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Sri Lanka Facts and Figures from Encarta Go to article
Basic Facts
Official name
Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
Capital
Sri Jayawardenepura (legislative capital)
Colombo (administrative capital)
Area 65,610 sq km
25,332 sq mi
Sri Lanka: Flag and Anthem
Sri Lanka: Flag and Anthem
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People
Population 20,926,315 (2007 estimate)
Population growth
Population growth rate 0.98 percent (2007 estimate)
Projected population in 2025 23,707,228 (2007 estimate)
Projected population in 2050 24,920,558 (2007 estimate)
Population density 323 persons per sq km (2007 estimate)
837 persons per sq mi (2007 estimate)
Urban/rural distribution
Share urban 21 percent (2005 estimate)
Share rural 79 percent (2005 estimate)
Largest cities, with population
Colombo 642,163 (2001)
Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia 209,787 (2001)
Jaffna 145,600 (1997 estimate)
Sri Jayawardenepura 115,826 (2001)
Kandy 110,049 (2001)
Ethnic groups
Sinhalese 74 percent
Tamil 18 percent
Moor (Arab) 7 percent
Burgher (Dutch), Malay, Vedda 1 percent
Languages
Sinhala (official) 74 percent
Tamil 18 percent
Note: English is widely used as a second language.
Religious affiliations
Buddhist 69 percent
Hindu 15 percent
Christian 8 percent
Muslim 8 percent
Health and Education
Life expectancy
Total 74.8 years (2007 estimate)
Female 76.9 years (2007 estimate)
Male 72.8 years (2007 estimate)
Infant mortality rate 19 deaths per 1,000 live births (2007 estimate)
Population per physician 2,335 people (2004)
Population per hospital bed 455 people (1999)
Literacy rate
Total 92.8 percent (2005 estimate)
Female 90.6 percent (2005 estimate)
Male 95 percent (2005 estimate)
Education expenditure as a share of gross national product (GNP) 1.3 percent (2001-2002)
Number of years of compulsory schooling 9 years (2002-2003)
Number of students per teacher, primary school 23 students per teacher (2002-2003)
Government
Form of government Republic
Voting qualifications Universal at age 18
Constitution 7 September 1978
Armed forces
Total number of military personnel 111,000 (2004)
Military expenditures as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) 2.8 percent (2003)
Economy
Gross domestic product (GDP, in U.S.$) $23.5 billion (2005)
GDP per capita (U.S.$) $1,196.40 (2005)
GDP by economic sector
Agriculture, forestry, fishing 16.8 percent (2005)
Industry 26.1 percent (2005)
Services 57.1 percent (2005)
Employment
Number of workers 8,402,256 (2005)
Workforce share of economic sector
Agriculture, forestry, fishing 34 percent (2003)
Industry 23 percent (2003)
Services 39 percent (2003)
Unemployment rate 9 percent (2003)
National budget (U.S.$)
Total revenue $4,929 million (2005)
Total expenditure $3,778 million (2005)
Monetary unit
1 Sri Lanka rupee (SLRe), consisting of 100 cents
Major trade partners for exports
United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, and United Arab Emirates
Major trade partners for imports
India, Hong Kong SAR, Singapore, Japan, and South Korea
Energy, Communications, and Transportation
Electricity production
Electricity from thermal sources 59.72 percent (2003 estimate)
Electricity from hydroelectric sources 40.23 percent (2003 estimate)
Electricity from nuclear sources 0 percent (2003 estimate)
Electricity from geothermal, solar, and wind sources 0.05 percent (2003 estimate)
Number of radios per 1,000 people 211 (1997)
Number of telephones per 1,000 people 63 (2005)
Number of televisions per 1,000 people 108 (2000 estimate)
Number of Internet hosts per 10,000 people 0.98 (2003)
Daily newspaper circulation per 1,000 people 29 (1996)
Number of motor vehicles per 1,000 people 34 (2002)
Paved road as a share of total roads 81 percent (2003)
Sources
Basic Facts and People sections
Area data are from the statistical bureaus of individual countries. Population, population growth rate, and population projections are from the United States Census Bureau, International Programs Center, International Data Base (IDB) (www.census.gov). Urban and rural population data are from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN), FAOSTAT database (www.fao.org). Largest cities population data and political divisions data are from the statistical bureaus of individual countries. Ethnic divisions and religion data are largely from the latest Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook and from various country censuses and reports. Language data are largely from the Ethnologue, Languages of the World, Summer Institute of Linguistics International (www.sil.org).
Health and Education section
Life expectancy and infant mortality data are from the United States Census Bureau, International Programs Center, International database (IDB) (www.census.gov). Population per physician and population per hospital bed data are from the World Health Organization (WHO) (www.who.int). Education data are from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) database (www.unesco.org).
Government section
Government, independence, legislature, constitution, highest court, and voting qualifications data are largely from various government Web sites, the latest Europa World Yearbook, and the latest Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook. The armed forces data is from Military Balance.
Economy section
Gross domestic product (GDP), GDP per capita, GDP by economic sectors, employment, and national budget data are from the World Bank database (www.worldbank.org). Monetary unit, agriculture, mining, manufacturing, exports, imports, and major trade partner information is from the statistical bureaus of individual countries, latest Europa World Yearbook, and various United Nations and International Monetary Fund (IMF) publications.
Energy, Communication, and Transportation section
Electricity information is from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) database (www.eia.doe.gov). Radio, telephone, television, and newspaper information is from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) database (www.unesco.org). Internet hosts, motor vehicles, and road data are from the World Bank database (www.worldbank.org).
Note
Figures may not total 100 percent due to rounding.
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