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Compare British Virgin Islands (2007) - Sri Lanka (2006)
Compare British Virgin Islands (2007) z Sri Lanka (2006)
| British Virgin Islands (2007) | Sri Lanka (2006) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | none (overseas territory of the UK) | 8 provinces; Central, North Central, North Eastern, North Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Uva, Western
note: in 1998 the Government of Sri Lanka proposed a merger of the former Northern and Eastern provinces; while this merger was never ratified, the Government treats North Eastern Province as a de facto singular administrative unit |
| Age structure | 0-14 years: 20.2% (male 2,410/female 2,337)
15-64 years: 74.5% (male 9,004/female 8,534) 65 years and over: 5.4% (male 665/female 602) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 24.1% (male 2,488,689/female 2,379,233)
15-64 years: 68.6% (male 6,727,399/female 7,140,751) 65 years and over: 7.3% (male 687,842/female 798,326) (2006 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | fruits, vegetables; livestock, poultry; fish | rice, sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseed, spices, tea, rubber, coconuts; milk, eggs, hides, beef; fish |
| Airports | 3 (2007) | 16 (2006) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
total: 14
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 7 (2006) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2007) |
total: 2
under 914 m: 2 (2006) |
| Area | total: 153 sq km
land: 153 sq km water: 0 sq km note: comprised of 16 inhabited and more than 20 uninhabited islands; includes the islands of Tortola, Anegada, Virgin Gorda, Jost van Dyke |
total: 65,610 sq km
land: 64,740 sq km water: 870 sq km |
| Area - comparative | about 0.9 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly larger than West Virginia |
| Background | First inhabited by Arawak and later by Carib Indians, the Virgin Islands were settled by the Dutch in 1648 and then annexed by the English in 1672. The islands were part of the British colony of the Leeward Islands from 1872-1960; they were granted autonomy in 1967. The economy is closely tied to the larger and more populous US Virgin Islands to the west; the US dollar is the legal currency. | 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 | 14.82 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 15.51 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $204.7 million
expenditures: $180.4 million (2004) |
revenues: $3.804 billion
expenditures: $5.469 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
| Capital | name: Road Town
geographic coordinates: 18 27 N, 64 37 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
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 | subtropical; humid; temperatures moderated by trade winds | tropical monsoon; northeast monsoon (December to March); southwest monsoon (June to October) |
| Coastline | 80 km | 1,340 km |
| Constitution | 13 June 2007 | adopted 16 August 1978, certified 31 August 1978 |
| Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: British Virgin Islands abbreviation: BVI |
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 |
| Death rate | 4.42 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 6.52 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
| Debt - external | $36.1 million (1997) | $11.05 billion (2005 est.) |
| Dependency status | overseas territory of the UK; internal self-governing | - |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | 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 (overseas territory of the UK) | 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 | $NA | $577 million (1998) |
| Economy - overview | The economy, one of the most stable and prosperous in the Caribbean, is highly dependent on tourism, generating an estimated 45% of the national income. An estimated 820,000 tourists, mainly from the US, visited the islands in 2005. In the mid-1980s, the government began offering offshore registration to companies wishing to incorporate in the islands, and incorporation fees now generate substantial revenues. Roughly 400,000 companies were on the offshore registry by yearend 2000. The adoption of a comprehensive insurance law in late 1994, which provides a blanket of confidentiality with regulated statutory gateways for investigation of criminal offenses, made the British Virgin Islands even more attractive to international business. Livestock raising is the most important agricultural activity; poor soils limit the islands' ability to meet domestic food requirements. Because of traditionally close links with the US Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands has used the US dollar as its currency since 1959. | 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 about 5.5% in the 1990s, but 2001 saw the first contraction in the country's history, by 1.4%, due to a combination of power shortages, severe budgetary problems, the global slowdown, and continuing civil strife. Growth recovered to 5% between 2002 and 2005. 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. 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. |
| Electricity - consumption | 41.85 million kWh (2005) | 6.796 billion kWh (2003) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2003) |
| Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2003) |
| Electricity - production | 45 million kWh (2005) | 7.308 billion kWh (2003) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Sage 521 m |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pidurutalagala 2,524 m |
| Environment - current issues | limited natural fresh water resources (except for a few seasonal streams and springs on Tortola, most of the islands' water supply comes from wells and rainwater catchments) | 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 | black 83%, other 17% (includes white, Indian, Asian and mixed) | 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 | the US dollar is used | Sri Lankan rupees per US dollar - 100.498 (2005), 101.194 (2004), 96.521 (2003), 95.662 (2002), 89.383 (2001) |
| Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor David PEAREY (since 18 April 2006)
head of government: Premier Ralph T. O'NEAL (since 23 August 2007) cabinet: Executive Council appointed by the governor from members of the House of Assembly elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed premier by the governor |
chief of state: President Mahinda RAJAPAKSE (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 ceremonial title of prime minister
head of government: President Mahinda RAJAPAKSE (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 17 November 2005 (next to be held 2011) election results: Mahinda RAJAPAKSE elected president; percent of vote - Mahinda RAJAPAKSE 50.3%, Ranil WICKREMESINGHE 48.4%, other 1.3% |
| Exports | NA bbl/day | NA bbl/day |
| Exports - commodities | rum, fresh fish, fruits, animals; gravel, sand | textiles and apparel, tea and spices; diamonds, emeralds, rubies; coconut products, rubber manufactures, fish |
| Exports - partners | Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US (2006) | US 30.9%, UK 11.6%, India 7.3%, Belgium 4.8%, Germany 4.5% (2005) |
| Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
| Flag description | blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Virgin Islander coat of arms centered in the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms depicts a woman flanked on either side by a vertical column of six oil lamps above a scroll bearing the Latin word VIGILATE (Be Watchful) | 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 - composition by sector | agriculture: 1.8%
industry: 6.2% services: 92% (1996 est.) |
agriculture: 17.8%
industry: 27.6% services: 54.5% (2005 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 1% (2002 est.) | 6% (2005 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 18 30 N, 64 30 W | 7 00 N, 81 00 E |
| Geography - note | strong ties to nearby US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico | strategic location near major Indian Ocean sea lanes |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 3.5%
highest 10%: 28% (1995) |
| Illicit drugs | transshipment point for South American narcotics destined for the US and Europe; large offshore financial center makes it vulnerable to money laundering | - |
| Imports | NA bbl/day | NA bbl/day |
| Imports - commodities | building materials, automobiles, foodstuffs, machinery | textile fabrics, mineral products, petroleum, foodstuffs, machinery and transportation equipment |
| Imports - partners | Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US (2006) | India 19.7%, China 9.9%, Singapore 7.2%, Iran 5.5%, Malaysia 4.6%, Hong Kong 4.5% (2005) |
| Independence | none (overseas territory of the UK) | 4 February 1948 (from UK) |
| Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 8.2% (2005 est.) |
| Industries | tourism, light industry, construction, rum, concrete block, offshore financial center | processing of rubber, tea, coconuts, tobacco and other agricultural commodities; telecommunications, insurance, banking; clothing, textiles; cement, petroleum refining |
| Infant mortality rate | total: 16.13 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 18.82 deaths/1,000 live births female: 13.29 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
total: 13.97 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 15.18 deaths/1,000 live births female: 12.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2% (2005) | 11.6% (2005 est.) |
| International organization participation | Caricom (associate), CDB, Interpol (subbureau), IOC, OECS (associate), UNESCO (associate), UPU | AsDB, BIMSTEC, 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, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), OPCW, PCA, SAARC, SACEP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIS, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
| Irrigated land | NA | 7,430 sq km (2003) |
| Judicial branch | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, consisting of the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal (one judge of the Supreme Court is a resident of the islands and presides over the High Court); Magistrate's Court; Juvenile Court; Court of Summary Jurisdiction | Supreme Court; Court of Appeals; judges for both courts are appointed by the president |
| Labor force | 12,770 (2004) | 8.08 million (2005 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 0.6%
industry: 40% services: 59.4% (2005) |
agriculture: 38%
industry: 17% services: 45% (1998 est.) |
| Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
| Land use | arable land: 20%
permanent crops: 6.67% other: 73.33% (2005) |
arable land: 13.96%
permanent crops: 15.24% other: 70.8% (2005) |
| Languages | English (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 | English 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 House of Assembly (13 elected seats and 1 non-voting ex officio member in the attorney general; members are elected by direct popular vote, 1 member from each of nine electoral districts, 4 at-large members; to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 20 August 2007 (next to be held in 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - VIP 45.2%, NDP 39.6%, independent 15.2%; seats by party - VIP 10, NDP 2, independent 1 |
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 (no longer in formal UPFA alliance) 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 - UNP 68, SLFP 57, JVP 39, UNP dissident 1, TNA 22, CWC 8, JHU 7, JHU dissidents 2, SLMC 6, SLMC dissidents 4, Communist Party 2, LSSP 2, MEP 2, NUA 2, UPF 2, EPDP 1 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 76.86 years
male: 75.71 years female: 78.07 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 73.41 years
male: 70.83 years female: 76.12 years (2006 est.) |
| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97.8% (1991 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 92.3% male: 94.8% female: 90% (2003 est.) |
| Location | Caribbean, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico | Southern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of India |
| Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Asia |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 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: 22 ships (1000 GRT or over) 144,066 GRT/196,418 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 1, cargo 17, container 2, petroleum tanker 2 foreign-owned: 7 (Germany 5, UAE 2) registered in other countries: 5 (Panama 5) (2006) |
| Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK | - |
| Military branches | - | Sri Lankan Army, Sri Lankan Navy, Sri Lankan Air Force (2006) |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $606.2 million (2005 est.) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 2.6% (2005 est.) |
| National holiday | Territory Day, 1 July (1956) | Independence Day, 4 February (1948) |
| Nationality | noun: British Virgin Islander(s)
adjective: British Virgin Islander |
noun: Sri Lankan(s)
adjective: Sri Lankan |
| Natural hazards | hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October) | occasional cyclones and tornadoes |
| Natural resources | NEGL | limestone, graphite, mineral sands, gems, phosphates, clay, hydropower |
| Net migration rate | 8.83 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | -1.23 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
| Political parties and leaders | Concerned Citizens Movement or CCM [Ethlyn SMITH]; National Democratic Party or NDP [Orlando SMITH]; United Party or UP [Gregory MADURO]; Virgin Islands Party or VIP [Ralph T. O'NEAL] | 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 [Somawansa AMARASINGHE]; Lanka Sama Samaja Party or LSSP; Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (People's United Front) or MEP [D. GUNAWARDENE]; National Heritage Party or JHU [Tilak KARUNARATNE]; National Unity Alliance or NUA [Ferial ASHRAFF]; People's Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam or PLOTE [D. SIDHARTHAN]; Sihala Urumaya or SU; 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 | 23,552 (July 2007 est.) | 20,222,240
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 2006 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | NA% | 22% (1997 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 1.923% (2007 est.) | 0.78% (2006 est.) |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (2004) | AM 26, FM 45, shortwave 1 (1998) |
| Railways | - | total: 1,449 km
broad gauge: 1,449 km 1.676-m gauge (2005) |
| Religions | Protestant 86% (Methodist 33%, Anglican 17%, Church of God 9%, Seventh-Day Adventist 6%, Baptist 4%, Jehovah's Witnesses 2%, other 15%), Roman Catholic 10%, other 2%, none 2% (1991) | 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: 1.031 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.055 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.105 male(s)/female total population: 1.053 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
| Telephone system | general assessment: worldwide telephone service
domestic: NA international: country code - 1-284; connected via submarine cable to Bermuda; the East Caribbean Fiber System (ECFS) optic submarine cable provides connectivity to 13 other islands in the eastern Caribbean (2007) |
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 (1999) international: country code - 94; submarine cables to Indonesia and Djibouti; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) (1999) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 11,700 (2002) | 1.244 million (2005) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 8,000 (2002) | 3.362 million (2005) |
| Television broadcast stations | 1 (plus 1 cable company) (1997) | 21 (1997) |
| Terrain | coral islands relatively flat; volcanic islands steep, hilly | mostly low, flat to rolling plain; mountains in south-central interior |
| Total fertility rate | 1.72 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 1.84 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 3.6% (1997) | 7.7% (2005 est.) |
| Waterways | - | 160 km (primarily on rivers in southwest) (2005) |
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