Sri Lanka is an Island famous for its 1,600 km of unspoilt, golden beaches. It's a paradise Island shaped like a tear drop in the Indian Ocean. Formerly known as Ceylon and famous for its wonderful Tea, Sri Lanka is a vibrant country with an incredible history. It's a country of 20 million people; rich in its diversity of culture, race, language and religion.
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Government | Sri Lanka is a free, independent and sovereign nation with a population of 20,926,315 million (July 2007 est.). Legislative power is exercised by a Parliament, elected by universal franchise on proportional representation basis. A President, who is also elected by the people, exercises executive power inclusive of defence. Sri Lanka enjoys a multi party system, and the people vote to elect a new government every six years. |
Life Expectancy at Birth | 74 female, 64 male |
Literacy rate | 91.8% |
Languages | Sinhala, Tamil and English are widely spoken throughout Sri Lanka, with the exception of remote villages where it might be Sinhala only or Tamil only |
Ethnic Groups | Sinhalese- 74 per cent; Tamil- 18 per cent; Muslim -7 per cent; Burgher (descendants of Dutch and Portuguese colonist) and others- 1 per cent |
Religions | Buddhism- 70 per cent; Hinduism- 16 per cent; Christianity- 7 per cent; Islam-7 per cent |
Climate |
Low Lands – tropical, average 27C Central Hills – cooler, with temperatures dropping to 10C. The south-west monsoon brings rain to the western, southern and central regions from May to July, while the north-eastern monsoon is from December t0 January. Sri Lanka climate is ideal for holiday-makers throughout the year. |
GDP per capita PPP | US$ 4100 |
Industries | Processing of rubber, tea, coconuts, and other agricultural commodities; clothing, cement, petroleum refining, textiles, tobacco. |
Agriculture - Products | Rice, sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseed, roots, spices, tea, rubber, coconuts; milk, eggs, hides, meat. |
Currency | Sri Lankan Rupee. Current Exchange Rate against leading currencies: Click Here |
Time Difference | Sri Lanka is 5 hrs. ahead of Greenwich Mean Time. |
Banking hours | 0900 hrs. to 1500 hrs., Mon-Fri. |
Credit Cards | All the major credit and charge cards are widely accepted. |
Electricity | Voltage : 230 – 240 volts 50 Cycles A.C. |
Food | Many races have contributed to Sri Lanka's culinary diversity - Indians, Arabs, Portuguese, Dutch, British Malays, Chinese ..... as you can imagine the range of foods is immense! |
What to Wear | All-year-round wear should be light cotton, drip-dry dresses and light-weight suits, Comfortable shoes or sandals, a wide-brimmed beach hat and sun glasses. However, in the hill country temperatures can drop to as low as 10’C |
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