Sri Lanka

Geography
An island in the Indian Ocean off the southeast tip of India, most of the land is flat and rolling; mountains in the south-central region rise to over 2,438 m.

Government
Republic.

Languages: Sinhala 74% (official and national), Tamil 18% (national), other 8%; English is commonly used in government and spoken competently by about 10%

Ethnicity/race: Sinhalese 73.8%, Sri Lankan Moors 7.2%, Indian Tamil 4.6%, Sri Lankan Tamil 3.9%, other 0.5%, unspecified 10% (2001)

Religions: Buddhist 70%, Islam 8%, Hindu 7%, Christian 6% (2001)

Literacy rate: 92% (2003 est.)

Economy: GDP/PPP (2007 est.): $81.29 billion; per capita $4,100. Real growth rate: 6.3%. Inflation: 19.7%. Unemployment: 5.7%. Arable land: 14%. Agriculture: rice, sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseed, spices, tea, rubber, coconuts; milk, eggs, hides, beef; fish. Labor force: 8.08 million; services 45%, agriculture 38%, industry 17% (1998 est.). Industries: processing of rubber, tea, coconuts, tobacco and other agricultural commodities; telecommunications, insurance, banking; clothing, textiles; cement, petroleum refining. Natural resources: limestone, graphite, mineral sands, gems, phosphates, clay, hydropower. Exports: $6.442 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.): textiles and apparel, tea and spices; diamonds, emeralds, rubies; coconut products, rubber manufactures, fish. Imports: $8.37 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.): textile fabrics, mineral products, petroleum, foodstuffs, machinery and transportation equipment.

Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 494,509 (1998); mobile cellular: 228,604 (1999). Radio broadcast stations: AM 26, FM 45, shortwave 1 (1998). Radios: 3.85 million (1997). Television broadcast stations: 21 (1997). Televisions: 1.53 million (1997). Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 5 (2000). Internet users: 121,500 (2001).

Transportation: Railways: total: 1,508 km (2002). Highways: total: 96,695 km; paved: 91,860 km; unpaved: 4,835 km (1999). Waterways: 430 km; navigable by shallow-draft craft. Ports and harbors: Colombo, Galle, Jaffna, Trincomalee. Airports: 15 (2002).