Sri Lanka

Formal Name:

 Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka

Location and Area:

 65,606 square kilometers sized island off the south eastern coast of India

Climate:

 Due to the closer to the equator, the temperature is about 28°C as like as the summer, and the rainfall between 128-332 cm.

Independence Day:

 4th Febuary

Popular & Religion:

 The population is about 19.7 million estimated in 2003. The ethnic group: Sinhalese 74%, Tamil 18%, Moor(Muslims) 7%. Most of the Sinhalese is Theravada Buddhist.

Language:

 The official language is Sinhala, and Tamil also is the popular language. English is widely spoken in government and the upper level classes.

Administrative Divisions:

 Sri lanka are 8 province and 25 region. Sri Jayewardenapura, Kotte is the Legislative Capital, Colombo is Commercial Capital, most of the commercial and industrial activities are centralized there.

Brief History:

 The Sinhalese, probably from northern India, arrived in Sri Lanka late in the 6th century B.C., and a great civilization developed at the cities of Anuradhapura (kingdom from circa 200 B.C. to circa 1000 A.D.) and Polonnaruwa (from about 1070 to 1200). Occupied by the Portuguese in the 16th century and by the Dutch in the 17th century, the island was ceded to the British in 1796, became a crown colony in 1802. It became independent in 4th Feb., 1948; its name was changed to Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka in 16th Aug., 1978.

Economy Overviews:

Sri Lanka has been pursuing free market policies since 1977; the progressive liberalization of the economy has resulted in a business friendly environment.

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 average annual rate of 5.5% in the early 1990s until a drought and a deteriorating security situation lowered growth to 3.8% in 1996. The economy rebounded in 1997-2000 with average growth of 5.3%, but 2001 saw the first contraction in the country's history, -1.4%, due to a combination of power shortages, severe budgetary problems, the global slowdown, and continuing civil strife. GDP reached $73.7 billion in 2002, growth recovered to 3.2%. The most dynamic sectors now are food processing, textiles and apparel, food and beverages, telecommunications, and insurance and banking etc. Most of the Industries are located in Colombo.