Sri Lanka at a Glance
Warm welcome to Sri Lanka or "Ayubowan" the traditional way of greeting in Sri Lanka, meaning “You May Live Long “.
Known as “Isle of Serendipity”, “Jewel in the Indian Ocean”, “Teardrop of India” mainly in the ancient times even before falling the control of Sri Lanka into Portuguese, Dutch & British for centuries - 150 years of each approximately. Sri Lanka has still kept its unique identity.
This paradise Island with charming beauty in every corner & rich in history has almost every thing on this plant to offer to the tourists of all ages such as white velvet sandy beaches, cool climates, rolling hills carpeted with the best tea in the world, grand ruins of ancient kingdoms in cultural heritage sites, jungle safaris, water & adventure sports, spiritual & self healing, explore the precious gem mines and much more...all are within a few miles apart.
| Official Name | : Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka |
| Location | : Latitude 5° 55. to 9° 50. north, longitude 79° 42. to 81° 52., 650km north of the equator |
| Terrain | : Mostly low, flat to rolling plain; mountains in south-central interior |
| Dimension | : 430km North to South, 225km East to West |
| Area | : 65,525km² |
| Coastline | : 1,340km |
| Population | : 21,324,791 (2008 census ) |
| Administrative Capital | : Sri Jayewardenepura-Kotte |
| Commercial Capital | : Colombo |
| Airports | : International:- 1 ( Colombo Bandaranaike International Airport ) Domestic:- 7 |
| Currency (Code) | : = Sri Lankan Rupees (LKR) |
| Exchange rate | : = LKR 169.00 equivalent to US$ 01.00 (average ) |
| Business Hours | : Government offices:- 09 00 hrs – 16 00 hrs Banks :- 09 00 hrs- 13 00 hrs, some city banks close at 15 00 hrs |
| Official Weekly Holidays | : Saturday & Sunday |
| International Calling Code | :+94 |
| Independence | : 4th February 1948 |
Flag
Emblem
| Administrative Divisions | : 9 Provinces as follows |
Administrative Divisions & its Capitals of Sri Lanka
| Province | Capital |
|---|---|
| Central | Kandy |
| Eastern | Trincomalee |
| North Central | Anuradhapura |
| Northern | Jaffna |
| North Western | Kurunegala |
| Sabaragamuwa | Ratnapura |
| Southern | Galle |
| Uva | Badulla |
| Western | Colombo |
| Climate | : Typically tropical, with a Northeast Monsoon (December to March) bringing unsettled weather to the North and East, and a Southwest Monsoon (June to October) bringing bad weather to the South and West |
| National Parks & Nature | |
| Reserves | : 8,000sq.km |
| 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 |
| Literacy rate | : Female 87.9 & Male 92.5 |
| Religions | : 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. (+5.5 ) |
| Electricity | : 230 . 240 volts, 50 cycles AC. If you travel with a laptop computer bring a Stabilizer |
| National Flower | : The Blue Water Lily ( Nymphaea stellata ) |
| Highest Mountain | : Pidurutalagala, 2,524m |
| Highest Waterfall | : Bambarakanda, 263m |
| Economy | : Sri Lanka’s most dynamic sectors are food processing, textiles and apparel, food and beverages, port construction, telecommunications, and insurance and banking |
| Agriculture & Products | : Rice, sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseed, spices, tea, rubber, coconutsm milk, eggs, hides, beef, fish |
| Industries | : Processing of rubber, tea, coconuts, tobacco and other agricultural Commodities; telecommunications, insurance, banking; clothing, textiles; cement, petroleum refining. |
| Exports | : Textiles and apparel; tea and spices; diamonds, emeralds, rubies; coconut products, rubber manufactures, fish. |
| Imports | : Main import commodities are textile fabrics, mineral products, petroleum, foodstuffs, machinery and transportation equipment: |