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Compare Bolivia (2006) - Sri Lanka (2002)

Compare Bolivia (2006) z Sri Lanka (2002)

 Bolivia (2006)Sri Lanka (2002)
 BoliviaSri Lanka
Administrative divisions 9 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Beni, Chuquisaca, Cochabamba, La Paz, Oruro, Pando, Potosi, Santa Cruz, Tarija 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: 35% (male 1,603,982/female 1,542,319)


15-64 years: 60.4% (male 2,660,806/female 2,771,807)


65 years and over: 4.6% (male 182,412/female 227,720) (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 soybeans, coffee, coca, cotton, corn, sugarcane, rice, potatoes; timber rice, sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseed, spices, tea, rubber, coconuts; milk, eggs, hides, beef
Airports 1,084 (2006) 15 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways total: 16


over 3,047 m: 4


2,438 to 3,047 m: 4


1,524 to 2,437 m: 5


914 to 1,523 m: 3 (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: 1,068


over 3,047 m: 1


2,438 to 3,047 m: 3


1,524 to 2,437 m: 60


914 to 1,523 m: 207


under 914 m: 797 (2006)
total: 1 1


under 914 m: 1 (2002)
Area total: 1,098,580 sq km


land: 1,084,390 sq km


water: 14,190 sq km
total: 65,610 sq km


land: 64,740 sq km


water: 870 sq km
Area - comparative slightly less than three times the size of Montana slightly larger than West Virginia
Background Bolivia, named after independence fighter Simon BOLIVAR, broke away from Spanish rule in 1825; much of its subsequent history has consisted of a series of nearly 200 coups and countercoups. Democratic civilian rule was established in 1982, but leaders have faced difficult problems of deep-seated poverty, social unrest, and illegal drug production. In December 2005, Bolivians elected Movement Toward Socialism leader Evo MORALES president - by the widest margin of any leader since the restoration of civilian rule in 1982 - after he ran on a promise to change the country's traditional political class and empower the nation's poor majority. However, since taking office, his controversial strategies have exacerbated racial and economic tensions between the Amerindian populations of the Andean west and the non-indigenous communities of the eastern lowlands. 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 23.3 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) 16.36 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Budget revenues: $2.848 billion


expenditures: $3.189 billion; including capital expenditures of $741 million (2005 est.)
revenues: $2.8 billion


expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.)
Capital name: La Paz (adminstrative capital)


geographic coordinates: 16 30 S, 68 09 W


time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)


note: Sucre (constitutional capital)
Colombo; note - Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte is the legislative capital
Climate varies with altitude; humid and tropical to cold and semiarid tropical monsoon; northeast monsoon (December to March); southwest monsoon (June to October)
Coastline 0 km (landlocked) 1,340 km
Constitution 2 February 1967; revised in August 1994 adopted 16 August 1978
Country name conventional long form: Republic of Bolivia


conventional short form: Bolivia


local long form: Republica de Bolivia


local short form: Bolivia
conventional long form: Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka


conventional short form: Sri Lanka


former: Serendib, Ceylon
Currency - Sri Lankan rupee (LKR)
Death rate 7.53 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) 6.45 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Debt - external $6.309 billion (2005 est.) $9.9 billion (2000)
Diplomatic representation from the US chief of mission: Ambassador Philip S. GOLDBERG


embassy: Avenida Arce 2780, La Paz


mailing address: P. O. Box 425, La Paz; APO AA 34032


telephone: [591] (2) 216-8000


FAX: [591] (2) 216-8111
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 Gustavo GUZMAN Saldana


chancery: 3014 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008


telephone: [1] (202) 483-4410


FAX: [1] (202) 328-3712


consulate(s) general: Houston, Miami, New York, Oklahoma City, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington, DC
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 Chile rebuffs Bolivia's reactivated claim to restore the Atacama corridor, ceded to Chile in 1884, offering instead unrestricted but not sovereign maritime access through Chile for Bolivian natural gas and other commodities none
Economic aid - recipient $221 million (2005 est.) $577 million (1998) (1998)
Economy - overview Bolivia, long one of the poorest and least developed Latin American countries, reformed its economy after suffering a disastrous economic crisis in the early 1980s. The reforms spurred real GDP growth, which averaged 4% in the 1990s, and poverty rates fell. Economic growth, however, lagged again beginning in 1999 because of a global slowdown and homegrown factors such as political turmoil, civil unrest, and soaring fiscal deficits, all of which hurt investor confidence. In 2003, violent protests against the pro-foreign investment economic policies of President SANCHEZ DE LOZADA led to his resignation and the cancellation of plans to export Bolivia's newly discovered natural gas reserves to large northern hemisphere markets. In 2005, the government passed a controversial natural gas law that imposes on the oil and gas firms significantly higher taxes as well as new contracts that give the state control of their operations. Bolivian officials are in the process of implementing the law; meanwhile, foreign investors have stopped investing and have taken the first legal steps to secure their investments. Real GDP growth in 2003-05 - helped by increased demand for natural gas in neighboring Brazil - was positive, but still below the levels seen during the 1990s. Bolivia's fiscal position has improved in recent years, but the country remains dependent on foreign aid from multilateral lenders and foreign governments to meet budget shortfalls. In 2005, the G8 announced a $2 billion debt-forgiveness plan over the next few decades that should help reduce some fiscal pressures on the government in the near term. 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 3.963 billion kWh (2003) 6.156 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2003) 0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports 10 million kWh (2003) 0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - production 4.25 billion kWh (2003) 6.619 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source - fossil fuel: 32%


hydro: 68%


nuclear: 0%


other: 0% (2000)
Elevation extremes lowest point: Rio Paraguay 90 m


highest point: Nevado Sajama 6,542 m
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m


highest point: Pidurutalagala 2,524 m
Environment - current issues the clearing of land for agricultural purposes and the international demand for tropical timber are contributing to deforestation; soil erosion from overgrazing and poor cultivation methods (including slash-and-burn agriculture); desertification; loss of biodiversity; industrial pollution of water supplies used for drinking and irrigation 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, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands


signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection
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 Quechua 30%, mestizo (mixed white and Amerindian ancestry) 30%, Aymara 25%, white 15% Sinhalese 74%, Tamil 18%, Moor 7%, Burgher, Malay, and Vedda 1%
Exchange rates bolivianos per US dollar - 8.0661 (2005), 7.9363 (2004), 7.6592 (2003), 7.17 (2002), 6.6069 (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: President Juan Evo MORALES Ayma (since 22 January 2006); Vice President Alvaro GARCIA Linera (since 22 January 2006); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government


head of government: President Juan Evo MORALES Ayma (since 22 January 2006); Vice President Alvaro GARCIA Linera (since 22 January 2006); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government


cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president


elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for a single five-year term; election last held 18 December 2005 (next to be held in 2010)


election results: Juan Evo MORALES Ayma elected president; percent of vote - Juan Evo MORALES Ayma 53.7%; Jorge Fernando QUIROGA Ramirez 28.6%; Samuel DORIA MEDINA Arana 7.8%; Michiaki NAGATANI Morishit 6.5%; Felipe QUISPE Huanca 2.2%; Guildo ANGULA Cabrera 0.7%
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 NA bbl/day $4.9 billion f.o.b. (2001)
Exports - commodities natural gas, soybeans and soy products, crude petroleum, zinc ore, tin textiles and apparel 15%, tea, diamonds, coconut products, petroleum products
Exports - partners Brazil 41.2%, US 14.1%, Colombia 8.8%, Argentina 7.6%, Peru 5.5% (2005) US 39%, UK 13%, Middle East 8%, Germany 4%, Japan 4% (2000)
Fiscal year calendar year calendar year
Flag description three equal horizontal bands of red (top), yellow, and green with the coat of arms centered on the yellow band; similar to the flag of Ghana, which has a large black five-pointed star centered in the yellow band 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: 12.8%


industry: 35.2%


services: 52% (2005 est.)
agriculture: 21%


industry: 27%


services: 52% (2000)
GDP - per capita - purchasing power parity - $3,250 (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 4.1% (2005 est.) -1% (2001 est.)
Geographic coordinates 17 00 S, 65 00 W 7 00 N, 81 00 E
Geography - note landlocked; shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's highest navigable lake (elevation 3,805 m), with Peru strategic location near major Indian Ocean sea lanes
Highways - total: 11,285 km


paved: 10,721 km


unpaved: 564 km (1998 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: 1.3%


highest 10%: 32% (1999)
lowest 10%: 4%


highest 10%: 28% (1995)
Illicit drugs world's third-largest cultivator of coca (after Colombia and Peru) with an estimated 26,500 hectares under cultivation in August 2005, an 8% increase from 2004; intermediate coca products and cocaine exported mostly to or through Brazil, Argentina, and Chile to European drug markets; cultivation steadily increasing despite eradication and alternative crop programs; money-laundering activity related to narcotics trade, especially along the borders with Brazil and Paraguay -
Imports NA bbl/day $6 billion f.o.b. (2001)
Imports - commodities petroleum products, plastics, paper, aircraft and aircraft parts, prepared foods, automobiles, insecticides, soybeans machinery and equipment, textiles, petroleum, foodstuffs
Imports - partners Brazil 21.9%, Argentina 16.7%, US 13.8%, Chile 6.9%, Peru 6.5%, Japan 6.1%, China 5.8% (2005) Japan 9%, India 8%, Hong Kong 7%, Singapore 7%, South Korea 5% (2000)
Independence 6 August 1825 (from Spain) 4 February 1948 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate 5.7% (2004 est.) 1.4% (2001)
Industries mining, smelting, petroleum, food and beverages, tobacco, handicrafts, clothing rubber processing, tea, coconuts, and other agricultural commodities; clothing, cement, petroleum refining, textiles, tobacco
Infant mortality rate total: 51.77 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 55.31 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 48.05 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
15.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 5.4% (2005 est.) 14.2% (2001 est.)
International organization participation CAN, CSN, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur (associate), MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNMISET, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO 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 1,320 sq km (2003) 6,510 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (judges appointed for 10-year terms by National Congress); District Courts (one in each department); provincial and local courts (to try minor cases) Supreme Court; Court of Appeals; judges for both courts are appointed by the president
Labor force 4.22 million (2005 est.) 6.6 million (1998)
Labor force - by occupation agriculture: NA%


industry: NA%


services: NA%
services 45%, agriculture 38%, industry 17% (1998 est.)
Land boundaries total: 6,743 km


border countries: Argentina 832 km, Brazil 3,400 km, Chile 861 km, Paraguay 750 km, Peru 900 km
0 km
Land use arable land: 2.78%


permanent crops: 0.19%


other: 97.03% (2005)
arable land: 13.43%


permanent crops: 15.78%


other: 70.79% (1998 est.)
Languages Spanish (official), Quechua (official), Aymara (official) 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 Spanish law and Napoleonic Code; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction a highly complex mixture of English common law, Roman-Dutch, Muslim, Sinhalese, and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch bicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional consists of Chamber of Senators or Camara de Senadores (27 seats; members are elected by proportional representation from party lists to serve five-year terms) and Chamber of Deputies or Camara de Diputados (130 seats; 69 are directly elected from their districts and 61 are elected by proportional representation from party lists to serve five-year terms)


elections: Chamber of Senators and Chamber of Deputies - last held 18 December 2005 (next to be held in 2010)


election results: Chamber of Senators - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PODEMOS 13, MAS 12, UN 1, MNR 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - MAS 73, PODEMOS 43, UN 8, MNR 6
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: 65.84 years


male: 63.21 years


female: 68.61 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: 87.2%


male: 93.1%


female: 81.6% (2003 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 90.2%


male: 93.4%


female: 87.2% (1995 est.)
Location Central South America, southwest of Brazil Southern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of India
Map references South America Asia
Maritime claims none (landlocked) 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: 24 ships (1000 GRT or over) 127,297 GRT/198,525 DWT


by type: bulk carrier 2, cargo 8, chemical tanker 1, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 10


foreign-owned: 10 (Argentina 1, China 1, Egypt 2, Iran 1, Singapore 3, Taiwan 1, Yemen 1) (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 Bolivian Armed Forces: Bolivian Army (Ejercito Boliviano), Bolivian Navy (Armada Boliviana; includes marines), Bolivian Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Boliviana, FAB) (2006) Army, Navy, Air Force, Police Force
Military expenditures - dollar figure $130 million (2005 est.) $719 million (FY98)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 1.4% (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 Independence Day, 6 August (1825) Independence Day, 4 February (1948)
Nationality noun: Bolivian(s)


adjective: Bolivian
noun: Sri Lankan(s)


adjective: Sri Lankan
Natural hazards flooding in the northeast (March-April) occasional cyclones and tornadoes
Natural resources tin, natural gas, petroleum, zinc, tungsten, antimony, silver, iron, lead, gold, timber, hydropower limestone, graphite, mineral sands, gems, phosphates, clay, hydropower
Net migration rate -1.22 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) -1.39 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Pipelines gas 4,860 km; liquid petroleum gas 47 km; oil 2,475 km; refined products 1,589 km; unknown (oil/water) 247 km (2006) crude oil and petroleum products 62 km (1987)
Political parties and leaders Bolivian Socialist Falange or FSB [Romel PANTOJA]; Civic Solidarity Union or UCS [Johnny FERNANDEZ]; Free Bolivia Movement or MBL [Franz BARRIOS]; Marshal of Ayacucho Institutional Vanguard or VIMA [Freddy ZABALA]; Movement of the Revolutionary Left or MIR [Jaime PAZ Zamora]; Movement Toward Socialism or MAS [Juan Evo MORALES Ayma]; Movement Without Fear or MSM [Juan DEL GRANADO]; National Revolutionary Movement or MNR [Gonzalo SANCHEZ DE LOZADA]; New Republican Force or NFR [Manfred REYES-VILLA]; Pachakuti Indigenous Movement or MIP [Felipe QUISPE Huanca]; Poder Democratico Nacional or PODEMOS [Jorge Fernando QUIROGA Ramirez]; Socialist Party or PS [Jeres JUSTINIANO] 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 Cocalero groups; indigenous organizations; labor unions; Sole Confederation of Campesino Workers of Bolivia or CSUTCB [Roman LOAYZA] 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 8,989,046 (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 64% (2004 est.) 22% (1997 est.)
Population growth rate 1.45% (2006 est.) 0.85% (2002 est.)
Ports and harbors - Colombo, Galle, Jaffna, Trincomalee
Radio broadcast stations AM 171, FM 73, shortwave 77 (1999) AM 26, FM 45, shortwave 1 (1998)
Radios - 3.85 million (1997)
Railways total: 3,519 km


narrow gauge: 3,519 km 1.000-m 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 Roman Catholic 95%, Protestant (Evangelical Methodist) 5% Buddhist 70%, Hindu 15%, Christian 8%, Muslim 7% (1999)
Sex ratio at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female


total population: 0.98 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 (married); 21 years of age, universal and compulsory (single) 18 years of age; universal
Telephone system general assessment: new subscribers face bureaucratic difficulties; most telephones are concentrated in La Paz and other cities; mobile cellular telephone use expanding rapidly


domestic: primary trunk system, which is being expanded, employs digital microwave radio relay; some areas are served by fiber-optic cable; mobile cellular systems are being expanded


international: country code - 591; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
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 646,300 (2005) 494,509 (1998)
Telephones - mobile cellular 2.421 million (2005) 228,604 (1999)
Television broadcast stations 48 (1997) 21 (1997)
Terrain rugged Andes Mountains with a highland plateau (Altiplano), hills, lowland plains of the Amazon Basin mostly low, flat to rolling plain; mountains in south-central interior
Total fertility rate 2.85 children born/woman (2006 est.) 1.93 children born/woman (2002 est.)
Unemployment rate 8% in urban areas; widespread underemployment (2005 est.) 7.7% (2001)
Waterways 10,000 km (commercially navigable) (2005) 430 km (navigable by shallow-draft craft)
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