Sri Lankan Muslims
CIA Factbook 1999
[Country Listing] [Factbook Home Page]
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Sri Lanka |
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Sri Lanka
Location: Southern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean,
south of India
Geographic
coordinates: 7 00 N, 81 00
E
Map
references: Asia
Area:
total: 65,610 sq km
land: 64,740 sq km
water: 870 sq km
Area—comparative:
slightly larger than West Virginia
Land
boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 1,340 km
Maritime
claims:
contiguous zone: 24 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: tropical monsoon; northeast monsoon
(December to March); southwest monsoon (June to October)
Terrain: mostly low, flat to rolling plain;
mountains in south-central interior
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pidurutalagala 2,524 m
Natural resources: limestone, graphite, mineral sands, gems,
phosphates, clay
Land use:
arable land: 14%
permanent crops: 15%
permanent pastures: 7%
forests and woodland: 32%
other: 32% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land:
5,500 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural
hazards: occasional
cyclones and tornadoes
Environment—current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; wildlife
populations threatened by poaching; coastal degradation from mining activities
and increased pollution; freshwater resources being polluted by industrial
wastes and sewage runoff
Environment—international
agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear
Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation
Geography—note: strategic location near major Indian Ocean
sea lanes
Population: 19,144,875 (July 1999 est.)
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; as of late 1996, 63,068 were housed in refugee camps in
south India, another 30,000-40,000 lived outside the Indian camps, and more
than 200,000 Tamils have sought political asylum in the West
Age structure:
0-14 years: 27% (male 2,650,135; female 2,535,092)
15-64 years: 67% (male 6,231,987; female 6,500,782)
65 years and over: 6% (male 592,539; female 634,340) (1999 est.)
Population
growth rate: 1.1% (1999
est.)
Birth
rate: 18.16 births/1,000
population (1999 est.)
Death
rate: 6.02 deaths/1,000
population (1999 est.)
Net
migration rate: -1.13
migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Sex
ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.93 male(s)/female
total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (1999 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 16.12 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 72.67 years
male: 69.89 years
female: 75.59 years (1999 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.1 children born/woman (1999 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Sri Lankan(s)
adjective: Sri Lankan
Ethnic
groups: Sinhalese 74%,
Tamil 18%, Moor 7%, Burgher, Malay, and Vedda 1%
Religions: Buddhist 69%, Hindu 15%, Christian 8%,
Muslim 8%
Languages: Sinhala (official and national language)
74%, Tamil (national language) 18%
note: English is commonly used in government and is spoken by about 10%
of the population
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 90.2%
male: 93.4%
female: 87.2% (1995 est.)
Country name:
conventional long form: Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
conventional short form: Sri Lanka
former: Ceylon
Data
code: CE
Government
type: republic
Capital: Colombo
Administrative divisions: 8 provinces; Central, North Central, North
Eastern, North Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Uva, Western
Independence: 4 February 1948 (from UK)
National
holiday: Independence and
National Day, 4 February (1948)
Constitution: adopted 16 August 1978
Legal system: a highly complex mixture of English common
law, Roman-Dutch, Muslim, Sinhalese, and customary law; has not accepted
compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA (since 12
November 1994); note—Sirimavo BANDARANAIKE is the prime minister; in Sri Lanka
the president is considered to be both the chief of state and the head of the
government, this is in contrast to the more common practice of dividing the
roles between the president and the prime minister when both offices exist
head of government: President Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA (since
12 November 1994); note—Sirimavo BANDARANAIKE is the prime minister; in Sri
Lanka the president is considered to be both the chief of state and the head of
the government, this is in contrast to the more common practice of dividing the
roles between the president and the prime minister when both offices exist
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president in consultation with the
prime minister
elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term;
election last held 9 November 1994 (next to be held NA November 2000)
election results: Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA elected president;
percent of vote—Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA (People's Alliance) 62%,
Srima DISSANAYAKE (United National Party) 37%, other 1%
Legislative branch: unicameral Parliament (225 seats; members
elected by popular vote on the basis of a modified proportional representation
system to serve six-year terms)
elections: last held 16 August 1994 (next to be held by August 2000)
election results: percent of vote by party—PA 49.0%, UNP 44.0%, SLMC
1.8%, TULF 1.7%, SLPF 1.1%, EPDP 0.3%, UPF 0.3%, PLOTE 0.1%, other 1.7%; seats
by party—PA 105, UNP 94, EPDP 9, SLMC 7, TULF 5, PLOTE 3, SLPF 1, UPF 1
Judicial branch: Supreme Court, judges are appointed by the
Judicial Service Commission; Court of Appeals
Political parties and leaders: All Ceylon Tamil Congress or ACTC [C. G.
Kumar PONNAMBALAM (assassinated)]; Ceylon Workers Congress or CLDC [S. THONDAMAN
(deceased)]; Communist Party [K. P. SILVA]; Communist Party/Beijing or CP/B [N.
SHANMUGATHASAN]; Democratic People's Liberation Front or DPLF [leader NA];
Democratic United National (Lalith) Front or DUNLF [Srimani ATHULATHMUDALI];
Eelam People's Democratic Party or EPDP [Douglas DEVANANDA]; Eelam People's
Revolutionary Liberation Front or EPRL [Suresh PREMACHANDRAN]; Eelam
Revolutionary Organization of Students or EROS [Shankar RAJI]; Janatha Vimukthi
Peramuna or JVP [Somawansa AMERASINGHE]; Lanka Socialist Party/Trotskyite or
LSSP (Lanka Sama Samaja Party) [Batty WEERAKOON]; Liberal Party or LP [Rajira
WIJESINGHE]; New Socialist Party or NSSP (Nava Sama Samaja Party) [Vasudeva
NANAYAKKARA]; People's Alliance or PA [Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA];
People's Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam or PLOTE [Uma MAHESWARAN];
People's United Front or MEP (Mahajana Eksath Peramuna) [Dinesh GUNAWARDENE];
Sri Lanka Freedom Party or SLFP [Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA]; Sri Lanka
Muslim Congress or SLMC [M. H. M. ASHRAFF (deceased), RAUFF HAKEEM/Mrs. FERIAL
ASHRAFF]; Sri Lanka People's Party or SLMP (Sri Lanka Mahajana Party) [Y. P. DE
SILVA]; Sri Lanka Progressive Front or SLPF [Ariya BULEGODA]; Tamil Eelam
Liberation Organization or TELO [M. K. SIVAJILINGHAM]; Tamil United Liberation
Front or TULF [M. SIVASITHAMBARAM]; United National Party or UNP [Ranil
WICHREMESINGHE]; Upcountry People's Front or UPF [Periyasamy CHANDRASEKARAN];
Desha Vimukthi Janatha Party or DVJP [P.M. Podi APPUHAMY]; several ethnic Tamil
and Muslim parties, represented in either parliament or provincial councils
Political pressure groups and
leaders: Liberation Tigers
of Tamil Eelam or LTTE; other radical chauvinist Sinhalese groups; Buddhist
clergy; Sinhalese Buddhist lay groups; labor unions
International organization
participation: AsDB, C,
CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD,
IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO,
ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), OPCW, PCA, SAARC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNU,
UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the
US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Warnasena RASAPUTRAM
chancery: 2148 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 483-4025 through 4028
FAX: [1] (202) 232-7181
consulate(s): New York
Diplomatic representation from
the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Shaun E. DONNELLY
embassy: 210 Galle Road, Colombo 3
mailing address: P. O. Box 106, Colombo
telephone: [94] (1) 448007
FAX: [94] (1) 437345, 446013
Flag description: 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 that goes around the entire flag and extends between the two panels
Economy—overview: 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 industries now are food
processing, textiles and apparel, food and beverages, telecommunications, and
insurance and banking. By 1996 plantation crops made up only 20% of exports
(compared with 93% in 1970), while textiles and garments accounted for 63%. GDP
grew at an annual average rate of 5.5% throughout the 1990s until a drought and
a deteriorating security situation lowered growth to 3.8% in 1996. The economy
rebounded in 1997-98 with growth of 6.4% and 4.7%. For the next round of
reforms, the central bank of Sri Lanka recommends that Colombo expand market
mechanisms in nonplantation agriculture, dismantle the government's monopoly on
wheat imports, and promote more competition in the financial sector. A
continuing cloud over the economy is the fighting between the Sinhalese and the
minority Tamils, which has cost 50,000 lives in the past 15 years. The global
slowdown will temper growth in 1999.
GDP: purchasing power parity—$48.1 billion (1998
est.)
GDP—real
growth rate: 4.7% (1998
est.)
GDP—per
capita: purchasing power
parity—$2,500 (1998 est.)
GDP—composition
by sector:
agriculture: 18%
industry: 31%
services: 51% (1997)
Population below poverty line: 35.3% (1990-91 est.)
Household income or consumption
by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 3.8%
highest 10%: 25.2% (1990)
Inflation
rate (consumer prices):
9.3% (1998)
Labor
force: 6.2 million (1997)
Labor
force—by occupation:
services 46%, agriculture 37%, industry 17% (1997 est.)
Unemployment
rate: 11% (1997 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $3 billion
expenditures: $4.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $1 billion
(1997 est.)
Industries: processing of rubber, tea, coconuts, and
other agricultural commodities; clothing, cement, petroleum refining, textiles,
tobacco
Industrial
production growth rate:
6.5% (1996 est.)
Electricity—production: 5.05 billion kWh (1996)
Electricity—production by
source:
fossil fuel: 4.95%
hydro: 95.05%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1996)
Electricity—consumption: 5.05 billion kWh (1996)
Electricity—exports: 0 kWh (1996)
Electricity—imports: 0 kWh (1996)
Agriculture—products: rice, sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseed,
spices, tea, rubber, coconuts; milk, eggs, hides, beef
Exports: $4.5 billion (f.o.b., 1998)
Exports—commodities: textiles and apparel, tea, diamonds and
other gems, coconut products, rubber products, petroleum products (1997)
Exports—partners: US 36%, UK 11%, Japan 6%, Germany 5%,
Belgium-Luxembourg 4% (1997)
Imports: $5.3 billion (f.o.b., 1998)
Imports—commodities: machinery and equipment, textiles,
petroleum, building materials, sugar (1997)
Imports—partners: India 10%, Japan 9%, South Korea 8%, Hong
Kong 7%, Taiwan 7% (1997)
Debt—external: $8.8 billion (1998)
Economic
aid—recipient: $559.3
million (1995)
Currency: 1 Sri Lankan rupee (SLRe) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: Sri Lankan rupees (SLRes) per US$1—67.948
(January 1999), 64.593 (1998), 58.995 (1997), 55.271 (1996), 51.252 (1995),
49.415 (1994)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Telephones: 352,681 (1997 est.); 114,888 cellular
telephone subscribers (1997 est.)
Telephone system: very inadequate domestic service, but
expanding with the entry of two wireless loop operators and privatization of
national telephone company; good international service
domestic: NA
international: submarine cables to Indonesia and Djibouti; satellite
earth stations—2 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)
Radio
broadcast stations: AM 12,
FM 5, shortwave 0
Radios: 3.6 million (1996 est.)
Television
broadcast stations: 21 (19
network stations, two low-power stations) (1997)
Televisions: 1.6 million (1996 est.)
Railways:
total: 1,501 km
broad gauge: 1,442 km 1.676-m gauge
narrow gauge: 59 km 0.762-m gauge (1995)
Highways:
total: 99,200 km
paved: 39,680 km
unpaved: 59,520 km (1996 est.)
Waterways: 430 km; navigable by shallow-draft craft
Pipelines: crude oil and petroleum products 62 km
(1987)
Ports
and harbors: Colombo,
Galle, Jaffna, Trincomalee
Merchant marine:
total: 22 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 178,867 GRT/276,363 DWT
ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 14, container 1, oil tanker 1, refrigerated
cargo 5 (1998 est.)
Airports: 13 (1998 est.)
Airports—with paved runways:
total: 12
over 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 5
914 to 1,523 m: 6 (1998 est.)
Airports—with unpaved runways:
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (1998 est.)
Military
branches: Army, Navy, Air
Force, Police Force
Military
manpower—military age: 18
years of age
Military manpower—availability:
males age 15-49: 5,223,590 (1999 est.)
Military manpower—fit for
military service:
males age 15-49: 4,062,758 (1999 est.)
Military manpower—reaching
military age annually:
males: 199,196 (1999 est.)
Military
expenditures—dollar figure:
$719 million (1998)
Military
expenditures—percent of GDP:
4.2% (1998)
Disputes—international: none