Sri Lanka, known as Ceylon before 1972 and as Taprobane in ancient times. It is an island country in South Asia, located about 31 kilometers off the southern coast of India.

It is home to around twenty million people. The people are mainly Buddhist, with a complex mixture of Hindus, Muslims, Roman Catholics and other Christian denominations.

Official Name Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka

President Mahinda Rajapakse (2005)Prime

Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayaka (2005)

Land area Total area: 25,332 sq mi (65,610 sq km)

Population 19,668,000 .Million

Capital and largest city

Colombo, 2,436,000 (metro. area)

Other large cities

Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia 214,300; Moratuwa, 181,000; Kandy, 112,400

Languages Sinhala,Tamil, English and.Other

(Source: Information Based Database, 2007 Pearson Education, Inc.)

Monetary unit

Sri Lanka rupee

Ethnicity Sinhalese , Sri Lankan Moors , Indian Tamil, Sri Lankan Tamil , Other , Unspecified

Religions Buddhist, Islam, Hindu, Christian.

Literacy rate

92%

Membership

Member of Commonwealth of Nations; Member of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation ( ).SAARC

(Source: Information Based Database, 2007 Pearson Education, Inc.)

Population: 19,668,000 (estimated 2005). Average annual growth rate 1.37 percent; Average life expectancy 67.5 years

– Males 66 years, – Females 69 years

Race:• Sinhalese -73.8%,• Sri Lankan Moors -7.2%,• Indian Tamil -4.6%, • Sri Lankan Tamil - 3.9%,• Other - 0.5%, • Unspecified -10%.

Literacy Schooling organized in four levels:

• primary (six years), • Junior secondary (five years), • Senior secondary (two years), and • Tertiary (at least two years).

Education compulsory to age 13, Government expenditure on education

about 3.6 million rupees.

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

Government• President, elected directly for six-

year term .• serves as chief of state and

government and appoints cabinet of ministers.

• administrative functions carried out by popularly elected urban, municipal, town, and village councils.

• In rural areas, village councils exercise governance over 90 percent of nation's territory.

Politics• Communist Party of Sri Lanka (CPSL),• Ceylon Equal Society Party (LSSP), •New Equal Society Party (NSSP) and • Sri Lanka People's Party (SLMP). • Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC), only minor party to gain seats in provincial council elections.• Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) principal Tamil party.

International Memberships• Asian Development Bank• Colombo Plan• Commonwealth of Nations• Group of 77• Intelsat, Interpol• Inter-Parliamentary Union• South Asian Association for Regional

Cooperation• United Nations and specialized agencies• World Federation of Trade Unions.

President Mahinda Rajapakse

Prime Min. Ratnasiri

WICKREMANAYAKE

Min. of Agricultural

Development

Maithripala SIRISENA

Min. of Community

Development & Social

Inequity

Eradication P.

CHANDRASEKARAN

Min. of Defense Mahinda RAJAPAKSA

Min. of Education Susil PREMAJAYANTHA

(Source: Information Based Database, 2007 Pearson Education, Inc.)

Min. of Export Development

& International Trade

G. L. PEIRIS

Min. of Industrial

Development

Kumara WELGAMA

Min. of Trade, Marketing

Development

Bandula GUNAWARDENA

Min. of Transport Dullas ALAHAPPERUMA

Governor, Central Bank Ajith Nivard CABRAAL

Ambassador to the US Jaliya WICKRAMASURIYA

(Source: Information Based Database, 2007 Pearson Education, Inc.)

Administrative Divisions: • Nine provinces (Northern and Eastern provinces may be

combined into a single province in 1989)• Twenty-four administrative districts.

Legal System: • 1978 Constitution guarantees independence of judiciary.• Legal system based on British common law • Country divided into five judicial circuits, subdivided into

districts with district courts and divisions with magistrates' courts.

• Lowest courts are conciliation boards with responsibility for minor criminal and civil cases.

Size: Pear-shaped

Island 29 kilometers off southeastern coast of India; total area 65,610 square kilometers, of which land area 64,740 square kilometers.

Climate: Equatorial and tropical influenced by elevation

above sea level, but marked by only slight diurnal and seasonal variations; temperature in Colombo (at sea level) varies from 25°C to 28°C, and in central massif (site of highest elevations) 14°C to 16°C.

Rainfall uneven; divides country climatically into wet zone comprising southwestern quarter and dry zone on remainder of island. Annual precipitation in wet zone averages 250 centimeters; in dry zone precipitation varies from 120 to 190 centimeters.

:DescriptionGraph showing population

growth in Sri Lanka obtained from official census data. An official census has being carried out approximately every 10 years in Sri Lanka starting from 1871.

:Source www.statistics.gov.

:Data March 17, 2007

Demographics:

EducationWith a literacy rate of 92%, and

83% of the total population having had Secondary Education, Sri Lanka has one of the most literate populations amongst developing nations.

Sri Lanka has around 16 public universities. They include the University of Colombo, the University of Moratuwa, University of Sri Lanka, the Wayamba University of Sri Lanka etc.

Health and Welfare: Nationwide health care system,

including maternity services provided by government, but facilities and personnel overtaxed supplies and equipment lacking.

• Medical infrastructure consists of more than 3,000 Western-trained physicians,

• 8,600 nurses, • 338 central dispensaries, and • 490 hospitals of all types.

Traditional FoodSri Lankans have added

western influences to the customary diet such as rice and curry, pittu. Kiribath, wattalapam, kottu, and hoppers ("appa"), batter cooked rapidly in a hot curved pan, accompanied by eggs, milk or savouries.

Culture and ArtsThe island is the home of two

main traditional cultures: the Sinhalese and the Tamil. Until recently, for example, most Sri Lankans, certainly those in the villages, have eaten traditional food, engaged in traditional crafts and expressed themselves through traditional arts

:ReligionSri Lanka has the longest continuous history of Buddhism of any predominately Buddhist nation, with the Sangha having existed in a largely unbroken lineage since its introduction in the 2nd century BCE.

The second largest religion is Hinduism. Hinduism was primarily established in Sri Lanka by migrants and often invaders from southern India, and Hindus now constitute seven to fifteen percent of the population.

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).(Source: Information Based Database, 2007 Pearson Education, Inc.)

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.

Waterways 430 km; navigable by shallow-draft craft.

Airports 15 (2002).

• GDP growth

• Major Tsunami

• Government spending & reconstruction

• Reduced agriculture output

• Spending & loose monetary policy

• Most Dynamic Sectors

• Work Abroad

• Struggle by the Tamil Tigers

• Gross Domestic product (GDP)

• Agriculture

• Industry

• Energy

• Service

India 20.7%,

Singapore 8.3%,

Hong Kong

7.3%,

China 7.1%,

Iran 5.9%,

Malaysia 4.4%,

Japan 4.3%

:ImportsEquivalent to US$1.95 billion in 1986. Major imported commodities include petroleum products, machinery, transportation equipment, food (including rice, wheat, flour, and sugar), fertilizer, yarn, and textiles. Principal trading partners Japan, Saudi Arabia, and the United States. Imports from United States dominated by wheat, machinery, and equipment.

:ExportEquivalent to approximately

US$1.4 billion in 1987; major exported goods ready-made clothing and processed agricultural commodities such as tea, rubber, coconuts, and spices. Dominant trading partner throughout 1980s the United States, which took US$350 million worth of goods in 1987, or fully 25 percent of all Sri Lankan exports.

United States

31.3%,

United

Kingdom

12.2%,

India 8.9%,

Germany 4.3%

• Balance Of Payment• Exchange Rate• The Stock Market• Foreign Relations• Global Economic • Relations• Monetary process

Finances Amounts

Public

debt

89.6% of GDP (As of

2006)

External

debt

12.23$ billion, (44.6%

of GDP) (As of 2006)

Revenue

s

5.61$ billion (As of

2006)

Expense

s

8.39$ billion (As of

2006)

Economi

c aid

808$ million

(recipient) (As of

2006)

Indo-Sri Lanka n FTA• Free Trade Area• Tariffs• Negative Lists • The Rules Of Origin • Adequate Safety • Review and Consultation

Mechanisms

Human development

index• Human development index

value, 2005

: 0.743

• Life expectancy at birth,

annual

estimates (years), 2005

: 71.6

• Adult literacy rate (% aged

15 and

older), 1995-2005

: 90.7

• Life expectancy index : 0.776

• Education index : 0.814

Demographic trends• Population, total (millions), 2005 : 19.

1

• Population, total (millions), 2015 : 20

• Population, annual growth rate

(%), 1975-2005

: 1.1

• Population, annual growth rate

(%), 2005-15

: 0.4

• Fertility rate, total (births per

man), 2000-05

: 4.1

• Fertility rate, total (births per

woman), 2000-05

: 2

Flows of aid, private

capital and debt• Official development assistance

received (US$ millions), 2005

: 1,189

.3

• Official development assistance

received (% of GDP), 2005

: 5.1

• Foreign direct investment, net

inflows (% of GDP), 2005

: 1.2

• Debt service, total (% of GDP), 2005 : 1.9

• Debt service, total (% of exports of

goods, services and net income from

abroad), 2005

: 4.5

Inequality in income or

expenditure• Share of income or consumption,

poorest 20% (%)

: 7

• Share of income or consumption,

richest 20% (%)

: 48

• Inequality measures, ratio of richest

10% to poorest 10%

: 11.1

• Inequality measures, ratio of richest

20% to poorest 20%

: 6.9

• Gini index : 40.2

(GDP Per Capita )

$4100

Real Growth Rate

6.3%

Inflation Rate

19.7%

Unemployment

5.7%

Arable Rate 14%

Industries Processing of rubber, tea, coconuts, tobacco and other agricultural commodities; telecommunications, insurance, banking; clothing, textiles; cement, petroleum refining.

Natural resource

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

Labor force

8.08 million; services 45%, agriculture 38%, industry 17% (1998 est.).

Major trading partners

U.S., UK, India, Germany, Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Iran, Japan, Malaysia (2004).

SriLanka is an independent and democratic. country Full independence was finally

granted to the Ceylon on Feb-4 1948, with dominion status in the Commonwealth of Nations. , As it has a lots of resources it has

.a bright future in economy

, In fact its unemployment rate is declining day by day and also people are almost

. educated in Sri lanka It has a good relation . with foreign countries If the internal

violences and racism is under control then it has a vivid opprtunity for Srilanka to be a

.devoled counntry