 
  | Coastline: | 1,340km | 
  | Area: | 65,525km | 
  | Currency (code): | Sri Lankan Rupee (LKR) | 
  | Independence: | 4 February 1948 | 
  | Administrative Capital: | Sri Jayewardenepura | 
  | Commercial Capital: | Colombo | 
  | Administrative Divisions: | Typically tropical, with a northeast monsoon (December to March) bringing unsettled   weather to the north and east, and a southwest monsoon (June to October)   bringing bad weather to the south and west | 
  | Terrain: | Mostly low, flat to rolling plain; mountains in south-central   interior | 
  | Highest Mountain: | Pidurutalagala, 2,524m | 
  | Highest Waterfall: | Bambarakanda, 263m | 
  | National Flower | The Blue Water Lily (Nymphaea stellata). | 
  | National Parks and Nature   Reserves Area: | 8,000sq.km | 
  | Population: | 21,128,773 | 
  | Population Growth Rate: | 1.3% | 
  | Population Density: | 309 people per sq km | 
  | Life Expectancy at Birth | 74 female, 64 male | 
  | Literacy Rate : | Female 87.9 Male 92.5 | 
  | Ethnic Groups: | Sinhalese 73.8%, Sri Lankan Moors 7.2%, Indian Tamil 4.6%, Sri   Lankan Tamil 3.9%, other 0.5%, unspecified 10% (2001 census) | 
  | Languages: | Sinhala (official and national language) 74%, Tamil (national   language) 18%, other 8% Note: English (a link language commonly) is used in government and spoken   competently by about 10% of the population
 
 
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  | Religion: | Buddhist 69.1%, Muslim 7.6%, Hindu 7.1%, Christian 6.2%,   unspecified 10% (2001 census) | 
  | Time Zone: | Sri Lanka Standard Time is five and a half hours ahead of GMT. (Allowance should be made   for summer-time changes in Europe.) | 
  | International Dialing: | +94 | 
  | Electricity: | 230 . 240 volts, 50 cycles AC. If you travel with a laptop   computer bring a stabilizer | 
  | Economy: | Sri Lanka's most dynamic sectors are food processing, textiles   and apparel, food and beverages, port construction, telecommunications,   insurance and banking. In 2006, plantation crops made up only 15% of exports   (90% in 1970), while textiles and garments accounted for more than 60%. About   800,000 Sri Lankans work abroad, 90% of them in the Middle East. They send   home more than US$1 billion a year. | 
  | Labour Force | 34.3% of the labour population is employed in agriculture,   25.3% in industry and 40.4% in services: 40.4% (30 June 2006 est.) The   unemployment rate is 5.7% (2007 est.) | 
  | Agriculture &   Products | Rice, Sugarcane, Grains, Pulses, Oilseed, Spices, Tea, Rubber,   Coconuts, milk, Eggs, Hides, Beef, Fish | 
  | Industries: | Processing of rubber, tea, coconuts, tobacco and other   agricultural commodities, telecommunications, insurance, banking; clothing,   textiles, cement, petroleum refining. | 
  | Exports: | Textiles and apparel; tea and spices; diamonds, emeralds,   rubies; coconut products, rubber manufactures, fish | 
  | Imports: | Main import commodities are textile fabrics, mineral products,   petroleum, foodstuffs, machinery and transportation equipment: $10.61 billion   f.o.b. (2007 est.). Percentage of main commodities from main import partners:   India 19.6%, China 10.5%, Singapore 8.8%, Iran 5.7%, Malaysia 5.1%, Hong Kong   4.2%, Japan 4.1% (2006) | 
  | Gross Domestic Product   (GDP): | Purchasing power parity: $81.29 billion (2007 est.). Official   exchange rate: $30.01 billion (2007 est.) Real growth rate: 6.3% (2007 est.)   Per capita: $4,100 (2007 est.) composition by sector: Agriculture: 16.5%   Industry: 26.9% | 
  | Gross National Product   (GNP): | Sri Lanka is placed in 76th place in GNP figures of the   world.s nations with   $22.8 billion   (2005) | 
  | Flag Description: | Yellow with two panels; the smaller hoist-side panel has two   equal vertical bands of green (hoist side) and orange; the other panel is a   large dark red rectangle with a yellow lion holding a sword, and there is a   yellow bo leaf in each corner; the yellow field appears as a border around   the entire flag and extends between the two panels |