]! ^! The Sinhalese arrived in Sri Lanka late in the 6th century B.C., probably from northern India. Buddhism was introduced beginning in about the mid-third century B.C., and a great civilization developed at the cities of Anuradhapura (kingdom from circa 200 B.C. to circa A.D. 1000) and Polonnaruwa (from about 1070 to 1200). In the 14th century, a south Indian dynasty seized power in the north and established a Tamil kingdom. Occupied by the Portuguese in the 16th century and by the Dutch in the 17th century, the island was ceded to the British in 1796, became a crown colony in 1802, and was united under British rule by 1815. As Ceylon, it became independent in 1948; its name was changed to Sri Lanka in 1972. Tensions between the Sinhalese majority and Tamil separatists erupted into war in 1983. Tens of thousands have died in an ethnic conflict that continues to fester. After two decades of fighting, the government and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam formalized a cease-fire in February 2002, with Norway brokering peace negotiations. 
]" ^" Southern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of India ^# 7 00 N, 81 00 E ^$ Asia ^% `! 65,610 sq km `" 64,740 sq km `# 870 sq km ^& slightly larger than West Virginia ^' 0 km ^( 1,340 km ^) `$ 12 nm `H 24 nm `I 200 nm `J 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin ^* tropical monsoon; northeast monsoon (December to March); southwest monsoon (June to October) ^+ mostly low, flat to rolling plain; mountains in south-central interior ^, `% Indian Ocean 0 m `& Pidurutalagala 2,524 m ^- limestone, graphite, mineral sands, gems, phosphates, clay, hydropower ^. `' 13.86% `( 15.7% `) 70.44% (2001) ^/ 6,510 sq km (1998 est.) ^0 occasional cyclones and tornadoes ^1 deforestation; soil erosion; wildlife populations threatened by poaching and urbanization; coastal degradation from mining activities and increased pollution; freshwater resources being polluted by industrial wastes and sewage runoff; waste disposal; air pollution in Colombo _J `K Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands `L Marine Life Conservation ^2 strategic location near major Indian Ocean sea lanes 
]# ^3 20,064,776 note: since the outbreak of hostilities between the government and armed Tamil separatists in the mid-1980s, several hundred thousand Tamil civilians have fled the island and more than 200,000 Tamils have sought refuge in the West (July 2005 est.) ^4 `* 24.5% (male 2,508,384/female 2,397,986) `+ 68.4% (male 6,658,765/female 7,059,468) `, 7.2% (male 670,813/female 769,360) (2005 est.) ^5 `! 29.44 years `- 28.38 years `. 30.51 years (2005 est.) ^6 0.79% (2005 est.) ^7 15.63 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^8 6.49 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^9 -1.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^: `/ 1.05 male(s)/female `0 1.05 male(s)/female `+ 0.94 male(s)/female `, 0.87 male(s)/female `1 0.96 male(s)/female (2005 est.) ^; `! 14.35 deaths/1,000 live births `- 15.57 deaths/1,000 live births `. 13.07 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) ^< `1 73.17 years `- 70.6 years `. 75.86 years (2005 est.) ^= 1.85 children born/woman (2005 est.) ^> less than 0.1% (2001 est.) ^? 3,500 (2001 est.) ^@ less than 200 (2003 est.) ^A `2 Sri Lankan(s) `3 Sri Lankan ^B Sinhalese 73.8%, Sri Lankan Moors 7.2%, Indian Tamil 4.6%, Sri Lankan Tamil 3.9%, other 0.5%, unspecified 10% (2001 census provisional data) ^C Buddhist 69.1%, Muslim 7.6%, Hindu 7.1%, Christian 6.2%, unspecified 10% (2001 census provisional data) ^D Sinhala (official and national language) 74%, Tamil (national language) 18%, other 8% note: English is commonly used in government and is spoken competently by about 10% of the population ^E `M age 15 and over can read and write `1 92.3% `- 94.8% `. 90% (2003 est.) 
]$ ^F `4 Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka `5 Sri Lanka `X Serendib, Ceylon ^H republic ^I Colombo; note - Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte is the legislative capital ^J 8 provinces; Central, North Central, North Eastern, North Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Uva, Western; note - North Eastern province may have been divided in two - Northern and Eastern ^K 4 February 1948 (from UK) ^L Independence Day, 4 February (1948) ^M adopted 16 August 1978, certified 31 August 1978; new constitution proposed in 2002 ^N a highly complex mixture of English common law, Roman-Dutch, Muslim, Sinhalese, and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction ^O 18 years of age; universal ^P `6 President Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA (since 12 November 1994); note - Mahinda RAJAPAKSE (since 6 April 2004) is the prime minister; the president is considered both the chief of state and head of government `7 President Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA (since 12 November 1994); note - Mahinda RAJAPAKSE is the prime minister (since 6 April 2004); the president is considered both the chief of state and head of government `8 Cabinet appointed by the president in consultation with the prime minister `9 president elected by popular vote for a six-year term; election last held 21 December 1999 (next to be held NA December 2005) `: Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA reelected president; percent of vote - Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA 51%, Ranil WICKREMASINGHE 42%, other 7% ^Q unicameral Parliament (225 seats; members elected by popular vote on the basis of a modified proportional representation system by district to serve six-year terms) `9 last held 2 April 2004 (next to be held by 2010) `: percent of vote by party or electoral alliance - SLFP and JVP 45.6%, UNP 37.83%, TNA 6.84%, JHU 5.97%, SLMC 2.02%, UPF 0.54%, EPDP 0.27%, others 0.93%; seats by party or electoral alliance - SLFP and JVP 105, UNP 82, TNA 22, JHU 9, SLMC 5, UPF 1, EPDP 1 ^R Supreme Court; Court of Appeals; judges for both courts are appointed by the president ^S All Ceylon Tamil Congress or ACTC [KUMARGURUPARAM]; Ceylon Workers Congress or CWC [Arumugam THONDAMAN]; Communist Party or CP [D. GUNASEKERA]; Democratic United National (Lalith) Front or DUNLF [Shrimani ATULATHMUDALI]; Eelam People's Democratic Party or EPDP [Douglas DEVANANDA]; Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front or EPRLF [Suresh PREMACHANDRAN]; Janatha Vimukthi Perumuna or JVP [Tilvan SILVA]; National Heritage Party or JHU [Tilak KARUNARATNE]; National Unity Alliance or NUA [Ferial ASHRAFF]; People's Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam or PLOTE [leader NA]; Sihala Urumaya or SU [leader NA]; Sri Lanka Freedom Party or SLFP [Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA]; Sri Lanka Muslim Congress or SLMC [Rauff HAKEEM]; Sri Lanka Progressive Front or SLPF [P. Nelson PERERA]; Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization or TELO [SABARATNAM]; Tamil National Alliance or TNA [R. SAMPANTHAN]; Tamil United Liberation Front or TULF [V. ANANDASANGAREE]; United National Party or UNP [Ranil WICKREMASINGHE]; Up-country People's Front or UPF [P. CHANDRASEKARAN]; several ethnic Tamil and Muslim parties, represented in either Parliament or provincial councils ^T Buddhist clergy; labor unions; Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam or LTTE [Velupillai PRABHAKARAN](insurgent group fighting for a separate state); radical chauvinist Sinhalese groups such as the National Movement Against Terrorism; Sinhalese Buddhist lay groups ^U AsDB, C, CP, FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), ONUB, OPCW, PCA, SAARC, SACEP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO ^V `N Ambassador Bernard GOONETILLEKE `O 2148 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 `P [1] (202) 483-4025 (through 4028) `Q [1] (202) 232-7181 `R Los Angeles `g New York ^W `N Ambassador Jeffrey J. LUNSTEAD `Z 210 Galle Road, Colombo 3 `[ P. O. Box 106, Colombo `P [94] (11) 244-8007 `Q [94] (11) 243-7345 ^X 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 around the entire flag and extends between the two panels 
]% ^Y In 1977, Colombo abandoned statist economic policies and its import substitution trade policy for market-oriented policies and export-oriented trade. Sri Lanka's most dynamic sectors now are food processing, textiles and apparel, food and beverages, telecommunications, and insurance and banking. In 2003, plantation crops made up only 15% of exports (compared with 93% in 1970), while textiles and garments accounted for 63%. GDP grew at an average annual rate of 5.5% in the early 1990s until a drought and a deteriorating security situation lowered growth to 3.8% in 1996. The economy rebounded in 1997-2000 with average growth of 5.3%, but 2001 saw the first contraction in the country's history, -1.4%, due to a combination of power shortages, severe budgetary problems, the global slowdown, and continuing civil strife. Growth recovered to 4.0% in 2002 and to 5.2% in both 2003 and 2004. About 800,000 Sri Lankans work abroad, 90% in the Middle East. They send home about $1 billion a year. The struggle by the Tamil Tigers of the north and east for a largely independent homeland continues to cast a shadow over the economy. In late December 2004, a major tsunami took about 31,000 lives, left more than 6,300 missing and 443,000 displaced, and destroyed an estimated $1.5 billion worth of property. ^Z $80.58 billion (2004 est.) ^[ 5.2% (2004 est.) ^\ purchasing power parity - $4,000 (2004 est.) ^] `; 19.1% `< 26.2% `= 54.7% (2004 est.) ^^ 7.26 million (2004 est.) ^_ agriculture 38%, industry 17%, services 45% (1998 est.) ^` 7.8% (2004 est.) ^a 22% (1997 est.) _! `> 3.5% `? 28% (1995) _d 34.4 (1995) _" 5.8% (2004 est.) _P 22.4% of GDP (2004 est.) _# `@ $3.34 billion `A $4.686 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) _Q 104.3% of GDP (2004 est.) _$ rice, sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseed, spices, tea, rubber, coconuts; milk, eggs, hides, beef _% rubber processing, tea, coconuts, and other agricultural commodities; telecommunications, insurance, and banking; clothing, cement, petroleum refining, textiles, tobacco _& 7.1% (2004 est.) _' 6.697 billion kWh (2002) _( 6.228 billion kWh (2002) _) 0 kWh (2002) _* 0 kWh (2002) _+ 0 bbl/day (2001 est.) _, 75,000 bbl/day (2001 est.) _- NA _. NA _X $-587.3 million (2004 est.) _/ $5.306 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.) _0 textiles and apparel; tea and spices; diamonds, emeralds, rubies; coconut products; rubber manufactures, fish _1 US 32.4%, UK 13.5%, India 6.8%, Germany 4.8% (2004) _2 $7.265 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.) _3 textile fabrics, mineral products, petroleum, foodstuffs, machinery and transportation equipment _4 India 18%, Singapore 8.7%, Hong Kong 7.7%, China 5.7%, Iran 5.2%, Japan 5.1%, Malaysia 4.1% (2004) _Y $2.475 billion (2004 est.) _5 $10.85 billion (2004 est.) _6 $577 million (1998) _7 Sri Lankan rupee (LKR) _8 Sri Lankan rupees per US dollar - 101.194 (2004), 96.521 (2003), 95.662 (2002), 89.383 (2001), 77.005 (2000) _9 calendar year 
]& _: 881,400 (2002) _; 931,600 (2002) _< `B very inadequate domestic service, particularly in rural areas; likely improvement with privatization of national telephone company and encouragement to private investment; good international service (1999) `C national trunk network consists mostly of digital microwave radio relay; fiber-optic links now in use in Colombo area and two fixed wireless local loops have been installed; competition is strong in mobile cellular systems; telephone density remains low at 2.6 main lines per 100 persons (1999) `D country code - 94; submarine cables to Indonesia and Djibouti; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) (1999) _= AM 26, FM 45, shortwave 1 (1998) _> 21 (1997) _? .lk _@ 1,882 (2003) _A 200,000 (2002) 
]' _e `! 1,449 km `e 1,449 km 1.676-m gauge (2004) _B `! 11,650 km `E 11,068 km `F 582 km (2002) _b 160 km (primarily on rivers in southwest) (2004) _C Colombo, Galle _K `! 23 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 120,924 GRT/173,604 DWT by type: cargo 18, container 2, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 2 `S 10 (Germany 10) `\ 1 (2005) _D 14 (2004 est.) _E `! 13 `] 1 `^ 6 `_ 6 (2004 est.) _L `! 1 `T 1 (2004 est.) 
]( _F Army, Navy, Air Force, Police Force _M 18 years of age for voluntary military service (2001) _] males age 18-49: 4,933,217 (2005 est.) Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 3,789,627 (2005 est.) _^ `` 174,049 (2005 est.) _N $514.8 million (2004) _O 2.6% (2004) 
]) _H none _c IDPs: 362,000 (both Tamils and non-Tamils displaced due to Tamil conflict); 555,000 (resulting from 26 December 2004 tsunami) (2004) 