280 lines
22 KiB
Plaintext
280 lines
22 KiB
Plaintext
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SRI LANKA
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GEOGRAPHY
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Total area: 65,610 km2; land area: 64,740 km2
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Comparative area: slightly larger than West Virginia
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Land boundaries: none
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Coastline: 1,340 km
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Maritime claims:
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Contiguous zone: 24 nm;
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Continental shelf: edge of continental margin or 200 nm;
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Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;
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Territorial sea: 12 nm
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Climate: tropical; monsoonal; northeast monsoon (December to
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March); southwest monsoon (June to October)
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Terrain: mostly low, flat to rolling plain; mountains in
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south-central interior
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Natural resources: limestone, graphite, mineral sands, gems,
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phosphates, clay
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Land use: arable land 16%; permanent crops 17%; meadows and
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pastures 7%; forest and woodland 37%; other 23%; includes irrigated 8%
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Environment: occasional cyclones, tornados; deforestation; soil
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erosion
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Note: only 29 km from India across the Palk Strait; near major
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Indian Ocean sea lanes
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PEOPLE
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Population: 17,423,736 (July 1991), growth rate 1.2% (1991)
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Birth rate: 20 births/1,000 population (1991)
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Death rate: 6 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
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Net migration rate: - 2 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
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Infant mortality rate: 21 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
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Life expectancy at birth: 69 years male, 74 years female (1991)
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Total fertility rate: 2.3 children born/woman (1991)
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Nationality: noun--Sri Lankan(s); adjective--Sri Lankan
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Ethnic divisions: Sinhalese 74%; Tamil 18%; Moor 7%; Burgher,
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Malay, and Veddha 1%
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Religion: Buddhist 69%, Hindu 15%, Christian 8%, Muslim 8%
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Language: Sinhala (official); Sinhala and Tamil listed as national
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languages; Sinhala spoken by about 74% of population, Tamil spoken by
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about 18%; English commonly used in government and spoken by about 10% of
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the population
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Literacy: 86% (male 91%, female 81%) age 15 and over can
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read and write (1981)
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Labor force: 6,600,000; agriculture 45.9%, mining and
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manufacturing 13.3%, trade and transport 12.4%, services and other 28.4%
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(1985 est.)
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Organized labor: about 33% of labor force, over 50% of which are
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employed on tea, rubber, and coconut estates
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GOVERNMENT
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Long-form name: Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
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Type: republic
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Capital: Colombo
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Administrative divisions: 24 districts; Amparai, Anuradhapura,
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Badulla, Batticaloa, Colombo, Galle, Gampaha, Hambantota, Jaffna,
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Kalutara, Kandy, Kegalla, Kurunegala, Mannar, Matale, Matara, Moneragala,
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Mullaittivu, Nuwara Eliya, Polonnaruwa, Puttalam, Ratnapura, Trincomalee,
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Vavuniya; note--the administrative structure may now include 8 provinces
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(Central, North Central, North Eastern, North Western, Sabaragamuwa,
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Southern, Uva, and Western) and 25 districts (with Kilinochchi added to
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the existing districts)
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Independence: 4 February 1948 (from UK; formerly Ceylon)
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Constitution: 31 August 1978
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Legal system: a highly complex mixture of English common law,
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Roman-Dutch, Muslim, and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ
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jurisdiction
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National holiday: Independence and National Day, 4 February (1948)
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Executive branch: president, prime minister, Cabinet
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Legislative branch: unicameral Parliament
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Judicial branch: Supreme Court
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Leaders:
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Chief of State--President Ranasinghe PREMADASA (since 2 January
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1989);
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Head of Government--Prime Minister Dingiri Banda WIJETUNGE (since
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6 March 1989)
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Political parties and leaders:
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United National Party (UNP), Ranasinghe PREMADASA;
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Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), Sirimavo BANDARANAIKE;
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Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC), M. H. M. ASHRAFF;
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All Ceylon Tamil Congress (ACTC), Kumar PONNAMBALAM;
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People's United Front (MEP, or Mahajana Eksath Peramuna), Dinesh
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GUNAWARDENE;
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Eelam Democratic Front (EDF), Edward Sebastian PILLAI;
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Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF), leader (vacant);
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Eelam Revolutionary Organization of Students (EROS), Velupillai
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BALAKUMARAN;
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New Socialist Party (NSSP, or Nava Sama Samaja Party),
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Vasudeva NANAYAKKARA;
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Lanka Socialist Party/Trotskyite (LSSP, or Lanka Sama Samaja Party),
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Colin R. de SILVA;
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Sri Lanka People's Party (SLMP, or Sri Lanka Mahajana Party),
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Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARANATUNGA;
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Communist Party/Moscow (CP/M), K. P. SILVA;
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Communist Party/Beijing (CP/B), N. SHANMUGATHASAN;
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note--the United Socialist Alliance (USA) includes the NSSP, LSSP,
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SLMP, CP/M, and CP/B
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Suffrage: universal at age 18
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Elections:
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President--last held 19 December 1988 (next to be held
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December 1994);
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results--Ranasinghe PREMADASA (UNP) 50%,
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Sirimavo BANDARANAIKE (SLFP) 45%, other 5%;
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Parliament--last held 15 February 1989
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(next to be held by February 1995);
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results--UNP 51%, SLFP 32%, SLMC 4%, TULF 3%, USA 3%, EROS 3%, MEP 1%,
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other 3%;
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seats--(225 total) UNP 125, SLFP 67, other 33
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Other political or pressure groups: Liberation Tigers of Tamil
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Eelam (LTTE) and other smaller Tamil separatist groups; Janatha Vimukthi
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Peramuna (JVP or People's Liberation Front); Buddhist clergy; Sinhalese
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Buddhist lay groups; labor unions
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Member of: AsDB, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-24, G-77, GATT, IAEA,
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IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT,
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INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM, PCA, SAARC, UN, UNCTAD,
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UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
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Diplomatic representation: Ambassador W. Susanta De ALWIS; Chancery
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at 2148 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 483-4025
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through 4028; there is a Sri Lankan Consulate in New York;
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US--Ambassador Marion V. CREEKMORE, Jr.; Embassy at 210 Galle Road,
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Colombo 3 (mailing address is P. O. Box 106, Colombo); telephone 94 (1)
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448007
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Flag: yellow with two panels; the smaller hoist-side panel has two
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equal vertical bands of green (hoist side) and orange; the other panel is
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a large dark red rectangle with a yellow lion holding a sword and there
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is a yellow bo leaf in each corner; the yellow field appears as a border
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that goes around the entire flag and extends between the two panels
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ECONOMY
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Overview: Agriculture, forestry, and fishing dominate the economy,
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employing about 45% of the labor force and accounting for 26% of
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GDP. The plantation crops of tea, rubber, and coconuts provide about 35%
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of export earnings. The economy has been plagued by high rates of
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unemployment since the late 1970s. Economic growth, which has been
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depressed by ethnic unrest, accelerated in 1990 as domestic conditions
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began to improve.
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GDP: $6.6 billion, per capita $380; real growth rate 4.5% (1990
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est.)
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Inflation rate (consumer prices): 23% (1990)
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Unemployment rate: 20% (1990 est.)
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Budget: revenues $1.7 billion; expenditures $2.2 billion,
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including capital expenditures of $0.5 billion (1990)
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Exports: $1.6 billion (f.o.b., 1989);
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commodities--tea, textiles and garments, petroleum products,
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coconut, rubber, agricultural products, gems and jewelry, marine
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products;
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partners--US 26%, FRG, Japan, UK, Belgium, Taiwan, Hong Kong, China
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Imports: $2.2 billion (c.i.f., 1989);
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commodities--food and beverages, textiles and textile materials,
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petroleum, machinery and equipment;
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partners--Japan, Saudi Arabia, US 5.6%, India, Singapore, FRG, UK,
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Iran
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External debt: $5.6 billion (1989)
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Industrial production: growth rate 6% (1989 est.); accounts for
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18% of GDP
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Electricity: 1,300,000 kW capacity; 4,200 million kWh produced,
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240 kWh per capita (1990)
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Industries: processing of rubber, tea, coconuts, and other
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agricultural commodities; cement, petroleum refining, textiles, tobacco,
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clothing
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Agriculture: accounts for 26% of GDP and nearly half of labor
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force; most important staple crop is paddy rice; other field
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crops--sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseeds, roots, spices; cash
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crops--tea, rubber, coconuts; animal products--milk, eggs, hides, meat;
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not self-sufficient in rice production
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Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $1.0
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billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
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(1980-88), $4.9 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $169 million;
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Communist countries (1970-89), $369 million
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Currency: Sri Lankan rupee (plural--rupees);
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1 Sri Lankan rupee (SLRe) = 100 cents
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Exchange rates: Sri Lankan rupees (SLRs) per US$1--40.272 (January
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1991), 40.063 (1990), 36.047 (1989), 31.807 (1988), 29.445 (1987), 28.017
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(1986), 27.163 (1985)
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Fiscal year: calendar year
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COMMUNICATIONS
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Railroads: 1,948 km total (1989); all 1.868-meter broad gauge;
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102 km double track; no electrification; government owned
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Highways: 75,263 km total (1988); 27,637 km paved (mostly
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bituminous treated), 32,887 km crushed stone or gravel, 14,739 km
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improved earth or unimproved earth; several thousand km of mostly
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unmotorable tracks (1988 est.)
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Inland waterways: 430 km; navigable by shallow-draft craft
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Pipelines: crude and refined products, 62 km (1987)
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Ports: Colombo, Trincomalee
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Merchant marine: 34 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 364,466
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GRT/551,686 DWT; includes 18 cargo, 6 refrigerated cargo, 5 container,
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2 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 3 bulk
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Civil air: 8 major transport (including 1 leased)
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Airports: 14 total, 13 usable; 12 with permanent-surface runways;
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none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
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7 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
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Telecommunications: good international service; 114,000 telephones
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(1982); stations--12 AM, 5 FM, 5 TV; submarine cables extend to
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Indonesia and Djibouti; 2 Indian Ocean INTELSAT earth stations
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DEFENSE FORCES
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Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Police Force
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Manpower availability: males 15-49, 4,636,767; 3,625,289 fit for
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military service; 178,010 reach military age (18) annually
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Defense expenditures: $300 million, 5% of GDP (1991)
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