Compare Congo, Democratic Republic of the (2002) - Sri Lanka (2003)

Compare Congo, Democratic Republic of the (2002) z Sri Lanka (2003)

	Congo, Democratic Republic of the (2002)	Sri Lanka (2003)

Administrative divisions	10 provinces (provinces, singular - province) and one city (ville); Bandundu, Bas-Congo, Equateur, Kasai-Occidental, Kasai-Oriental, Katanga, Kinshasa, Maniema, Nord-Kivu, Orientale, Sud-Kivu	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: 48.2% (male 13,369,493; female 13,256,174) 15-64 years: 49.3% (male 13,343,303; female 13,860,996) 65 years and over: 2.5% (male 581,568; female 813,944) (2002 est.)	0-14 years: 25.2% (male 2,543,336; female 2,431,223) 15-64 years: 67.9% (male 6,518,145; female 6,890,424) 65 years and over: 6.9% (male 641,708; female 717,603) (2003 est.)
Agriculture - products	coffee, sugar, palm oil, rubber, tea, quinine, cassava (tapioca), palm oil, bananas, root crops, corn, fruits; wood products	rice, sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseed, spices, tea, rubber, coconuts; milk, eggs, hides, beef
Airports	232 (2001)	15 (2002)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 24 over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 16 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2002)	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: 205 1,524 to 2,437 m: 19 914 to 1,523 m: 95 under 914 m: 91 (2002)	total: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2002)
Area	total: 2,345,410 sq km land: 2,267,600 sq km water: 77,810 sq km	total: 65,610 sq km land: 64,740 sq km water: 870 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly less than one-fourth the size of the US	slightly larger than West Virginia
Background	Since 1997 the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DROC; formerly called Zaire) has been rent by ethnic strife and civil war, touched off by a massive inflow in 1994 of refugees from the fighting in Rwanda and Burundi. The government of former president MOBUTU Sese Seko was toppled by a rebellion led by Laurent KABILA in May 1997; his regime was subsequently challenged by a Rwanda- and Uganda-backed rebellion in August 1998. Troops from Zimbabwe, Angola, Namibia, Chad, and Sudan intervened to support the Kinshasa regime. A cease-fire was signed on 10 July 1999 by the DROC, Zimbabwe, Angola, Uganda, Namibia, Rwanda, and Congolese armed rebel groups, but sporadic fighting continued. KABILA was assassinated on 16 January 2001 and his son Joseph KABILA was named head of state ten days later. In October 2002, the new president was successful in getting occupying Rwandan forces to withdraw from eastern Congo; two months later, an agreement was signed by all remaining warring parties to end the fighting and set up a government of national unity.	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 1000 A.D.) 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 in violence in the mid-1980s. Tens of thousands have died in an ethnic war that continues to fester. After two decades of fighting, the government and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam began a ceasefire in December 2001, with Norway brokering peace negotiations.
Birth rate	45.55 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)	16.12 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Budget	revenues: $269 million expenditures: $244 million, including capital expenditures of $24 million	revenues: $2.8 billion expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.)
Capital	Kinshasa	Colombo; note - Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte is the legislative capital
Climate	tropical; hot and humid in equatorial river basin; cooler and drier in southern highlands; cooler and wetter in eastern highlands; north of Equator - wet season April to October, dry season December to February; south of Equator - wet season November to March, dry season April to October	tropical monsoon; northeast monsoon (December to March); southwest monsoon (June to October)
Coastline	37 km	1,340 km
Constitution	24 June 1967, amended August 1974, revised 15 February 1978, amended April 1990; transitional constitution promulgated in April 1994; in November 1998, a draft constitution was approved by former President Laurent KABILA but it was not ratified by a national referendum; one outcome of the ongoing inter-Congolese dialogue is to be a new constitution	adopted 16 August 1978
Country name	conventional long form: Democratic Republic of the Congo conventional short form: none local long form: Republique Democratique du Congo local short form: none former: Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, Congo/Leopoldville, Congo/Kinshasa, Zaire abbreviation: DROC	conventional long form: Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka conventional short form: Sri Lanka former: Serendib, Ceylon
Currency	Congolese franc (CDF)	Sri Lankan rupee (LKR)
Death rate	14.93 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)	6.46 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Debt - external	$12.9 billion (2000 est.)	$9.8 billion (2002)
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Aubrey HOOKS embassy: 310 Avenue des Aviateurs, Kinshasa mailing address: Unit 31550, APO AE 09828 telephone: [243] (88) 43608 FAX: [243] (88) 43467	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 Faida MITIFU chancery: 1800 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 234-7690, 7691 FAX: [1] (202) 234-2609	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	Democratic Republic of the Congo is in the grip of a civil war that has drawn in military forces from neighboring states, with Uganda and Rwanda supporting the rebel movements that occupy much of the eastern portion of the state; Tutsi, Hutu, and other conflicting ethnic groups, political rebels, and various government forces continue fighting in Great Lakes region, transcending the boundaries of Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda; most of the Congo River boundary with the Republic of the Congo is indefinite (no agreement has been reached on the division of the river or its islands, except in the Pool Malebo/Stanley Pool area)	none
Economic aid - recipient	$195.3 million (1995) (1995)	$577 million (1998)
Economy - overview	The economy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo - a nation endowed with vast potential wealth - has declined drastically since the mid-1980s. The war, which began in August 1998, has dramatically reduced national output and government revenue and has increased external debt. Foreign businesses have curtailed operations due to uncertainty about the outcome of the conflict, lack of infrastructure, and the difficult operating environment. The war has intensified the impact of such basic problems as an uncertain legal framework, corruption, raging inflation, and lack of openness in government economic policy and financial operations. A number of IMF and World Bank missions have met with the government to help it develop a coherent economic plan, and President KABILA has begun implementing reforms.	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% 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 3.2% in 2002. About 800,000 Sri Lankans work abroad, 90% in the Middle East. They send home about $1 billion a year.
Electricity - consumption	4.55 billion kWh (1999)	5.915 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports	404 million kWh (1999)	0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports	55 million kWh (1999)	0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - production	5.268 billion kWh (1999)	6.36 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source	fossil fuel: 2% hydro: 98% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999)	fossil fuel: 51.7% hydro: 48.3% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Pic Marguerite on Mont Ngaliema (Mount Stanley) 5,110 m	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Pidurutalagala 2,524 m
Environment - current issues	poaching threatens wildlife populations; water pollution; deforestation; refugees responsible for significant deforestation, soil erosion, and wildlife poaching; mining of minerals (coltan - a mineral used in creating capacitors, diamonds, and gold) causing environmental damage	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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification	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	over 200 African ethnic groups of which the majority are Bantu; the four largest tribes - Mongo, Luba, Kongo (all Bantu), and the Mangbetu-Azande (Hamitic) make up about 45% of the population	Sinhalese 74%, Tamil 18%, Moor 7%, Burgher, Malay, and Vedda 1%
Exchange rates	Congolese francs per US dollar - 305 (January 2002), 21.82 (2000), 4.02 (1999), 1.61 (1998), 1.31 (1997) note: on 30 June 1998 the Congolese franc was introduced, replacing the new zaire	Sri Lankan rupees per US dollar - 95.66 (2002), 89.38 (2001), 77.01 (2000), 70.64 (1999), 64.45 (1998)
Executive branch	chief of state: President Joseph KABILA (since 26 January 2001); note - following the assassination of his father, Laurent Desire KABILA, on 16 January 2001, Joseph KABILA succeeded to the presidency; the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Joseph KABILA (since 26 January 2001); note - following the assassination of his father, Laurent Desire KABILA, on 16 January 2001, Joseph KABILA succeeded to the presidency; the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: National Executive Council, appointed by the president elections: before Laurent Desire KABILA seized power on 16 May 1997, the president was elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; election last held 29 July 1984 (next was scheduled to be held in May 1997); formerly, there was also a prime minister who was elected by the High Council of the Republic; note - elections were not held in 1991 as called for by the constitution election results: results of the last election were: MOBUTU Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu wa Za Banga reelected president in 1984 without opposition note: Marshal MOBUTU Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu wa Za Banga was president from 24 November 1965 until forced into exile on 16 May 1997 when his government was overthrown militarily by Laurent Desire KABILA; KABILA immediately assumed governing authority and pledged to hold elections by April 1999, but, in December 1998, announced that elections would be postponed until all foreign military forces attempting to topple the government had withdrawn from the country; KABILA was assassinated in January 2001 and was succeeded by his son Joseph KABILA	chief of state: President Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA (since 12 November 1994); note - Ranil WICKREMASINGHE (since 9 December 2001) is 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 - Ranil WICKREMASINGHE (since 9 December 2001) 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 (PA) 51%, Ranil WICKREMASINGHE (UNP) 42%, other 7%
Exports	$750 million f.o.b. (2001 est.)	NA (2001)
Exports - commodities	diamonds, copper, coffee, cobalt, crude oil	textiles and apparel, tea, diamonds, coconut products, petroleum products
Exports - partners	Benelux 62%, US 18%, South Africa, Finland, Italy (1999)	US 39.1%, UK 12.9%, Belgium 4.7%, Germany 4.5% (2002)
Fiscal year	calendar year	calendar year
Flag description	light blue with a large yellow five-pointed star in the center and a columnar arrangement of six small yellow five-pointed stars along the hoist side	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 - $32 billion (2001 est.)	purchasing power parity - $73.7 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 54% industry: 9% services: 37% (1999 est.)	agriculture: 20% industry: 26% services: 54% (2001)
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $590 (2001 est.)	purchasing power parity - $3,700 (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	-4% (2001 est.)	3.2% (2002 est.)
Geographic coordinates	0 00 N, 25 00 E	7 00 N, 81 00 E
Geography - note	straddles Equator; has very narrow strip of land that controls the lower Congo River and is only outlet to South Atlantic Ocean; dense tropical rain forest in central river basin and eastern highlands	strategic location near major Indian Ocean sea lanes
Heliports	1 (2002)	-
Highways	total: 157,000 km (including 30 km of expressways)(1996) paved: NA km unpaved: NA km	total: 96,695 km paved: 91,860 km unpaved: 4,835 km (1999)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%	lowest 10%: 3.5% highest 10%: 28% (1995)
Illicit drugs	illicit producer of cannabis, mostly for domestic consumption; while rampant corruption and inadequate supervision leaves the banking system vulnerable to money laundering, the lack of a well-developed financial system limits the country's utility as a money-laundering center	-
Imports	$1.024 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.)	NA (2001)
Imports - commodities	foodstuffs, mining and other machinery, transport equipment, fuels	textiles, mineral products, petroleum, foodstuffs, machinery and equipment
Imports - partners	South Africa 28%, Benelux 14%, Nigeria 9%, Kenya 7%, China (1999)	India 11%, Hong Kong 7.6%, Singapore 7.1%, China 6.3%, Taiwan 5.9%, South Korea 5.7%, Japan 5.3%, Iran 4.2% (2002)
Independence	30 June 1960 (from Belgium)	4 February 1948 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate	NA%	1.1% (2002)
Industries	mining (diamonds, copper, zinc), mineral processing, consumer products (including textiles, footwear, cigarettes, processed foods and beverages), cement	rubber processing, tea, coconuts, and other agricultural commodities; clothing, cement, petroleum refining, textiles, tobacco
Infant mortality rate	98.05 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)	total: 15.22 deaths/1,000 live births male: 16.45 deaths/1,000 live births female: 13.92 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	358% (2001 est.)	9.6% (2002 est.)
International organization participation	ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, CEEAC, CEPGL, ECA, FAO, G-19, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW (signatory), PCA, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO	AsDB, C, 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, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), OPCW, PCA, SAARC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)	1 (2001)	5 (2000)
Irrigated land	110 sq km (1998 est.)	6,510 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	Supreme Court or Cour Supreme	Supreme Court; Court of Appeals; judges for both courts are appointed by the president
Labor force	14.51 million (1993 est.)	6.6 million (1998)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture 65%, industry 16%, services 19% (1991 est.)	services 45%, agriculture 38%, industry 17% (1998 est.)
Land boundaries	total: 10,730 km border countries: Angola 2,511 km (of which 225 km is the boundary of Angola's discontiguous Cabinda Province), Burundi 233 km, Central African Republic 1,577 km, Republic of the Congo 2,410 km, Rwanda 217 km, Sudan 628 km, Tanzania 459 km, Uganda 765 km, Zambia 1,930 km	0 km
Land use	arable land: 2.96% permanent crops: 0.52% other: 96.52% (1998 est.)	arable land: 13.43% permanent crops: 15.78% other: 70.79% (1998 est.)
Languages	French (official), Lingala (a lingua franca trade language), Kingwana (a dialect of Kiswahili or Swahili), Kikongo, Tshiluba	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 Belgian civil law system and tribal law; 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	a 300-member Transitional Constituent Assembly established in August 2000 elections: NA; members of the Transitional Constituent Assembly were appointed by former President Laurent Desire KABILA	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%, TNA 3.89%, PLOTE 0.19%; seats by party or electoral alliance - UNP, SLMC and CWC 114, PA and EPDP 79, JVP 16, TNA 15, PLOTE 1
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 49.13 years male: 47.19 years female: 51.13 years (2002 est.)	total population: 72.62 years male: 70.09 years female: 75.29 years (2003 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write French, Lingala, Kingwana, or Tshiluba total population: 77.3% male: 86.6% female: 67.7% (1995 est.)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 92.3% male: 94.8% female: 90% (2003 est.)
Location	Central Africa, northeast of Angola	Southern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of India
Map references	Africa	Asia
Maritime claims	exclusive economic zone: boundaries with neighbors territorial sea: 12 NM	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	none (2002 est.)	total: 15 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 62,157 GRT/84,898 DWT ships by type: cargo 13, container 1, petroleum tanker 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Germany 9, Hong Kong 1, UAE 1 (2002 est.)
Military branches	Army, Navy, Air Force, Special Security Battalion	Army, Navy, Air Force, Police Force
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$250 million (FY97)	$719 million (FY98)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	4.6% (FY97)	4.2% (FY98)
Military manpower - availability	males age 15-49: 11,996,175 (2002 est.)	males age 15-49: 5,383,661 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service	males age 15-49: 6,110,595 (2002 est.)	males age 15-49: 4,172,921 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - military age	-	18 years of age (2003 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually	-	males: 186,691 (2003 est.)
National holiday	Independence Day, 30 June (1960)	Independence Day, 4 February (1948)
Nationality	noun: Congolese (singular and plural) adjective: Congolese or Congo	noun: Sri Lankan(s) adjective: Sri Lankan
Natural hazards	periodic droughts in south; Congo River floods (seasonal); in the east, in the Great Rift Valley, there are active volcanoes	occasional cyclones and tornadoes
Natural resources	cobalt, copper, cadmium, petroleum, industrial and gem diamonds, gold, silver, zinc, manganese, tin, germanium, uranium, radium, bauxite, iron ore, coal, hydropower, timber	limestone, graphite, mineral sands, gems, phosphates, clay, hydropower
Net migration rate	-2.75 migrant(s)/1,000 population note: one million refugees fled into Zaire (now called the Democratic Republic of the Congo or DROC) in 1994 as a result of the ethnic fighting in Rwanda; fighting in the DROC between rebels and government forces in October 1996 caused 875,000 refugees to return to Rwanda in late 1996 and early 1997 and additional refugees have returned in subsequent years; fighting between the Congolese government and Uganda- and Rwanda-backed Congolese rebels spawned a regional war in DROC in August 1998, which left 1.8 million Congolese displaced in DROC and caused 300,000 Congolese refugees to flee to surrounding countries (2002 est.)	-1.35 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Pipelines	petroleum products 390 km	crude oil and petroleum products 62 km (1987)
Political parties and leaders	Democratic Social Christian Party or PDSC [Andre BO-BOLIKO]; Forces for Renovation for Union and Solidarity or FONUS [Joseph OLENGHANKOY]; National Congolese Lumumbist Movement or MNC [Francois LUMUMBA]; Popular Movement of the Revolution or MPR [three factions: MPR-Fait Prive (Catherine NZUZI wa Mbombo); MPR/Vunduawe (Felix VUNDUAWE); MPR/Mananga (MANANGA Dintoka Mpholo)]; Unified Lumumbast Party or PALU [Antoine GIZENGA]; Union for Democracy and Social Progress or UDPS [Etienne TSHISEKEDI wa Mulumba]; Union of Federalists and Independent Republicans or UFERI [two factions: UFERI (Lokambo OMOKOKO); UFERI/OR (Adolph Kishwe MAYA)]	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	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	55,225,478 note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2002 est.)	19,742,439 (2003 est.) 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 2003 est.)
Population below poverty line	NA%	22% (1997 est.)
Population growth rate	2.79% (2002 est.)	0.83% (2003 est.)
Ports and harbors	Banana, Boma, Bukavu, Bumba, Goma, Kalemie, Kindu, Kinshasa, Kisangani, Matadi, Mbandaka	Colombo, Galle, Jaffna, Trincomalee
Radio broadcast stations	AM 3, FM 11, shortwave 2 (2001)	AM 26, FM 45, shortwave 1 (1998)
Radios	18.03 million (1997)	-
Railways	total: 5,138 km narrow gauge: 3,987 km 1.067-m gauge (858 km electrified); 125 km 1.000-m gauge; 1,026 km 0.600-m gauge note: severely reduced route-distance in use because of damage to facilities by civil strife (2000 est.)	total: 1,508 km broad gauge: 1,449 km 1.676-m gauge narrow gauge: 59 km 0.762-m gauge (2002)
Religions	Roman Catholic 50%, Protestant 20%, Kimbanguist 10%, Muslim 10%, other syncretic sects and indigenous beliefs 10%	Buddhist 70%, Hindu 15%, Christian 8%, Muslim 7% (1999)
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2002 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: 0.89 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2003 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal and compulsory	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: poor domestic: barely adequate wire and microwave radio relay service in and between urban areas; domestic satellite system with 14 earth stations international: 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	20,000 (2000)	494,509 (1998)
Telephones - mobile cellular	15,000 (2000)	228,604 (1999)
Television broadcast stations	4 (2001)	21 (1997)
Terrain	vast central basin is a low-lying plateau; mountains in east	mostly low, flat to rolling plain; mountains in south-central interior
Total fertility rate	6.77 children born/woman (2002 est.)	1.9 children born/woman (2003 est.)
Unemployment rate	NA%	8% (2002)
Waterways	15,000 km (including the Congo and its tributaries, and unconnected lakes)	430 km (navigable by shallow-draft craft)

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