KEY FACTS
Joined Commonwealth: 1948
Population: 21,098,000 (2012)
GDP p.c. growth: 4.5% p.a. 1990–2012
UN HDI 2012: world ranking 92
Official languages: Sinhala, Tamil
Time: GMT plus 5:30hr
Currency: Sri Lanka rupee (SLRs)
Geography
Area: 65,610 sq km
Coastline: 1,340 km
Capital: Colombo
The Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) is an island in the Indian Ocean, separated from south-east India (Tamil Nadu state) by the Palk Strait. It is almost linked to the Indian mainland by Adam’s Bridge, an atoll barrier, mostly submerged, lying between the offshore island of Mannar and India itself. The country comprises nine provinces (from south to north): Southern (provincial capital Galle), Sabaragamuwa (Ratnapura), Western (Colombo), Uva (Badulla), Eastern (Trincomalee), Central (Kandy), North-Western (Kurunegala), North-Central (Anuradhapura) and Northern (Jaffna).
Main towns:
Colombo (commercial capital; Western Province; pop. 685,200 in 2010), Dehiwala–Mount Lavinia (greater Colombo, 234,600), Moratuwa (greater Colombo, 204,800), Negombo (145,000), Sri Jayewardenepura–Kotte (administrative capital; greater Colombo, 126,900), Trincomalee (Eastern, 126,900), Kandy (Central, 120,100), Vavuniya (108,800), Kalmunai (105,000), Galle (Southern, 97,800), Batticaloa (97,600), Katunayaka (92,500), Battaramulla (greater Colombo, 85,300), Jaffna (Northern, 84,400), Dambulla (77,100), Maharagama (greater Colombo, 75,100), Daluguma (74,400), Anuradhapura (North-Central, 68,200), Chavakachcheri (54,500), Ratnapura (Sabaragamuwa, 51,200), Badulla (Uva, 47,300), Point Pedro (40,000), Valvettithurai (34,700) and Kurunegala (North-Western, 29,100).
Society
KEY FACTS 2012
Population per sq km: 322
Life expectancy: 74 years
Net primary enrolment: 94%
Population:
21,098,000 (2012); 15 per cent of people live in urban areas; growth 0.9 per cent p.a. 1990–2012; birth rate 18 per 1,000 people (31 in 1970); life expectancy 74 years (43 in 1946 and 64 in 1970). The largest ethnic group is Sinhalese (estimated at 74 per cent of the population), followed by Sri Lankan Tamils (12 per cent), Muslims (seven per cent), Indian Tamils (five per cent), and small communities of Malays and Burghers (persons of Dutch or partly Dutch descent) and a small number of Veddhas, descended from the earliest inhabitants. Sinhalese settlers arrived in the 5th and 6th centuries BCE. Sri Lankan Tamils settled mainly from the tenth century onwards. Indian Tamils arrived later, brought in by the British in the 19th century as labour for the plantations. Some Indian Tamils were repatriated from 1964, and since 1988 all remaining Indian Tamils have attained Sri Lankan citizenship. The Muslims are mostly descendants of Arab traders, and the Burghers descendants of European settlers of the 17th century onwards.
Language:
The official languages are Sinhala and Tamil. English is used in commerce and government and very widely understood.
Education:
Public spending on education was two per cent of GDP in 2011. There are nine years of compulsory education starting at the age of five. Primary school comprises five years and secondary eight, with two cycles of four years. Some 97 per cent of pupils complete primary school (2010). The school year starts in January. The University Grants Commission (UGC) recognises 15 public universities and 17 higher education institutes, and there are four other public universities that come under other departments of government (2013). Leading universities include the University of Colombo, which was established – as University of Ceylon – in 1942 when the Ceylon Medical College (founded 1870) and Ceylon University College (1921) were merged; University of Kelaniya; University of Peradeniya; and Open University of Sri Lanka, which provides courses through distance learning. Technical colleges offer courses up to diploma level in engineering and business. The female–male ratio for gross enrolment in tertiary education is 1.80:1 (2011). Literacy among people aged 15–24 is 98 per cent (2010). In 1980 Sri Lanka hosted the Eighth Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers in Colombo. Commonwealth Education concern and interest.
