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Communications

Airports [time series]

14 total, 13 usable; 12 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 7 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Civil air [time series]

8 major transport (including 1 leased)

Roadways (Highways) [time series]

75,263 km total (1988); 27,637 km paved (mostly bituminous treated), 32,887 km crushed stone or gravel, 14,739 km improved earth or unimproved earth; several thousand km of mostly unmotorable tracks (1988 est.)

Waterways (Inland waterways) [time series]

430 km; navigable by shallow-draft craft

Merchant marine [time series]

34 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 364,466 GRT/551,686 DWT; includes 18 cargo, 6 refrigerated cargo, 5 container, 2 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 3 bulk

Pipelines [time series]

crude and refined products, 62 km (1987)

Ports [time series]

Colombo, Trincomalee

Railways (Railroads) [time series]

1,948 km total (1989); all 1.868-meter broad gauge; 102 km double track; no electrification; government owned

Telecommunication systems (Telecommunications) [time series]

good international service; 114,000 telephones (1982); stations--12 AM, 5 FM, 5 TV; submarine cables extend to Indonesia and Djibouti; 2 Indian Ocean INTELSAT earth stations

Defense Forces

Military and security forces (Branches) [time series]

Army, Navy, Air Force, Police Force

Military expenditures (Defense expenditures) [time series]

$300 million, 5% of GDP (1991)

Manpower availability [time series]

males 15-49, 4,636,767; 3,625,289 fit for military service; 178,010 reach military age (18) annually

Economy

Agricultural products (Agriculture) [time series]

accounts for 26% of GDP and nearly half of labor force; most important staple crop is paddy rice; other field crops--sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseeds, roots, spices; cash crops--tea, rubber, coconuts; animal products--milk, eggs, hides, meat; not self-sufficient in rice production

Budget [time series]

revenues $1.7 billion; expenditures $2.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $0.5 billion (1990)

Exchange rates (Currency) [time series]

Sri Lankan rupee (plural--rupees); 1 Sri Lankan rupee (SLRe) = 100 cents

Economic aid [time series]

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $1.0 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1980-88), $4.9 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $169 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $369 million

Electricity [time series]

1,300,000 kW capacity; 4,200 million kWh produced, 240 kWh per capita (1990)

Exchange rates [time series]

Sri Lankan rupees (SLRs) per US$1--40.272 (January 1991), 40.063 (1990), 36.047 (1989), 31.807 (1988), 29.445 (1987), 28.017 (1986), 27.163 (1985)

Exports [time series]

$1.6 billion (f.o.b., 1989); commodities--tea, textiles and garments, petroleum products, coconut, rubber, agricultural products, gems and jewelry, marine products; partners--US 26%, FRG, Japan, UK, Belgium, Taiwan, Hong Kong, China

Debt - external (External debt) [time series]

$5.6 billion (1989)

Fiscal year [time series]

calendar year

Real GDP (purchasing power parity) (GDP) [time series]

$6.6 billion, per capita $380; real growth rate 4.5% (1990 est.)

Imports [time series]

$2.2 billion (c.i.f., 1989); commodities--food and beverages, textiles and textile materials, petroleum, machinery and equipment; partners--Japan, Saudi Arabia, US 5.6%, India, Singapore, FRG, UK, Iran

Industrial production growth rate (Industrial production) [time series]

growth rate 6% (1989 est.); accounts for 18% of GDP

Industries [time series]

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices) [time series]

23% (1990)

Economic overview (Overview) [time series]

Agriculture, forestry, and fishing dominate the economy, employing about 45% of the labor force and accounting for 26% of GDP. The plantation crops of tea, rubber, and coconuts provide about 35% of export earnings. The economy has been plagued by high rates of unemployment since the late 1970s. Economic growth, which has been depressed by ethnic unrest, accelerated in 1990 as domestic conditions began to improve.

Unemployment rate [time series]

20% (1990 est.)

Geography

Climate [time series]

tropical; monsoonal; northeast monsoon (December to March); southwest monsoon (June to October)

Coastline [time series]

1,340 km Contiguous zone: 24 nm; Continental shelf: edge of continental margin or 200 nm; Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm; Territorial sea: 12 nm

Area - comparative (Comparative area) [time series]

slightly larger than West Virginia

Environment - current issues (Environment) [time series]

occasional cyclones, tornados; deforestation; soil erosion

Land boundaries [time series]

none

Land use [time series]

arable land 16%; permanent crops 17%; meadows and pastures 7%; forest and woodland 37%; other 23%; includes irrigated 8%

Natural resources [time series]

limestone, graphite, mineral sands, gems, phosphates, clay

Note [time series]

only 29 km from India across the Palk Strait; near major Indian Ocean sea lanes

Terrain [time series]

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

Area (Total area) [time series]

65,610 km2; land area: 64,740 km2

Government

Administrative divisions [time series]

24 districts; Amparai, Anuradhapura, Badulla, Batticaloa, Colombo, Galle, Gampaha, Hambantota, Jaffna, Kalutara, Kandy, Kegalla, Kurunegala, Mannar, Matale, Matara, Moneragala, Mullaittivu, Nuwara Eliya, Polonnaruwa, Puttalam, Ratnapura, Trincomalee, Vavuniya; note--the administrative structure may now include 8 provinces (Central, North Central, North Eastern, North Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Uva, and Western) and 25 districts (with Kilinochchi added to the existing districts)

Capital [time series]

Colombo

Constitution [time series]

31 August 1978

Diplomatic representation in the US (Diplomatic representation) [time series]

Ambassador W. Susanta De ALWIS; Chancery at 2148 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 483-4025 through 4028; there is a Sri Lankan Consulate in New York; US--Ambassador Marion V. CREEKMORE, Jr.; Embassy at 210 Galle Road, Colombo 3 (mailing address is P. O. Box 106, Colombo); telephone [94] (1) 448007

Executive branch [time series]

president, prime minister, Cabinet

Flag [time series]

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 that goes around the entire flag and extends between the two panels

Independence [time series]

4 February 1948 (from UK; formerly Ceylon)

Judicial branch [time series]

Supreme Court Chief of State--President Ranasinghe PREMADASA (since 2 January 1989); Head of Government--Prime Minister Dingiri Banda WIJETUNGE (since 6 March 1989) United National Party (UNP), Ranasinghe PREMADASA; Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), Sirimavo BANDARANAIKE; Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC), M. H. M. ASHRAFF; All Ceylon Tamil Congress (ACTC), Kumar PONNAMBALAM; People's United Front (MEP, or Mahajana Eksath Peramuna), Dinesh GUNAWARDENE; Eelam Democratic Front (EDF), Edward Sebastian PILLAI; Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF), leader (vacant); Eelam Revolutionary Organization of Students (EROS), Velupillai BALAKUMARAN; New Socialist Party (NSSP, or Nava Sama Samaja Party), Vasudeva NANAYAKKARA; Lanka Socialist Party/Trotskyite (LSSP, or Lanka Sama Samaja Party), Colin R. de SILVA; Sri Lanka People's Party (SLMP, or Sri Lanka Mahajana Party), Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARANATUNGA; Communist Party/Moscow (CP/M), K. P. SILVA; Communist Party/Beijing (CP/B), N. SHANMUGATHASAN; note--the United Socialist Alliance (USA) includes the NSSP, LSSP, SLMP, CP/M, and CP/B

Legal system [time series]

a highly complex mixture of English common law, Roman-Dutch, Muslim, and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Legislative branch [time series]

unicameral Parliament

Country name (Long-form name) [time series]

Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka

International organization participation (Member of) [time series]

AsDB, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-24, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM, PCA, SAARC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

National holiday [time series]

Independence and National Day, 4 February (1948)

Political parties (Other political or pressure groups) [time series]

Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and other smaller Tamil separatist groups; Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP or People's Liberation Front); Buddhist clergy; Sinhalese Buddhist lay groups; labor unions

Suffrage [time series]

universal at age 18 President--last held 19 December 1988 (next to be held December 1994); results--Ranasinghe PREMADASA (UNP) 50%, Sirimavo BANDARANAIKE (SLFP) 45%, other 5%; Parliament--last held 15 February 1989 (next to be held by February 1995); results--UNP 51%, SLFP 32%, SLMC 4%, TULF 3%, USA 3%, EROS 3%, MEP 1%, other 3%; seats--(225 total) UNP 125, SLFP 67, other 33

Government type (Type) [time series]

republic

People

Birth rate [time series]

20 births/1,000 population (1991)

Death rate [time series]

6 deaths/1,000 population (1991)

Ethnic groups (Ethnic divisions) [time series]

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

Infant mortality rate [time series]

21 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)

Labor force [time series]

6,600,000; agriculture 45.9%, mining and manufacturing 13.3%, trade and transport 12.4%, services and other 28.4% (1985 est.)

Languages (Language) [time series]

Sinhala (official); Sinhala and Tamil listed as national languages; Sinhala spoken by about 74% of population, Tamil spoken by about 18%; English commonly used in government and spoken by about 10% of the population

Life expectancy at birth [time series]

69 years male, 74 years female (1991)

Literacy [time series]

86% (male 91%, female 81%) age 15 and over can read and write (1981)

Nationality [time series]

noun--Sri Lankan(s); adjective--Sri Lankan

Net migration rate [time series]

- 2 migrants/1,000 population (1991)

Organized labor [time series]

about 33% of labor force, over 50% of which are employed on tea, rubber, and coconut estates

Population [time series]

17,423,736 (July 1991), growth rate 1.2% (1991)

Religions (Religion) [time series]

Buddhist 69%, Hindu 15%, Christian 8%, Muslim 8%

Total fertility rate [time series]

2.3 children born/woman (1991)