Sri Lanka is an island of no great size, yet it has an extraordinary number of facets. As Sir Arthur C Clarke remarked: “The Island of Sri Lanka is a small universe; it contains as many variations of culture, scenery, and climate as some countries a dozen times its size . . . I find it hard to believe that there is any country which scores so highly in all departments – which has so many advantages and so few disadvantages.” Lovely beaches, beautiful landscapes, impressive ruins, a vibrant culture and charming people.
In brief
Official name: Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
Government type: republic
Location: Latitude 5° 55. to 9° 50. north, longitude 79° 42. to 81° 52., 650km north of the equator
Dimensions: 430km north to south, 225km east to west
Coastline: 1,340km
Area: 65,525km2
Currency (code): Sri Lankan rupee (LKR)
Independence: 4 February 1948
Administrative capital: Sri Jayewardenepura
Commercial capital: Colombo
Climate: Typically tropical, with a northeast monsoon (December to March) bringing rain and wet weather to the north and east, and a southwest monsoon (June to October) bringing rain and wet weather to the south and west
Terrain: Mostly low, flat to rolling plain; mountains in south-central interior
Highest mountain: Pidurutalagala, 2,524m
Highest waterfall: Bambarakanda, 263m
National Flower: The Sky Blue Water Lily (Nymphaea Nouchali).
National parks and nature reserves area: 8,000sq.km
Population: 21,128,773
Population Density: 309 people per sq km
Life Expectancy at Birth: 74 female, 64 male
Literacy rate: Female 87.9 Male 92.5
Ethnic groups: Sinhalese 73.8%, Sri Lankan Moors 7.2%, Indian Tamil 4.6%, Sri Lankan Tamil 3.9%, other 0.5%, unspecified 10% (2001 census)
Languages: Sinhala (official and national language) 74%, Tamil (national language) 18%, other 8%
Note: English (a link language commonly) is used in government and spoken competently by about 10% of the population
Religion: Buddhist 69.1%, Muslim 7.6%, Hindu 7.1%, Christian 6.2%, unspecified 10% (2001 census)
Time zone: Sri Lanka Standard Time is five and a half hours ahead of GMT. (Allowance should be made for summer-time changes in Europe.)
International dialing: +94
Electricity: 230, 240 volts, 50 cycles AC. If you travel with a laptop computer bring a stabilizer