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The
island of Sri Lanka lies in the Indian Ocean like a teardrop, off
the southern tip of India. It is known as the pearl
of the Indian Ocean, rich in natural beauty – tropical forests,
hundreds of rivers, cascading waterfalls as well as wildlife
sanctuaries, rolling plains, hills and beaches.
The
largest city of the island is Colombo, the capital, which is also
the commercial centre. This centre is located in
the
Fort district where there are department stores and other offices
apart from the clock tower, the president’s
residence
and other colonial buildings. On the seafront is Galle Face Green
and further than that is the fashionable
Cinnamon
Gardens neighbourhood. The bazaar is in Pettah district where all
kind of merchandise is available. The
Art
Gallery exhibits works of local artists and the National Museum has
a good historical collection. The Dehiwala
Zoo
has an elephant show and the nearest beach is Mt. Lavinia.
Kandy
is a cultural sanctuary in the hills, built around a lake with the
Dalada Maligawa temple housing the sacred tooth of Buddha.
In Anuradhapura, the first capital of Sri Lanka, the sacred Bo Tree
is the holiest site. This tree was grown from the original
one under which the Buddha attained enlightenment. Sigiriya has a
5th century rock fortress on a 200m high rock.
| Joined
Commonwealth |
1948 |
| Capital |
Colombo |
| Population |
19,576,783
(July 2002) |
| Age
structure (15-64 years) |
67.7%
(male: 6,446,320; female: 6,802,515) |
| Youth
Population (15-24) |
3,745,379
(2000) |
| Youth
Population (15-24) in % |
19.9%
(2000) |
| HIV/AIDS
(adult prevalence rate) |
0.07%
(1999) |
| HIV/AIDS
(people living with HIV/AIDS) |
7,500
(1999) |
| HIV/AIDS
deaths |
490
(1999) |
| Literacy
(age 15 and over can read and write) |
90.2%
(male: 93.4%; female: 87.2%) (1995) |
| Total
Unemployment in % |
12.5%
(1995) |
| Youth
Unemployment (15-19) in % |
male:
14.7%; female: 10.4% (1995) |
| Youth
Unemployment (20-14) in % |
male:
8.7%; female: 17.6% (1995) |
| GDP
p.c. growth |
3.9%
p.a. 1990-2000 |
| Currency |
Sri
Lanka rupee (SLRs) |
| Official
language |
Sinhala,
Tamil |
| Time |
GMT
plus 6.5 hours |
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King
Vijaya from Bengal established the Great Dynasty of the
Sinhalese in 543 BC. About 300 years later, Mahinda,
the son of Emperor Ashoka, introduced Buddhism. Tamil
settlements began in the 10th century AD in Jaffna. There
was a long struggle between the Sinhalese and Tamil
kings for control over the north of the island. In the 16th
century, the Portuguese invaded the island and acquired
most of the coastal belt. The King of Kandy helped the
Dutch dispossess the Portuguese and then the Dutch
seized the island by the 17th century. Finally, in 1802,
the British took over and the island was used
for rubber, coconut, coffee and then tea plantations. After
independence from the British in 1948, the Sinhalese
became the dominant social and political force. The Tamils
felt they were being marginalized and in 1977 the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was formed. The
conflict between the Tamil Tigers and the government
has continued into the 21st century and more than 60,000
people have died.
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Sri Lanka is a democratic republic with an executive
presidency – the president is head of state and government.
There is universal adult suffrage with proportional
representation and elections are held every six years. Members
of parliament are directly elected, while the
president appoints ministers and the independent judiciary.
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