Compare Australia (2006) - Sri Lanka (2002)

Compare Australia (2006) z Sri Lanka (2002)

	Australia (2006)	Sri Lanka (2002)

Administrative divisions	6 states and 2 territories; Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia*	8 provinces; Central, North Central, North Eastern, North Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Uva, Western; note - North Eastern province may have been divided in two - Northern and Eastern
Age structure	0-14 years: 19.6% (male 2,031,313/female 1,936,802) 15-64 years: 67.3% (male 6,881,863/female 6,764,709) 65 years and over: 13.1% (male 1,170,589/female 1,478,806) (2006 est.)	0-14 years: 25.6% (male 2,559,246; female 2,446,393) 15-64 years: 67.7% (male 6,446,320; female 6,802,515) 65 years and over: 6.7% (male 628,398; female 693,911) (2002 est.)
Agriculture - products	wheat, barley, sugarcane, fruits, cattle, sheep, poultry	rice, sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseed, spices, tea, rubber, coconuts; milk, eggs, hides, beef
Airports	455 (2006)	15 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 311 over 3,047 m: 10 2,438 to 3,047 m: 12 1,524 to 2,437 m: 133 914 to 1,523 m: 143 under 914 m: 13 (2006)	total: 14 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 6 (2002)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 144 1,524 to 2,437 m: 18 914 to 1,523 m: 111 under 914 m: 15 (2006)	total: 1 1 under 914 m: 1 (2002)
Area	total: 7,686,850 sq km land: 7,617,930 sq km water: 68,920 sq km note: includes Lord Howe Island and Macquarie Island	total: 65,610 sq km land: 64,740 sq km water: 870 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than the US contiguous 48 states	slightly larger than West Virginia
Background	Aboriginal settlers arrived on the continent from Southeast Asia about 40,000 years before the first Europeans began exploration in the 17th century. No formal territorial claims were made until 1770, when Capt. James COOK took possession in the name of Great Britain. Six colonies were created in the late 18th and 19th centuries; they federated and became the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901. The new country took advantage of its natural resources to rapidly develop agricultural and manufacturing industries and to make a major contribution to the British effort in World Wars I and II. In recent decades, Australia has transformed itself into an internationally competitive, advanced market economy. It boasted one of the OECD's fastest growing economies during the 1990s, a performance due in large part to economic reforms adopted in the 1980s. Long-term concerns include pollution, particularly depletion of the ozone layer, and management and conservation of coastal areas, especially the Great Barrier Reef.	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-3rd century B.C. and a great civilization developed at such cities as Anuradhapura (kingdom from c. 200 B.C. to c. 1000 A.D.) and Polonnaruwa (c. 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 and became a crown colony in 1802. As Ceylon it became independent in 1948; its name was changed in 1972. Tensions between the Sinhalese majority and Tamil separatists erupted in violence in the mid-1980s. Tens of thousands have died in an ethnic war that continues to fester.
Birth rate	12.14 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)	16.36 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Budget	revenues: $249.8 billion expenditures: $240.2 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.)	revenues: $2.8 billion expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.)
Capital	name: Canberra geographic coordinates: 35 17 S, 149 08 E time difference: UTC+10 (15 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in October; ends last Sunday in March (ended first Sunday in April 2006) note: Australia is divided into three time zones	Colombo; note - Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte is the legislative capital
Climate	generally arid to semiarid; temperate in south and east; tropical in north	tropical monsoon; northeast monsoon (December to March); southwest monsoon (June to October)
Coastline	25,760 km	1,340 km
Constitution	9 July 1900, effective 1 January 1901	adopted 16 August 1978
Country name	conventional long form: Commonwealth of Australia conventional short form: Australia	conventional long form: Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka conventional short form: Sri Lanka former: Serendib, Ceylon
Currency	-	Sri Lankan rupee (LKR)
Death rate	7.51 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)	6.45 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Debt - external	$323.4 billion (2005 est.)	$9.9 billion (2000)
Dependent areas	Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Coral Sea Islands, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Norfolk Island, Macquarie Island	-
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Robert D. McCALLUM, Jr. embassy: Moonah Place, Yarralumla, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2600 mailing address: APO AP 96549 telephone: [61] (02) 6214-5600 FAX: [61] (02) 6214-5970 consulate(s) general: Melbourne, Perth, Sydney	chief of mission: Ambassador E. Ashley WILLS embassy: 210 Galle Road, Colombo 3 mailing address: P. O. Box 106, Colombo telephone: [94] (1) 448007 FAX: [94] (1) 437345
Diplomatic representation in the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Dennis J. RICHARDSON chancery: 1601 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 797-3000 FAX: [1] (202) 797-3168 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Chicago, Honolulu, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco	chief of mission: Ambassador Devinda R. SUBASINGHE 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	East Timor and Australia agreed in 2005 to defer the disputed portion of the boundary for fifty years and to split hydrocarbon revenues evenly outside the Joint Petroleum Development Area covered by the 2002 Timor Sea Treaty; East Timor dispute hampers creation of a revised maritime boundary with Indonesia (see also Ashmore and Cartier Islands dispute); regional states express concern over Australia's 2004 declaration of a 1,000-nautical mile-wide maritime identification zone; Australia asserts land and maritime claims to Antarctica (see Antarctica); in 2004 Australia submitted its claims to UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) to extend its continental margin from both its mainland and Antarctic claims	none
Economic aid - donor	ODA, $894 million (FY99/00)	-
Economic aid - recipient	-	$577 million (1998) (1998)
Economy - overview	Australia has an enviable Western-style capitalist economy with a per capita GDP on par with the four dominant West European economies. Rising output in the domestic economy, robust business and consumer confidence, and rising exports of raw materials and agricultural products are fueling the economy. Australia's emphasis on reforms, low inflation, and growing ties with China are other key factors behind the economy's strength. The impact of drought, weak foreign demand, and strong import demand pushed the trade deficit up from $8 billion in 2002, to $18 billion in 2003, $13 billion in 2004, and nearly $17 billion in 2005. Housing prices probably peaked in 2005, diminishing the prospect that interest rates would be raised to prevent a speculative bubble. Conservative fiscal policies have kept Australia's budget in surplus from 2002 to 2005.	In 1977, Colombo abandoned statist economic policies and its import substitution trade policy for market-oriented policies and export-oriented trade. Sri Lanka's most dynamic sectors now are food processing, textiles and apparel, food and beverages, telecommunications, and insurance and banking. 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% throughout the 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, due to a combination of power shortages, severe budgetary problems, the global slowdown, and continuing civil strife.
Electricity - consumption	221 billion kWh (2004)	6.156 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2003)	0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2003)	0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - production	237 billion kWh (2004)	6.619 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source	-	fossil fuel: 32% hydro: 68% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Lake Eyre -15 m highest point: Mount Kosciuszko 2,229 m	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Pidurutalagala 2,524 m
Environment - current issues	soil erosion from overgrazing, industrial development, urbanization, and poor farming practices; soil salinity rising due to the use of poor quality water; desertification; clearing for agricultural purposes threatens the natural habitat of many unique animal and plant species; the Great Barrier Reef off the northeast coast, the largest coral reef in the world, is threatened by increased shipping and its popularity as a tourist site; limited natural fresh water resources	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: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation
Ethnic groups	Caucasian 92%, Asian 7%, aboriginal and other 1%	Sinhalese 74%, Tamil 18%, Moor 7%, Burgher, Malay, and Vedda 1%
Exchange rates	Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001)	Sri Lankan rupees per US dollar - 93.383 (January 2002), 89.383 (2001), 77.005 (2000), 70.635 (1999), 64.450 (1998), 58.995 (1997)
Executive branch	chief of state: Queen of Australia ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Michael JEFFERY (since 11 August 2003) head of government: Prime Minister John Winston HOWARD (since 11 March 1996); Deputy Prime Minister Mark VAILE (since 6 July 2005) cabinet: prime minister nominates, from among members of Parliament, candidates who are subsequently sworn in by the governor general to serve as government ministers elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is sworn in as prime minister by the governor general note: government coalition - Liberal Party and National Party	chief of state: President Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA (since 12 November 1994); note - Ranil WICKREMASINGHE (since 9 December 2001) is the prime minister; in Sri Lanka the president is considered both the chief of state and head of government, in contrast to the more common practice of dividing the roles between the president and the prime minister when both offices exist head of government: President Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA (since 12 November 1994); note - Ranil WICKREMASINGHE (since 9 December 2001) is the prime minister; in Sri Lanka the president is considered both the chief of state and head of government, in contrast to the more common practice of dividing the roles between the president and the prime minister when both offices exist cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president in consultation with the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term; election last held 21 December 1999 (next to be held NA December 2005) election results: Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA reelected president; percent of vote - Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA (PA) 51%, Ranil WICKREMASINGHE (UNP) 42%, other 7%
Exports	523,400 bbl/day (2001)	$4.9 billion f.o.b. (2001)
Exports - commodities	coal, gold, meat, wool, alumina, iron ore, wheat, machinery and transport equipment	textiles and apparel 15%, tea, diamonds, coconut products, petroleum products
Exports - partners	Japan 20.3%, China 11.5%, South Korea 7.9%, US 6.7%, NZ 6.5%, India 5% (2005)	US 39%, UK 13%, Middle East 8%, Germany 4%, Japan 4% (2000)
Fiscal year	1 July - 30 June	calendar year
Flag description	blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and a large seven-pointed star in the lower hoist-side quadrant known as the Commonwealth or Federation Star, representing the federation of the colonies of Australia in 1901; the star depicts one point for each of the six original states and one representing all of Australia's internal and external territories; on the fly half is a representation of the Southern Cross constellation in white with one small five-pointed star and four larger, seven-pointed stars	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 - $62.7 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 3.8% industry: 26.2% services: 70% (2004 est.)	agriculture: 21% industry: 27% services: 52% (2000)
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - $3,250 (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	2.7% (2005 est.)	-1% (2001 est.)
Geographic coordinates	27 00 S, 133 00 E	7 00 N, 81 00 E
Geography - note	world's smallest continent but sixth-largest country; population concentrated along the eastern and southeastern coasts; the invigorating tropical sea breeze known as the "Fremantle Doctor" affects the city of Perth on the west coast, and is one of the most consistent winds in the world	strategic location near major Indian Ocean sea lanes
Heliports	1 (2006)	-
Highways	-	total: 11,285 km paved: 10,721 km unpaved: 564 km (1998 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 2% highest 10%: 25.4% (1994)	lowest 10%: 4% highest 10%: 28% (1995)
Illicit drugs	Tasmania is one of the world's major suppliers of licit opiate products; government maintains strict controls over areas of opium poppy cultivation and output of poppy straw concentrate	-
Imports	530,800 bbl/day (2001)	$6 billion f.o.b. (2001)
Imports - commodities	machinery and transport equipment, computers and office machines, telecommunication equipment and parts; crude oil and petroleum products	machinery and equipment, textiles, petroleum, foodstuffs
Imports - partners	US 13.9%, China 13.7%, Japan 11%, Singapore 5.6%, Germany 5.6% (2005)	Japan 9%, India 8%, Hong Kong 7%, Singapore 7%, South Korea 5% (2000)
Independence	1 January 1901 (federation of UK colonies)	4 February 1948 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate	1.1% (2005 est.)	1.4% (2001)
Industries	mining, industrial and transportation equipment, food processing, chemicals, steel	rubber processing, tea, coconuts, and other agricultural commodities; clothing, cement, petroleum refining, textiles, tobacco
Infant mortality rate	total: 4.63 deaths/1,000 live births male: 5.02 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.22 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)	15.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	2.7% (2005 est.)	14.2% (2001 est.)
International organization participation	ANZUS, APEC, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, C, CP, EAS, EBRD, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OECD, OPCW, Paris Club, PCA, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNMIS, UNRWA, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC	AsDB, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), OPCW, PCA, SAARC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)	-	5 (2000)
Irrigated land	25,450 sq km (2003)	6,510 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	High Court (the chief justice and six other justices are appointed by the governor general)	Supreme Court; Court of Appeals; judges for both courts are appointed by the president
Labor force	10.42 million (2005 est.)	6.6 million (1998)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 3.6% industry: 21.2% services: 75.2% (2004 est.)	services 45%, agriculture 38%, industry 17% (1998 est.)
Land boundaries	0 km	0 km
Land use	arable land: 6.15% (includes about 27 million hectares of cultivated grassland) permanent crops: 0.04% other: 93.81% (2005)	arable land: 13.43% permanent crops: 15.78% other: 70.79% (1998 est.)
Languages	English 79.1%, Chinese 2.1%, Italian 1.9%, other 11.1%, unspecified 5.8% (2001 Census)	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 English common law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations	a highly complex mixture of English common law, Roman-Dutch, Muslim, Sinhalese, and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch	bicameral Federal Parliament consists of the Senate (76 seats - 12 from each of the six states and 2 from each of the two mainland territories; one-half of state members are elected every three years by popular vote to serve six-year terms while all territory members are elected every three years) and the House of Representatives (150 seats; members elected by popular preferential voting to serve terms of up to three-years; no state can have fewer than 5 representatives) elections: Senate - last held 9 October 2004 (next to be held no later than June 2008); House of Representatives - last held 9 October 2004 (next to be called no later than November 2007) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Liberal Party-National Party coalition 39, Australian Labor Party 28, Democrats 4, Australian Greens 4, Family First Party 1; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Liberal Party-National Party coalition 87, Australian Labor Party 60, independents 3	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 7 December 2001 (next to be held NA December 2007) election results: percent of vote by party or electoral alliance - UNP, SLMC and CWC 46.8%, PA and EPDP 38%, JVP 9.1%, Tamil National Alliance 3.89%, PLOTE 0.19%; seats by party or electoral alliance - UNP, SLMC and CWC 114, PA and EPDP 79, JVP 16, Tamil National Alliance 15, PLOTE 1
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 80.5 years male: 77.64 years female: 83.52 years (2006 est.)	total population: 72.35 years male: 69.83 years female: 75 years (2002 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (2003 est.)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 90.2% male: 93.4% female: 87.2% (1995 est.)
Location	Oceania, continent between the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean	Southern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of India
Map references	Oceania	Asia
Maritime claims	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	contiguous zone: 24 NM continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM
Merchant marine	total: 53 ships (1000 GRT or over) 1,361,000 GRT/1,532,874 DWT by type: bulk carrier 17, cargo 4, chemical tanker 3, container 1, liquefied gas 4, passenger 6, passenger/cargo 7, petroleum tanker 6, roll on/roll off 5 foreign-owned: 17 (Canada 1, France 3, Germany 3, Japan 1, Netherlands 2, Norway 1, Philippines 1, UK 2, US 3) registered in other countries: 34 (Antigua and Barbuda 1, Bahamas 2, Bermuda 3, Fiji 1, Hong Kong 1, Liberia 2, Marshall Islands 2, Netherlands 1, NZ 2, Panama 3, Portugal 1, Singapore 7, Tonga 1, UK 3, US 2, Vanuatu 2) (2006)	total: 18 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 137,321 GRT/233,367 DWT ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 15, container 1, petroleum tanker 1, includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Germany 9, Hong Kong 1, United Arab Emirates 1 (2002 est.)
Military branches	Australian Defense Force (ADF): Australian Army, Royal Australian Navy, Royal Australian Air Force, Special Operations Command	Army, Navy, Air Force, Police Force
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$17.84 billion (2005 est.)	$719 million (FY98)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	2.7% (2005 est.)	4.2% (FY98)
Military manpower - availability	-	males age 15-49: 5,347,153 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service	-	males age 15-49: 4,148,825 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - military age	-	18 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually	-	males: 193,522 (2002 est.)
National holiday	Australia Day, 26 January (1788)	Independence Day, 4 February (1948)
Nationality	noun: Australian(s) adjective: Australian	noun: Sri Lankan(s) adjective: Sri Lankan
Natural hazards	cyclones along the coast; severe droughts; forest fires	occasional cyclones and tornadoes
Natural resources	bauxite, coal, iron ore, copper, tin, gold, silver, uranium, nickel, tungsten, mineral sands, lead, zinc, diamonds, natural gas, petroleum	limestone, graphite, mineral sands, gems, phosphates, clay, hydropower
Net migration rate	3.85 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)	-1.39 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Pipelines	condensate/gas 546 km; gas 31,323 km; liquid petroleum gas 240 km; oil 4,808 km; oil/gas/water 110 km (2006)	crude oil and petroleum products 62 km (1987)
Political parties and leaders	Australian Democrats [Lyn ALLISON]; Australian Greens [Bob BROWN]; Australian Labor Party [Kevin RUDD]; Country Liberal Party [Jodeen CARNEY]; Family First Party [Steve FIELDING]; Liberal Party [John Winston HOWARD]; The Nationals [Mark VAILE]	All Ceylon Tamil Congress or ACTC [KUMARGURUPARAM]; Ceylon Workers Congress or CWC [Arumugam THONDAMAN]; Communist Party or CP [D. GUNASEKERA]; Democratic United National (Lalith) Front or DUNLF [Shrimani ATULATHMUDALI]; Eelam People's Democratic Party or EPDP [Douglas DEVANANDA]; Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front or EPRLF [Suresh PREMACHANDRAN]; Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna or JVP [Tilvan SILVA]; National Unity Alliance or NUA [Ferial ASHRAFF]; People's Alliance or PA [Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA]; People's Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam or PLOTE [leader NA]; Sihala Urumaya or SU [Tilak KARUNARATNE]; Sri Lanka Freedom Party or SLFP [Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA]; Sri Lanka Muslim Congress or SLMC [Rauff HAKEEM]; Sri Lanka Progressive Front or SLPF [P. Nelson PERERA]; Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization or TELO [SABARATNAM]; Tamil National Alliance or TNA [Nadarajah RAVIRAJ]; Tamil United Liberation Front or TULF [R. SAMPATHAN]; United National Party or UNP [Ranil WICKREMASINGHE]; Upcountry 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	-	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
Population	20,264,082 (July 2006 est.)	19,576,783 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; as of mid-1999, approximately 66,000 were housed in 133 refugee camps in south India, another 40,000 lived outside the Indian camps, and more than 200,000 Tamils have sought refuge in the West (July 2002 est.)
Population below poverty line	NA%	22% (1997 est.)
Population growth rate	0.85% (2006 est.)	0.85% (2002 est.)
Ports and harbors	-	Colombo, Galle, Jaffna, Trincomalee
Radio broadcast stations	AM 262, FM 345, shortwave 1 (1998)	AM 26, FM 45, shortwave 1 (1998)
Radios	-	3.85 million (1997)
Railways	total: 47,738 km broad gauge: 4,015 km 1.600-m gauge standard gauge: 28,662 km 1.435-m gauge (1,397 km electrified) narrow gauge: 14,831 km 1.067-m gauge (2,462 km electrified) dual gauge: 230 km dual gauge (2005)	total: 1,463 km broad gauge: 1,404 km 1.676-m gauge narrow gauge: 59 km 0.762-m gauge (2001)
Religions	Catholic 26.4%, Anglican 20.5%, other Christian 20.5%, Buddhist 1.9%, Muslim 1.5%, other 1.2%, unspecified 12.7%, none 15.3% (2001 Census)	Buddhist 70%, Hindu 15%, Christian 8%, Muslim 7% (1999)
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2006 est.)	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.91 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal and compulsory	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: excellent domestic and international service domestic: domestic satellite system; much use of radiotelephone in areas of low population density; rapid growth of mobile cellular telephones international: country code - 61; submarine cables to New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and Indonesia; satellite earth stations - 19 (10 Intelsat - 4 Indian Ocean and 6 Pacific Ocean, 2 Inmarsat - Indian and Pacific Ocean regions, 2 Globalstar, 5 other) (2005)	general assessment: very inadequate domestic service, particularly in rural areas; likely improvement with privatization of national telephone company and encouragement to private investment; good international service (1999) domestic: national trunk network consists mostly of digital microwave radio relay; fiber-optic links now in use in Colombo area and two fixed wireless local loops have been installed; competition is strong in mobile cellular systems; telephone density remains low at 2.6 main lines per 100 persons (1999) international: submarine cables to Indonesia and Djibouti; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) (1999)
Telephones - main lines in use	11.46 million (2005)	494,509 (1998)
Telephones - mobile cellular	18.42 million (2005)	228,604 (1999)
Television broadcast stations	104 (1997)	21 (1997)
Terrain	mostly low plateau with deserts; fertile plain in southeast	mostly low, flat to rolling plain; mountains in south-central interior
Total fertility rate	1.76 children born/woman (2006 est.)	1.93 children born/woman (2002 est.)
Unemployment rate	5.1% (2005 est.)	7.7% (2001)
Waterways	2,000 km (mainly used for recreation on Murray and Murray-Darling river systems) (2002)	430 km (navigable by shallow-draft craft)

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