Official Name:
Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
Location:
Latitude 5° 55. to 9° 50. north, Longitude 79° 42. to 81° 52., 650km north of the equator
Coastline:
1,340km
Currency (code):
Sri Lankan Rupee (LKR)
Independence:
4 February 1948
Administrative Capital:
Sri Jayewardenepura
Commercial Capital:
Colombo
Highest Mountain:
Pidurutalagala, 2,524m
Highest Waterfall:
Bambarakanda, 263m
National Flower:
The Blue Water Lily (Nymphaea stellata)
Population:
21,128,773
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
Religion:
Buddhist 69.1%, Muslim 7.6%, Hindu 7.1%, Christian 6.2%, unspecified 10% (2001 census)
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)

Sri Lanka  Map