Aruba (2001) | Sri Lanka (2007) | |
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Administrative divisions | none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands) | 8 provinces; Central, North Central, North Eastern, North Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Uva, Western
note: in October 2006, the Sri Lankan Supreme Court ruled voided a presidential directive merging the North and Eastern Provinces; many have defended the merger as a prerequisite for a negotiated settlement to the ethnic conflict; a parliamentary decision on the issue is pending |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
21.29% (male 7,709; female 7,193) 15-64 years: 68.52% (male 23,111; female 24,859) 65 years and over: 10.19% (male 2,954; female 4,181) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 24.3% (male 2,596,295/female 2,495,949)
15-64 years: 67.9% (male 6,947,310/female 7,259,271) 65 years and over: 7.8% (male 765,507/female 861,983) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | aloes; livestock; fish | rice, sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseed, spices, tea, rubber, coconuts; milk, eggs, hides, beef; fish |
Airports | 1 (2000 est.) | 18 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 14
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 7 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 4
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 3 (2007) |
Area | total:
193 sq km land: 193 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 65,610 sq km
land: 64,740 sq km water: 870 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Washington, DC | slightly larger than West Virginia |
Background | Discovered and claimed for Spain in 1499, Aruba was acquired by the Dutch in 1636. The island's economy has been dominated by three main industries. A 19th century gold rush was followed by prosperity brought on by the opening in 1924 of an oil refinery. The last decades of the 20th century saw a boom in the tourism industry. Aruba seceded from the Netherlands Antilles in 1986 and became a separate, autonomous member of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Movement toward full independence was halted at Aruba's request in 1990. | The Sinhalese arrived in Sri Lanka late in the 6th century B.C. probably from northern India. Buddhism was introduced beginning in about the mid-third century B.C., and a great civilization developed at the cities of Anuradhapura (kingdom from circa 200 B.C. to circa A.D. 1000) and Polonnaruwa (from about 1070 to 1200). In the 14th century, a south Indian dynasty seized power in the north and established a Tamil kingdom. 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, and was united under British rule by 1815. As Ceylon, it became independent in 1948; its name was changed to Sri Lanka in 1972. Tensions between the Sinhalese majority and Tamil separatists erupted into war in 1983. Tens of thousands have died in the ethnic conflict that continues to fester. After two decades of fighting, the government and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) formalized a cease-fire in February 2002 with Norway brokering peace negotiations. Violence between the LTTE and government forces intensified in 2006, but neither side has formally withdrawn from the cease-fire. |
Birth rate | 12.64 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 17 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$NA expenditures: $541 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $4.883 billion
expenditures: $6.827 billion (2006 est.) |
Capital | Oranjestad | name: Colombo
geographic coordinates: 6 56 N, 79 51 E time difference: UTC+5.5 (10.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) note: Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte (legislative capital) |
Climate | tropical marine; little seasonal temperature variation | tropical monsoon; northeast monsoon (December to March); southwest monsoon (June to October) |
Coastline | 68.5 km | 1,340 km |
Constitution | 1 January 1986 | adopted 16 August 1978, certified 31 August 1978 |
Country name | conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Aruba |
conventional long form: Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
conventional short form: Sri Lanka local long form: Shri Lamka Prajatantrika Samajaya di Janarajaya/Ilankai Jananayaka Choshalichak Kutiyarachu local short form: Shri Lamka/Ilankai former: Serendib, Ceylon |
Currency | Aruban guilder/florin (AWG) | - |
Death rate | 6.21 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 6.01 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $285 million (1996) | $12.16 billion (2006 est.) |
Dependency status | part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands; full autonomy in internal affairs obtained in 1986 upon separation from the Netherlands Antilles; Dutch Government responsible for defense and foreign affairs | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Consul General Barbara J. STEPHENSON embassy: J. B. Gorsiraweg #1, Curacao mailing address: P. O. Box 158, Willemstad, Curacao telephone: [599] (9) 461-3066 FAX: [599] (9) 461-6489 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Robert O. BLAKE, Jr.
embassy: 210 Galle Road, Colombo 3 mailing address: P. O. Box 106, Colombo telephone: [94] (11) 249-8500 FAX: [94] (11) 243-7345 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (represented by the Kingdom of the Netherlands) | chief of mission: Ambassador Bernard GOONETILLEKE
chancery: 2148 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 483-4025 (through 4028) FAX: [1] (202) 232-7181 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles consulate(s): New York |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $26 million (1995); note - the Netherlands provided a $127 million aid package to Aruba and Suriname in 1996 | $1.189 billion (2005) |
Economy - overview | Tourism is the mainstay of the Aruban economy, although offshore banking and oil refining and storage are also important. The rapid growth of the tourism sector over the last decade has resulted in a substantial expansion of other activities. Construction has boomed, with hotel capacity five times the 1985 level. In addition, the reopening of the country's oil refinery in 1993, a major source of employment and foreign exchange earnings, has further spurred growth. Aruba's small labor force and less than 1% unemployment rate have led to a large number of unfilled job vacancies, despite sharp rises in wage rates in recent years. | In 1977, Colombo abandoned statist economic policies and its import substitution trade policy for more market-oriented policies, export-oriented trade, and encouragement of foreign investment. Recent changes in government, however, have brought some policy reversals. Currently, the ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party has a more statist economic approach, which seeks to reduce poverty by steering investment to disadvantaged areas, developing small and medium enterprises, promoting agriculture, and expanding the already enormous civil service. The government has halted most privatizations. Although suffering a brutal civil war that began in 1983, Sri Lanka saw GDP growth average 4.5% in the last 10 years with the exception of a recession in 2001. In late December 2004, a major tsunami took about 31,000 lives, left more than 6,300 missing and 443,000 displaced, and destroyed an estimated $1.5 billion worth of property. Growth, partly spurred by reconstruction, reached 5% in 2005 and more than 6% in 2006. Sri Lanka's most dynamic sectors now are food processing, textiles and apparel, food and beverages, port construction, telecommunications, and insurance and banking. In 2005, plantation crops made up only about 15% of exports (compared with more than 90% in 1970), while textiles and garments accounted for more than 60%. About 800,000 Sri Lankans work abroad, 90% in the Middle East. They send home more than $1 billion a year. The struggle by the Tamil Tigers of the north and east for an independent homeland continues to cast a shadow over the economy. |
Electricity - consumption | 418.5 million kWh (1999) | 7.072 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 450 million kWh (1999) | 8.411 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Mount Jamanota 188 m |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pidurutalagala 2,524 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | deforestation; soil erosion; wildlife populations threatened by poaching and urbanization; coastal degradation from mining activities and increased pollution; freshwater resources being polluted by industrial wastes and sewage runoff; waste disposal; air pollution in Colombo |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation |
Ethnic groups | mixed white/Caribbean Amerindian 80% | Sinhalese 73.8%, Sri Lankan Moors 7.2%, Indian Tamil 4.6%, Sri Lankan Tamil 3.9%, other 0.5%, unspecified 10% (2001 census provisional data) |
Exchange rates | Aruban guilders/florins per US dollar - 1.7900 (fixed rate since 1986) | Sri Lankan rupees per US dollar - 103.99 (2006), 100.498 (2005), 101.194 (2004), 96.521 (2003), 95.662 (2002) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
Queen BEATRIX Wilhelmina Armgard of the Netherlands (since 30 April 1980), represented by Governor General Olindo KOOLMAN (since 1 January 1992) head of government: Prime Minister Jan (Henny) H. EMAN (since 29 July 1994) and Deputy Prime Minister Lili BEKE-MARTINEZ cabinet: Council of Ministers (elected by the Staten) elections: the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed for a six-year term by the monarch; prime minister and deputy prime minister elected by the Staten for four-year terms; election last held 12 July 1997 (next to be held by December 2001) election results: Jan (Henny) H. EMAN elected prime minister; percent of legislative vote - NA%; Lili BEKE-MARTINEZ elected deputy prime minister; percent of legislative vote - NA% |
chief of state: President Mahinda RAJAPAKSA (since 19 November 2005); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government; Ratnasiri WICKREMANAYAKE (since 21 November 2005) holds the largely ceremonial title of prime minister
head of government: President Mahinda RAJAPAKSA (since 19 November 2005) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president in consultation with the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 17 November 2005 (next to be held in 2011) election results: Mahinda RAJAPAKSA elected president; percent of vote - Mahinda RAJAPAKSA 50.3%, Ranil WICKREMESINGHE 48.4%, other 1.3% |
Exports | $2.2 billion (including oil reexports) (2000 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | live animals and animal products, art and collectibles, machinery and electrical equipment, transport equipment | textiles and apparel, tea and spices; diamonds, emeralds, rubies; coconut products, rubber manufactures, fish |
Exports - partners | US 42%, Colombia 20%, Netherlands 12% (1999) | US 27.6%, UK 11.3%, India 9.3%, Belgium 4.7% (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | blue, with two narrow, horizontal, yellow stripes across the lower portion and a red, four-pointed star outlined in white in the upper hoist-side corner | yellow with two panels; the smaller hoist-side panel has two equal vertical bands of green (hoist side) and orange; the other panel is a large dark red rectangle with a yellow lion holding a sword, and there is a yellow bo leaf in each corner; the yellow field appears as a border around the entire flag and extends between the two panels |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $2 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
NA% industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture: 16.5%
industry: 27.1% services: 56.5% (2006 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $28,000 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.5% (2000 est.) | 7.4% (2006 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 12 30 N, 69 58 W | 7 00 N, 81 00 E |
Geography - note | - | strategic location near major Indian Ocean sea lanes |
Highways | total:
800 km paved: 513 km unpaved: 287 km note: most coastal roads are paved, while unpaved roads serve large tracts of the interior (1995) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 1.1%
highest 10%: 39.7% (FY03/04) |
Illicit drugs | drug-money-laundering center and transit point for narcotics bound for the US and Europe | - |
Imports | $2.5 billion (2000 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | machinery and electrical equipment, crude oil for refining and reexport, chemicals; foodstuffs | textile fabrics, mineral products, petroleum, foodstuffs, machinery and transportation equipment |
Imports - partners | US 63%, Netherlands 11%, Netherlands Antilles 3%, Japan (1999) | India 19.6%, China 10.5%, Singapore 8.7%, Iran 5.7%, Malaysia 5.1%, Hong Kong 4.2%, Japan 4.1% (2006) |
Independence | none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands) | 4 February 1948 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 6.2% (2006 est.) |
Industries | tourism, transshipment facilities, oil refining | processing of rubber, tea, coconuts, tobacco and other agricultural commodities; telecommunications, insurance, banking; clothing, textiles; cement, petroleum refining |
Infant mortality rate | 6.39 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 19.45 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 21.2 deaths/1,000 live births female: 17.63 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4.2% (2000 est.) | 13.7% (2006 est.) |
International organization participation | Caricom (observer), ECLAC (associate), Interpol, IOC, UNESCO (associate), WCL, WToO (associate) | AsDB, BIMSTEC, C, CP, FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), OPCW, PCA, SAARC, SACEP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIS, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | NA | - |
Irrigated land | 0.01 sq km | 7,430 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Joint High Court of Justice (judges are appointed by the monarch) | Supreme Court; Court of Appeals; judges for both courts are appointed by the president |
Labor force | 41,501 (1997 est.) | 7.602 million (2006 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | most employment is in wholesale and retail trade and repair, followed by hotels and restaurants; oil refining | agriculture: 34.3%
industry: 25.3% services: 40.4% (30 June 2006 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land:
7% (including aloe 0.01%) permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 0% other: 93% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 13.96%
permanent crops: 15.24% other: 70.8% (2005) |
Languages | Dutch (official), Papiamento (a Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, English dialect), English (widely spoken), Spanish | Sinhala (official and national language) 74%, Tamil (national language) 18%, other 8%
note: English is commonly used in government and is spoken competently by about 10% of the population |
Legal system | based on Dutch civil law system, with some English common law influence | a highly complex mixture of English common law, Roman-Dutch, Islamic, Sinhalese, and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral Legislature or Staten (21 seats; members elected by direct, popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 12 December 1997 (next to be held by NA December 2001) election results: percent of vote by party - AVP 43%, MEP 39%, OLA 9% PPA 4%, ADN 2%, PARA 1%, MAS 0.5%; seats by party - AVP 10, MEP 9, OLA 2 |
unicameral Parliament (225 seats; members elected by popular vote on the basis of a modified proportional representation system by district to serve six-year terms)
elections: last held on 2 April 2004 (next to be held by 2010) election results: percent of vote by party or electoral alliance - SLFP and JVP (no longer in formal UPFA alliance) 45.6%, UNP 37.8%, TNA 6.8%, JHU 6%, SLMC 2%, UPF 0.5%, EPDP 0.3%, other 1%; seats by party - UNP 68, SLFP 57, JVP 39, TNA 22, CWC 8, JHU 7, SLMC 6, SLMC dissidents 4, Communist Party 2, JHU dissidents 2, LSSP 2, MEP 2, NUA 2, UPF 2, EPDP 1, UNP dissident 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
78.52 years male: 75.16 years female: 82.04 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 74.8 years
male: 72.81 years female: 76.88 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
NA total population: 97% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 90.7% male: 92.3% female: 89.1% (2001 census) |
Location | Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, north of Venezuela | Southern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of India |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Asia |
Maritime claims | territorial sea:
12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
Merchant marine | total:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 3,120 GRT/3,635 DWT ships by type: cargo 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 24 ships (1000 GRT or over) 162,280 GRT/227,478 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 2, cargo 18, container 2, petroleum tanker 2 foreign-owned: 6 (Germany 6) registered in other countries: 3 (Panama 3) (2007) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the Kingdom of the Netherlands | - |
Military branches | Royal Dutch Navy and Marines, Coast Guard | Sri Lankan Army, Sri Lankan Navy, Sri Lankan Air Force (2006) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 2.6% (2006) |
National holiday | Flag Day, 18 March | Independence Day, 4 February (1948) |
Nationality | noun:
Aruban(s) adjective: Aruban; Dutch |
noun: Sri Lankan(s)
adjective: Sri Lankan |
Natural hazards | lies outside the Caribbean hurricane belt | occasional cyclones and tornadoes |
Natural resources | NEGL; white sandy beaches | limestone, graphite, mineral sands, gems, phosphates, clay, hydropower |
Net migration rate | NEGL | -1.16 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Aruba Solidarity Movement or MAS [leader NA]; Aruban Democratic Party or PDA [Leo BERLINSKI]; Aruban Liberal Party or OLA [Glenbert CROES]; Aruban Patriotic Party or PPA [Benny NISBET]; Aruban People's Party or AVP [Tico CROES]; Electoral Movement Party or MEP [Nelson ODUBER]; For a Restructured Aruba Now or PARA [leader NA]; National Democratic Action or ADN [Pedro Charro KELLY] | All Ceylon Tamil Congress or ACTC [A. VINAYAKAMOORTHY]; Ceylon Workers Congress or CWC [Arumugam THONDAMAN]; Communist Party or CP [D. GUNASEKERA]; Democratic United National (Lalith) Front or DUNLF [T.N.S. NANAYAKKARA]; Eelam People's Democratic Party or EPDP [Douglas DEVANANDA]; Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front or EPRLF [Suresh PREMACHANDRAN]; Janatha Vimukthi Perumuna or JVP [Somawansa AMARASINGHE]; Lanka Sama Samaja Party or LSSP [Tissa VITHARANA]; Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (People's United Front) or MEP [D. GUNAWARDENE]; National Heritage Party or JHU [Ellawala METHANANDA]; National Unity Alliance or NUA [Ferial ASHRAFF]; People's Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam or PLOTE [D. SIDHARTHAN]; Sri Lanka Freedom Party or SLFP [Mahinda RAJAPAKSA]; Sri Lanka Muslim Congress or SLMC [Rauff HAKEEM]; Sri Lanka Progressive Front or SLPF [P. Nelson PERERA]; Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization or TELO [Selvam ADAIKALANATHAN]; Tamil National Alliance or TNA [R. SAMPANTHAN]; Tamil United Liberation Front or TULF [V. ANANDASANGAREE]; United National Party or UNP [Ranil WICKREMASINGHE]; Up-country People's Front or UPF [P. CHANDRASEKARAN]; several ethnic Tamil and Muslim parties, represented in either Parliament or provincial councils |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Buddhist clergy; labor unions; Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam or LTTE [Velupillai PRABHAKARAN](insurgent group fighting for a separate state); radical chauvinist Sinhalese groups such as the National Movement Against Terrorism; Sinhalese Buddhist lay groups; Tamil Eela Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal, TMVP or "Karuna group" [Vinayagamurthi MURALITHARAN] (paramilitary breakaway from LTTE and fighting against LTTE) |
Population | 70,007 (July 2001 est.) | 20,926,315
note: since the outbreak of hostilities between the government and armed Tamil separatists in the mid-1980s, several hundred thousand Tamil civilians have fled the island and more than 200,000 Tamils have sought refuge in the West (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 22% (2002 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.64% (2001 est.) | 0.982% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Barcadera, Oranjestad, Sint Nicolaas | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 4, FM 6, shortwave 0 (1998) | 34 (station types NA) (2006) |
Radios | 50,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | total: 1,449 km
broad gauge: 1,449 km 1.676-m gauge (2006) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 82%, Protestant 8%, Hindu, Muslim, Confucian, Jewish | Buddhist 69.1%, Muslim 7.6%, Hindu 7.1%, Christian 6.2%, unspecified 10% (2001 census provisional data) |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.957 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.888 male(s)/female total population: 0.971 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
NA domestic: more than adequate international: 1 submarine cable to Sint Maarten (Netherlands Antilles); extensive interisland microwave radio relay links |
general assessment: telephone services have improved significantly and are available in most parts of the country
domestic: national trunk network consists mostly of digital microwave radio relay; fiber-optic links now in use in Colombo area and 2 fixed wireless local loops have been installed; competition is strong in mobile cellular systems and mobile cellular subscribership is increasing; telephone density remains low international: country code - 94; submarine cables to Indonesia, Djibouti, India and Maldives; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 33,000 (1997) | 2.087 million (2007) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 3,402 (1997) | 5.959 million (2007) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 14 (2006) |
Terrain | flat with a few hills; scant vegetation | mostly low, flat to rolling plain; mountains in south-central interior |
Total fertility rate | 1.8 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.05 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 0.6% (1999 est.) | 7.6% (2006 est.) |
Waterways | none | 160 km (primarily on rivers in southwest) (2006) |