Compare Bangladesh (2006) - Sri Lanka (2004)

Compare Bangladesh (2006) z Sri Lanka (2004)

	Bangladesh (2006)	Sri Lanka (2004)

Administrative divisions	6 divisions; Barisal, Chittagong, Dhaka, Khulna, Rajshahi, Sylhet	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: 32.9% (male 24,957,997/female 23,533,894) 15-64 years: 63.6% (male 47,862,774/female 45,917,674) 65 years and over: 3.5% (male 2,731,578/female 2,361,435) (2006 est.)	0-14 years: 24.8% (male 2,526,143; female 2,414,876) 15-64 years: 68.2% (male 6,589,438; female 6,976,487) 65 years and over: 7% (male 655,636; female 742,585) (2004 est.)
Agriculture - products	rice, jute, tea, wheat, sugarcane, potatoes, tobacco, pulses, oilseeds, spices, fruit; beef, milk, poultry	rice, sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseed, spices, tea, rubber, coconuts; milk, eggs, hides, beef
Airports	16 (2006)	14 (2003 est.)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 15 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 5 (2006)	total: 13 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 6 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006)	total: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.)
Area	total: 144,000 sq km land: 133,910 sq km water: 10,090 sq km	total: 65,610 sq km land: 64,740 sq km water: 870 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Iowa	slightly larger than West Virginia
Background	Europeans began to set up trading posts in the area of Bangladesh in the 16th century; eventually the British came to dominate the region and it became part of British India. In 1947, West Pakistan and East Bengal (both primarily Muslim) separated from India (largely Hindu) and jointly became the new country of Pakistan. East Bengal became East Pakistan in 1955, but the awkward arrangement of a two-part country with its territorial units separated by 1,600 km left the Bengalis marginalized and dissatisfied. East Pakistan seceded from its union with West Pakistan in 1971 and was renamed Bangladesh. About a third of this extremely poor country floods annually during the monsoon rainy season, hampering economic development.	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 an ethnic conflict that continues to fester. After two decades of fighting, the government and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam formalized a cease-fire in February 2002, with Norway brokering peace negotiations.
Birth rate	29.8 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)	15.88 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Budget	revenues: $5.993 billion expenditures: $8.598 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.)	revenues: $3.229 billion expenditures: $4.526 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.)
Capital	name: Dhaka geographic coordinates: 23 43 N, 90 25 E time difference: UTC+6 (11 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)	Colombo; note - Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte is the legislative capital
Climate	tropical; mild winter (October to March); hot, humid summer (March to June); humid, warm rainy monsoon (June to October)	tropical monsoon; northeast monsoon (December to March); southwest monsoon (June to October)
Coastline	580 km	1,340 km
Constitution	4 November 1972, effective 16 December 1972; suspended following coup of 24 March 1982, restored 10 November 1986; amended many times	adopted 16 August 1978
Country name	conventional long form: People's Republic of Bangladesh conventional short form: Bangladesh local long form: Gana Prajatantri Banladesh local short form: Banladesh former: East Bengal, East Pakistan	conventional long form: Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka conventional short form: Sri Lanka former: Serendib, Ceylon
Currency	-	Sri Lankan rupee (LKR)
Death rate	8.27 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)	6.47 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Debt - external	$20.63 billion (2005 est.)	$10.52 billion (2003)
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Patricia A. BUTENIS embassy: Madani Avenue, Baridhara, Dhaka 1212 mailing address: G. P. O. Box 323, Dhaka 1000 telephone: [880] (2) 885-5500 FAX: [880] (2) 882-3744	chief of mission: Ambassador Jeffrey J. LUNSTEAD embassy: 210 Galle Road, Colombo 3 mailing address: P. O. Box 106, Colombo telephone: [94] (11) 244-8007 FAX: [94] (11) 243-7345
Diplomatic representation in the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Shamsher Mobin CHOWDHURY chancery: 3510 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 244-0183 FAX: [1] (202) 244-5366 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles, New York	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	discussions with India remain stalled to delimit a small section of river boundary, exchange 162 miniscule enclaves in both countries, allocate divided villages, and stop illegal cross-border trade, migration, violence, and transit of terrorists through the porous border; Bangladesh resists India's attempts to fence or wall off high-traffic sections of the porous boundary; a joint Bangladesh-India boundary inspection in 2005 revealed 92 pillars are missing; dispute with India over New Moore/South Talpatty/Purbasha Island in the Bay of Bengal deters maritime boundary delimitation; Burmese Muslim refugees strain Bangladesh's meager resources	none
Economic aid - recipient	$1.575 billion (2000 est.)	$577 million (1998)
Economy - overview	Despite sustained domestic and international efforts to improve economic and demographic prospects, Bangladesh remains a poor, overpopulated, and inefficiently-governed nation. Although half of GDP is generated through the service sector, nearly two-thirds of Bangladeshis are employed in the agriculture sector, with rice as the single-most-important product. Major impediments to growth include frequent cyclones and floods, inefficient state-owned enterprises, inadequate port facilities, a rapidly growing labor force that cannot be absorbed by agriculture, delays in exploiting energy resources (natural gas), insufficient power supplies, and slow implementation of economic reforms. Reform is stalled in many instances by political infighting and corruption at all levels of government. Progress also has been blocked by opposition from the bureaucracy, public sector unions, and other vested interest groups. The BNP government, led by Prime Minister Khaleda ZIA, has the parliamentary strength to push through needed reforms, but the party's political will to do so has been lacking in key areas. One encouraging note: growth has been a steady 5% for the past several years.	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. In 2003, plantation crops made up only 15% 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. Growth recovered to 4.0% in 2002 and 5.2% in 2003. About 800,000 Sri Lankans work abroad, 90% in the Middle East. They send home about $1 billion a year. The struggle by the Tamil Tigers of the north and east for a largely independent homeland continues to cast a shadow over the economy.
Electricity - consumption	16.2 billion kWh (2003)	5.915 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2003)	0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2003)	0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - production	17.42 billion kWh (2003)	6.36 billion kWh (2001)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Keokradong 1,230 m	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Pidurutalagala 2,524 m
Environment - current issues	many people are landless and forced to live on and cultivate flood-prone land; water-borne diseases prevalent in surface water; water pollution, especially of fishing areas, results from the use of commercial pesticides; ground water contaminated by naturally occurring arsenic; intermittent water shortages because of falling water tables in the northern and central parts of the country; soil degradation and erosion; deforestation; severe overpopulation	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, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected 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	Bengali 98%, tribal groups, non-Bengali Muslims (1998)	Sinhalese 74%, Tamil 18%, Moor 7%, Burgher, Malay, and Vedda 1%
Exchange rates	taka per US dollar - 64.328 (2005), 59.513 (2004), 58.15 (2003), 57.888 (2002), 55.807 (2001)	Sri Lankan rupees per US dollar - 96.521 (2003), 95.6621 (2002), 89.383 (2001), 77.0051 (2000), 70.6354 (1999)
Executive branch	chief of state: President Iajuddin AHMED (since 6 September 2002); note - the president's duties are normally ceremonial, but with the 13th amendment to the constitution ("Caretaker Government Amendment"), the president's role becomes significant at times when Parliament is dissolved and a caretaker government is installed - at presidential direction - to supervise the elections head of government: Prime Minister Khaleda ZIA (since 10 October 2001) cabinet: Cabinet selected by the prime minister and appointed by the president elections: president elected by National Parliament for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election scheduled for 16 September 2002 was not held since Iajuddin AHMED was the only presidential candidate; he was sworn in on 6 September 2002 (next election to be held by 2007); following legislative elections, the leader of the party that wins the most seats is usually appointed prime minister by the president election results: Iajuddin AHMED declared by the Election Commission elected unopposed as president; percent of National Parliament vote - NA	chief of state: President Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA (since 12 November 1994); note - Mahinda RAJAPAKSE (since 6 April 2004)i s the prime minister; the president is considered both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA (since 12 November 1994); note - Mahinda RAJAPAKSE (since 6 April 2004) is the prime minister; the president is considered both the chief of state and head of government 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 51%, Ranil WICKREMASINGHE 42%, other 7%
Exports	NA bbl/day	NA (2001)
Exports - commodities	garments, jute and jute goods, leather, frozen fish and seafood (2001)	textiles and apparel, tea, diamonds, coconut products, petroleum products
Exports - partners	US 23.6%, Germany 13.5%, UK 9.4%, France 6.4% (2005)	US 34.6%, UK 12.5%, India 4.8%, Germany 4.5% (2003)
Fiscal year	1 July - 30 June	calendar year
Flag description	green field with a large red disk shifted slightly to the hoist side of center; the red disk represents the rising sun and the sacrifice to achieve independence; the green field symbolizes the lush vegetation of Bangladesh	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 - $73.7 billion (2003 est.)
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 19.9% industry: 19.8% services: 60.3% (2004 est.)	agriculture: 19.9% industry: 26.3% services: 53.8% (2003)
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - $3,700 (2003 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	6.4% (2005 est.)	5.5% (2003 est.)
Geographic coordinates	24 00 N, 90 00 E	7 00 N, 81 00 E
Geography - note	most of the country is situated on deltas of large rivers flowing from the Himalayas: the Ganges unites with the Jamuna (main channel of the Brahmaputra) and later joins the Meghna to eventually empty into the Bay of Bengal	strategic location near major Indian Ocean sea lanes
Highways	-	total: 96,695 km paved: 91,860 km unpaved: 4,835 km (1999)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 3.9% highest 10%: 28.6% (1995-96 est.)	lowest 10%: 3.5% highest 10%: 28% (1995)
Illicit drugs	transit country for illegal drugs produced in neighboring countries	-
Imports	NA bbl/day	NA (2001)
Imports - commodities	machinery and equipment, chemicals, iron and steel, textiles, foodstuffs, petroleum products, cement (2000)	textiles, mineral products, petroleum, foodstuffs, machinery and equipment
Imports - partners	India 14.1%, China 13.5%, Kuwait 8.5%, Singapore 6.2%, Japan 4.1%, Hong Kong 4.1% (2005)	India 16.1%, Hong Kong 8.4%, Singapore 7.8%, Japan 6.7%, China 4.9%, South Korea 4.2%, Taiwan 4.2%, UK 4.1%, Malaysia 4% (2003)
Independence	16 December 1971 (from West Pakistan); note - 26 March 1971 is the date of independence from West Pakistan, 16 December 1971 is known as Victory Day and commemorates the official creation of the state of Bangladesh	4 February 1948 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate	6.7% (2005 est.)	5.8% (2003)
Industries	cotton textiles, jute, garments, tea processing, paper newsprint, cement, chemical fertilizer, light engineering, sugar	rubber processing, tea, coconuts, and other agricultural commodities; clothing, cement, petroleum refining, textiles, tobacco
Infant mortality rate	total: 60.83 deaths/1,000 live births male: 61.87 deaths/1,000 live births female: 59.74 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)	total: 14.78 deaths/1,000 live births male: 16.01 deaths/1,000 live births female: 13.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	7% (2005 est.)	6.3% (2003 est.)
International organization participation	ARF, AsDB, BIMSTEC, C, CP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OPCW, SAARC, SACEP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO	AsDB, C, CP, 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, MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), ONUB, OPCW, PCA, SAARC, SACEP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
Irrigated land	47,250 sq km (2003)	6,510 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	Supreme Court (the chief justices and other judges are appointed by the president)	Supreme Court; Court of Appeals; judges for both courts are appointed by the president
Labor force	66.6 million note: extensive export of labor to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Oman, Qatar, and Malaysia; workers' remittances estimated at $1.71 billion in 1998-99 (2005 est.)	7.17 million (2003)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 63% industry: 11% services: 26% (FY95/96)	agriculture 38%, industry 17%, services 45% (1998 est.)
Land boundaries	total: 4,246 km border countries: Burma 193 km, India 4,053 km	0 km
Land use	arable land: 55.39% permanent crops: 3.08% other: 41.53% (2005)	arable land: 13.86% permanent crops: 15.7% other: 70.44% (2001)
Languages	Bangla (official, also known as Bengali), English	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	a highly complex mixture of English common law, Roman-Dutch, Muslim, Sinhalese, and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch	unicameral National Parliament or Jatiya Sangsad; 300 seats elected by popular vote from single territorial constituencies (the constitutional amendment reserving 30 seats for women over and above the 300 regular parliament seats expired in May 2001); members serve five-year terms elections: last held 1 October 2001 (next to be held no later than January 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - BNP and alliance partners 41%, AL 40%; seats by party - BNP 193, AL 58, JI 17, JP (Ershad faction) 14, IOJ 2, JP (Manzur) 4, other 12; note - the election of October 2001 brought a majority BNP government aligned with three other smaller parties - JI, IOJ, and Jatiya Party (Manzur)	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 2 April 2004 (next to be held by 2010) election results: percent of vote by party or electoral alliance - SLFP and JVP 45.6%, UNP 37.83%, TNA 6.84%, JHU 5.97%, SLMC 2.02%, UPF 0.54%, EPDP 0.27%, others 0.93%; seats by party or electoral alliance - SLFP and JVP 105, UNP 82, TNA 22, JHU 9, SLMC 5, UPF 1, EPDP 1
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 62.46 years male: 62.47 years female: 62.45 years (2006 est.)	total population: 72.89 years male: 70.34 years female: 75.57 years (2004 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 43.1% male: 53.9% female: 31.8% (2003 est.)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 92.3% male: 94.8% female: 90% (2003 est.)
Location	Southern Asia, bordering the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and India	Southern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of India
Map references	Asia	Asia
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 18 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: up to the outer limits of the continental margin	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: 42 ships (1000 GRT or over) 341,733 GRT/485,840 DWT by type: bulk carrier 3, cargo 29, container 6, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 3 foreign-owned: 1 (China 1) registered in other countries: 10 (Antigua and Barbuda 4, Comoros 1, Malta 3, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1, Singapore 1) (2006)	total: 18 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 120,924 GRT/173,604 DWT by type: cargo 14, container 2, petroleum tanker 2 foreign-owned: Germany 8, Singapore 1 registered in other countries: 4 (2004 est.)
Military branches	Bangladesh Defense Force: Bangladesh Army, Bangladesh Navy, Bangladesh Air Force (Bangladesh Biman Bahini, BAF) (2006)	Army, Navy, Air Force, Police Force
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$1.01 billion (2005 est.)	$518 million (2003)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	1.8% (2005 est.)	3.2% (2003)
Military manpower - availability	-	males age 15-49: 5,418,496 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service	-	males age 15-49: 4,195,736 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually	-	males: 179,869 (2004 est.)
National holiday	Independence Day, 26 March (1971); note - 26 March 1971 is the date of independence from West Pakistan, 16 December 1971 is Victory Day and commemorates the official creation of the state of Bangladesh	Independence Day, 4 February (1948)
Nationality	noun: Bangladeshi(s) adjective: Bangladeshi	noun: Sri Lankan(s) adjective: Sri Lankan
Natural hazards	droughts, cyclones; much of the country routinely inundated during the summer monsoon season	occasional cyclones and tornadoes
Natural resources	natural gas, arable land, timber, coal	limestone, graphite, mineral sands, gems, phosphates, clay, hydropower
Net migration rate	-0.68 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)	-1.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Pipelines	gas 2,604 km (2006)	-
Political parties and leaders	Awami League or AL [Sheikh HASINA]; Bangladesh Communist Party or BCP [Saifuddin Ahmed MANIK]; Bangladesh Nationalist Party or BNP [Khaleda ZIA]; Islami Oikya Jote or IOJ [Mufti Fazlul Haq AMINI]; Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh or JIB [Motiur Rahman NIZAMI]; Jatiya Party or JP (Ershad faction) [Hussain Mohammad ERSHAD]; Jatiya Party (Manzur faction) [Naziur Rahman MANZUR]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDP [Badrudozza CHOWDHURY and Oli AHMED]	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 Perumuna or JVP [Tilvan SILVA]; National Unity Alliance or NUA [Ferial ASHRAFF]; National Heritage Party or JHU [Tilak KARUNARATNE]; People's Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam or PLOTE [leader NA]; Sihala Urumaya or SU [leader NA]; 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 [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
Population	147,365,352 (July 2006 est.)	19,905,165 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 yearend 2000, approximately 65,000 were housed in 131 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 2004 est.)
Population below poverty line	45% (2004 est.)	22% (1997 est.)
Population growth rate	2.09% (2006 est.)	0.81% (2004 est.)
Ports and harbors	-	Colombo, Galle, Jaffna, Trincomalee
Radio broadcast stations	AM 15, FM 13, shortwave 2 (2006)	AM 26, FM 45, shortwave 1 (1998)
Railways	total: 2,768 km broad gauge: 946 km 1.676-m gauge narrow gauge: 1,822 km 1.000-m gauge (2005)	total: 1,449 km broad gauge: 1,449 km 1.676-m gauge (2003)
Religions	Muslim 83%, Hindu 16%, other 1% (1998)	Buddhist 70%, Hindu 15%, Christian 8%, Muslim 7% (1999)
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.16 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 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: 0.88 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2004 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: totally inadequate for a modern country domestic: modernizing; introducing digital systems; trunk systems include VHF and UHF microwave radio relay links, and some fiber-optic cable in cities international: country code - 880; satellite earth stations - 6; international radiotelephone communications and landline service to neighboring countries (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: country code - 94; submarine cables to Indonesia and Djibouti; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) (1999)
Telephones - main lines in use	1.07 million (2005)	881,400 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular	9 million (2005)	931,600 (2002)
Television broadcast stations	15 (1999)	21 (1997)
Terrain	mostly flat alluvial plain; hilly in southeast	mostly low, flat to rolling plain; mountains in south-central interior
Total fertility rate	3.11 children born/woman (2006 est.)	1.88 children born/woman (2004 est.)
Unemployment rate	2.5% (includes underemployment) (2005 est.)	8.4% (2003)
Waterways	8,372 km note: includes 5,635 km main cargo routes; network reduced to 5,200 km in dry season (2005)	160 km (primarily on rivers in southwest) (2004)

Sitemap: Compare countries listing (map site) | Country listing (map site)
Links: Add to favorites | Information about this website | Stats | Polityka prywatnosci
This page was generated in ##czas## s. Size this page: ##rozmiar_strony## kB.