Compare Finland (2006) - Sri Lanka (2007)

Compare Finland (2006) z Sri Lanka (2007)

	Finland (2006)	Sri Lanka (2007)

Administrative divisions	6 provinces (laanit, singular - laani); Aland, Etela-Suomen Laani, Ita-Suomen Laani, Lansi-Suomen Laani, Lappi, Oulun Laani	8 provinces; Central, North Central, North Eastern, North Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Uva, Western note: in October 2006, the Sri Lankan Supreme Court ruled voided a presidential directive merging the North and Eastern Provinces; many have defended the merger as a prerequisite for a negotiated settlement to the ethnic conflict; a parliamentary decision on the issue is pending
Age structure	0-14 years: 17.1% (male 455,420/female 438,719) 15-64 years: 66.7% (male 1,766,674/female 1,724,858) 65 years and over: 16.2% (male 337,257/female 508,444) (2006 est.)	0-14 years: 24.3% (male 2,596,295/female 2,495,949) 15-64 years: 67.9% (male 6,947,310/female 7,259,271) 65 years and over: 7.8% (male 765,507/female 861,983) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products	barley, wheat, sugar beets, potatoes; dairy cattle; fish	rice, sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseed, spices, tea, rubber, coconuts; milk, eggs, hides, beef; fish
Airports	148 (2006)	18 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 76 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 27 1,524 to 2,437 m: 10 914 to 1,523 m: 23 under 914 m: 14 (2006)	total: 14 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 7 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 72 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 67 (2006)	total: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 3 (2007)
Area	total: 338,145 sq km land: 304,473 sq km water: 33,672 sq km	total: 65,610 sq km land: 64,740 sq km water: 870 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Montana	slightly larger than West Virginia
Background	Finland was a province and then a grand duchy under Sweden from the 12th to the 19th centuries and an autonomous grand duchy of Russia after 1809. It won its complete independence in 1917. During World War II, it was able to successfully defend its freedom and resist invasions by the Soviet Union - albeit with some loss of territory. In the subsequent half century, the Finns made a remarkable transformation from a farm/forest economy to a diversified modern industrial economy; per capita income is now on par with Western Europe. As a member of the European Union, Finland was the only Nordic state to join the euro system at its initiation in January 1999.	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 the ethnic conflict that continues to fester. After two decades of fighting, the government and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) formalized a cease-fire in February 2002 with Norway brokering peace negotiations. Violence between the LTTE and government forces intensified in 2006, but neither side has formally withdrawn from the cease-fire.
Birth rate	10.45 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)	17 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget	revenues: $99.61 billion expenditures: $97.14 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.)	revenues: $4.883 billion expenditures: $6.827 billion (2006 est.)
Capital	name: Helsinki geographic coordinates: 60 10 N, 24 58 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October	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	cold temperate; potentially subarctic but comparatively mild because of moderating influence of the North Atlantic Current, Baltic Sea, and more than 60,000 lakes	tropical monsoon; northeast monsoon (December to March); southwest monsoon (June to October)
Coastline	1,250 km	1,340 km
Constitution	1 March 2000	adopted 16 August 1978, certified 31 August 1978
Country name	conventional long form: Republic of Finland conventional short form: Finland local long form: Suomen tasavalta/Republiken Finland local short form: Suomi/Finland	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	9.86 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)	6.01 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external	$211.7 billion (30 June 2005)	$12.16 billion (2006 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Marilyn WARE embassy: Itainen Puistotie 14B, 00140 Helsinki mailing address: APO AE 09723 telephone: [358] (9) 616250 FAX: [358] (9) 6162 5800	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	chief of mission: Ambassador Pekka LINTU chancery: 3301 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 298-5800 FAX: [1] (202) 298-6030 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles, New York	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	various groups in Finland advocate restoration of Karelia and other areas ceded to the Soviet Union, but the Finnish Government asserts no territorial demands	none
Economic aid - donor	ODA, $379 million (2001)	-
Economic aid - recipient	-	$1.189 billion (2005)
Economy - overview	Finland has a highly industrialized, largely free-market economy with per capita output roughly that of the UK, France, Germany, and Italy. Its key economic sector is manufacturing - principally the wood, metals, engineering, telecommunications, and electronics industries. Trade is important; exports equal two-fifths of GDP. Finland excels in high-tech exports, e.g., mobile phones. Except for timber and several minerals, Finland depends on imports of raw materials, energy, and some components for manufactured goods. Because of the climate, agricultural development is limited to maintaining self-sufficiency in basic products. Forestry, an important export earner, provides a secondary occupation for the rural population. Rapidly increasing integration with Western Europe - Finland was one of the 12 countries joining the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) - will dominate the economic picture over the next several years. High unemployment remains a persistent problem.	In 1977, Colombo abandoned statist economic policies and its import substitution trade policy for more market-oriented policies, export-oriented trade, and encouragement of foreign investment. Recent changes in government, however, have brought some policy reversals. Currently, the ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party has a more statist economic approach, which seeks to reduce poverty by steering investment to disadvantaged areas, developing small and medium enterprises, promoting agriculture, and expanding the already enormous civil service. The government has halted most privatizations. Although suffering a brutal civil war that began in 1983, Sri Lanka saw GDP growth average 4.5% in the last 10 years with the exception of a recession in 2001. 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. Growth, partly spurred by reconstruction, reached 5% in 2005 and more than 6% in 2006. Sri Lanka's most dynamic sectors now are food processing, textiles and apparel, food and beverages, port construction, telecommunications, and insurance and banking. In 2005, plantation crops made up only about 15% of exports (compared with more than 90% in 1970), while textiles and garments accounted for more than 60%. About 800,000 Sri Lankans work abroad, 90% in the Middle East. They send home more than $1 billion a year. The struggle by the Tamil Tigers of the north and east for an independent homeland continues to cast a shadow over the economy.
Electricity - consumption	78.94 billion kWh (2003)	7.072 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports	7 billion kWh (2003)	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports	11.9 billion kWh (2003)	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - production	79.61 billion kWh (2003)	8.411 billion kWh (2005)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Baltic Sea 0 m highest point: Haltiatunturi 1,328 m	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Pidurutalagala 2,524 m
Environment - current issues	air pollution from manufacturing and power plants contributing to acid rain; water pollution from industrial wastes, agricultural chemicals; habitat loss threatens wildlife populations	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: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: 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	Finn 93.4%, Swede 5.7%, Russian 0.4%, Estonian 0.2%, Roma 0.2%, Sami 0.1%	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	euros per US dollar - 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001)	Sri Lankan rupees per US dollar - 103.99 (2006), 100.498 (2005), 101.194 (2004), 96.521 (2003), 95.662 (2002)
Executive branch	chief of state: President Tarja HALONEN (since 1 March 2000) head of government: Prime Minister Matti VANHANEN (since 24 June 2003) and Deputy Prime Minister Eero HEINALUOMA (since 24 September 2005) cabinet: Council of State or Valtioneuvosto appointed by the president, responsible to parliament elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 15 January 2006 (next to be held January 2012); the president appoints the prime minister and deputy prime minister from the majority party or the majority coalition after parliamentary elections and the parliament must approve the appointment election results: percent of vote - Tarja HALONEN (SDP) 46.3%, Sauli NIINISTO (Kok) 24.1%, Matti Vanhanen (Kesk) 18.6%, Heidi HAUTALA (VIHR) 3.5%; a runoff election between HALONEN and NIINISTO was held 29 January 2006 - HOLONEN 51.8%, NIINISTO 48.2% note: government coalition - Kesk, SDP, and SFP	chief of state: President Mahinda RAJAPAKSA (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 largely ceremonial title of prime minister head of government: President Mahinda RAJAPAKSA (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 on 17 November 2005 (next to be held in 2011) election results: Mahinda RAJAPAKSA elected president; percent of vote - Mahinda RAJAPAKSA 50.3%, Ranil WICKREMESINGHE 48.4%, other 1.3%
Exports	101,000 bbl/day (2001)	NA bbl/day
Exports - commodities	machinery and equipment, chemicals, metals; timber, paper, pulp (1999)	textiles and apparel, tea and spices; diamonds, emeralds, rubies; coconut products, rubber manufactures, fish
Exports - partners	Russia 11.2%, Sweden 10.7%, Germany 10.5%, UK 6.6%, US 6.2%, Netherlands 4.8% (2005)	US 27.6%, UK 11.3%, India 9.3%, Belgium 4.7% (2006)
Fiscal year	calendar year	calendar year
Flag description	white with a blue cross extending to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side in the style of the Dannebrog (Danish flag)	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: 2.8% industry: 29.5% services: 67.6% (2005 est.)	agriculture: 16.5% industry: 27.1% services: 56.5% (2006 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	3% (2005 est.)	7.4% (2006 est.)
Geographic coordinates	64 00 N, 26 00 E	7 00 N, 81 00 E
Geography - note	long boundary with Russia; Helsinki is northernmost national capital on European continent; population concentrated on small southwestern coastal plain	strategic location near major Indian Ocean sea lanes
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 4.2% highest 10%: 21.6% (1991)	lowest 10%: 1.1% highest 10%: 39.7% (FY03/04)
Imports	318,300 bbl/day (2001)	NA bbl/day
Imports - commodities	foodstuffs, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, transport equipment, iron and steel, machinery, textile yarn and fabrics, grains	textile fabrics, mineral products, petroleum, foodstuffs, machinery and transportation equipment
Imports - partners	Germany 16.2%, Sweden 14.1%, Russia 13.9%, Netherlands 6.2%, Denmark 4.6%, UK 4.3%, China 4.2% (2005)	India 19.6%, China 10.5%, Singapore 8.7%, Iran 5.7%, Malaysia 5.1%, Hong Kong 4.2%, Japan 4.1% (2006)
Independence	6 December 1917 (from Russia)	4 February 1948 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate	-2% (2005 est.)	6.2% (2006 est.)
Industries	metals and metal products, electronics, machinery and scientific instruments, shipbuilding, pulp and paper, foodstuffs, chemicals, textiles, clothing	processing of rubber, tea, coconuts, tobacco and other agricultural commodities; telecommunications, insurance, banking; clothing, textiles; cement, petroleum refining
Infant mortality rate	total: 3.55 deaths/1,000 live births male: 3.86 deaths/1,000 live births female: 3.22 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)	total: 19.45 deaths/1,000 live births male: 21.2 deaths/1,000 live births female: 17.63 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	0.9% (2005 est.)	13.7% (2006 est.)
International organization participation	AfDB, Arctic Council, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 9, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM (guest), NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNMOGIP, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WEU (observer), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC	AsDB, BIMSTEC, C, CP, FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), OPCW, PCA, SAARC, SACEP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIS, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Irrigated land	640 sq km (2003)	7,430 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch	Supreme Court or Korkein Oikeus (judges appointed by the president)	Supreme Court; Court of Appeals; judges for both courts are appointed by the president
Labor force	2.61 million (2005 est.)	7.602 million (2006 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture and forestry 8%, industry 22%, construction 6%, commerce 14%, finance, insurance, and business services 10%, transport and communications 8%, public services 32%	agriculture: 34.3% industry: 25.3% services: 40.4% (30 June 2006 est.)
Land boundaries	total: 2,681 km border countries: Norway 727 km, Sweden 614 km, Russia 1,340 km	0 km
Land use	arable land: 6.54% permanent crops: 0.02% other: 93.44% (2005)	arable land: 13.96% permanent crops: 15.24% other: 70.8% (2005)
Languages	Finnish 92% (official), Swedish 5.6% (official), other 2.4% (small Sami- and Russian-speaking minorities) (2003)	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	civil law system based on Swedish law; the president may request the Supreme Court to review laws; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations	a highly complex mixture of English common law, Roman-Dutch, Islamic, Sinhalese, and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch	unicameral Parliament or Eduskunta (200 seats; members are elected by popular vote on a proportional basis to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 16 March 2003 (next to be held March 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - Kesk 24.7%, SDP 24.5%, Kok 18.5%, VAS 9.9%, VIHR 8%, KD 5.3%, SFP 4.6%; seats by party - Kesk 55, SDP 53, Kok 40, VAS 19, VIHR 14, KD 7, SFP 8, other 4	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 on 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 37.8%, TNA 6.8%, JHU 6%, SLMC 2%, UPF 0.5%, EPDP 0.3%, other 1%; seats by party - UNP 68, SLFP 57, JVP 39, TNA 22, CWC 8, JHU 7, SLMC 6, SLMC dissidents 4, Communist Party 2, JHU dissidents 2, LSSP 2, MEP 2, NUA 2, UPF 2, EPDP 1, UNP dissident 1
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 78.5 years male: 74.99 years female: 82.17 years (2006 est.)	total population: 74.8 years male: 72.81 years female: 76.88 years (2007 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 100% male: 100% female: 100% (2000 est.)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 90.7% male: 92.3% female: 89.1% (2001 census)
Location	Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia, and Gulf of Finland, between Sweden and Russia	Southern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of India
Map references	Europe	Asia
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm (in the Gulf of Finland - 3 nm) continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm; extends to continental shelf boundary with Sweden	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: 87 ships (1000 GRT or over) 1,250,600 GRT/952,072 DWT by type: bulk carrier 4, cargo 22, chemical tanker 6, container 1, passenger 5, passenger/cargo 20, petroleum tanker 4, roll on/roll off 25 foreign-owned: 3 (Norway 1, Russia 1, UK 1) registered in other countries: 48 (Bahamas 8, Germany 2, Gibraltar 3, Luxembourg 4, Marshall Islands 2, Netherlands 13, Norway 4, Sweden 11, UK 1) (2006)	total: 24 ships (1000 GRT or over) 162,280 GRT/227,478 DWT by type: bulk carrier 2, cargo 18, container 2, petroleum tanker 2 foreign-owned: 6 (Germany 6) registered in other countries: 3 (Panama 3) (2007)
Military branches	Finnish Defense Forces: Army, Navy (includes coastal defense forces), Air Force (2003)	Sri Lankan Army, Sri Lankan Navy, Sri Lankan Air Force (2006)
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$1.8 billion (FY98/99)	-
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	2% (FY98/99)	2.6% (2006)
National holiday	Independence Day, 6 December (1917)	Independence Day, 4 February (1948)
Nationality	noun: Finn(s) adjective: Finnish	noun: Sri Lankan(s) adjective: Sri Lankan
Natural hazards	NA	occasional cyclones and tornadoes
Natural resources	timber, iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, chromite, nickel, gold, silver, limestone	limestone, graphite, mineral sands, gems, phosphates, clay, hydropower
Net migration rate	0.84 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)	-1.16 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Pipelines	gas 694 km (2006)	-
Political parties and leaders	Center Party or Kesk [Matti VANHANEN]; Christian Democrats or KD [Paivi RASANEN]; Green League or VIHR [Tarja CRONBERG]; Left Alliance or VAS composed of People's Democratic League and Democratic Alternative [Martti KORHONEN]; National Coalition (conservative) Party or Kok [Jyrki KATAINEN]; Social Democratic Party or SDP [Eero HEINALUOMA]; Swedish People's Party or SFP [Stefan WALLIN]	All Ceylon Tamil Congress or ACTC [A. VINAYAKAMOORTHY]; Ceylon Workers Congress or CWC [Arumugam THONDAMAN]; Communist Party or CP [D. GUNASEKERA]; Democratic United National (Lalith) Front or DUNLF [T.N.S. NANAYAKKARA]; 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 [Tissa VITHARANA]; Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (People's United Front) or MEP [D. GUNAWARDENE]; National Heritage Party or JHU [Ellawala METHANANDA]; National Unity Alliance or NUA [Ferial ASHRAFF]; People's Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam or PLOTE [D. SIDHARTHAN]; Sri Lanka Freedom Party or SLFP [Mahinda RAJAPAKSA]; Sri Lanka Muslim Congress or SLMC [Rauff HAKEEM]; Sri Lanka Progressive Front or SLPF [P. Nelson PERERA]; Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization or TELO [Selvam ADAIKALANATHAN]; 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	-	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; Tamil Eela Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal, TMVP or "Karuna group" [Vinayagamurthi MURALITHARAN] (paramilitary breakaway from LTTE and fighting against LTTE)
Population	5,231,372 (July 2006 est.)	20,926,315 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 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line	NA%	22% (2002 est.)
Population growth rate	0.14% (2006 est.)	0.982% (2007 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 2, FM 186, shortwave 1 (1998)	34 (station types NA) (2006)
Railways	total: 5,741 km broad gauge: 5,741 km 1.524-m gauge (2,619 km electrified) (2005)	total: 1,449 km broad gauge: 1,449 km 1.676-m gauge (2006)
Religions	Lutheran National Church 84.2%, Greek Orthodox in Finland 1.1%, other Christian 1.1%, other 0.1%, none 13.5% (2003)	Buddhist 69.1%, Muslim 7.6%, Hindu 7.1%, Christian 6.2%, unspecified 10% (2001 census provisional data)
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.66 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2006 est.)	at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.957 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.888 male(s)/female total population: 0.971 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: modern system with excellent service domestic: digital fiber-optic fixed-line network and an extensive cellular network provide domestic needs international: country code - 358; 1 submarine cable (Finland Estonia Connection); satellite earth stations - access to Intelsat transmission service via a Swedish satellite earth station, 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions); note - Finland shares the Inmarsat earth station with the other Nordic countries (Denmark, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden)	general assessment: telephone services have improved significantly and are available in most parts of the country domestic: national trunk network consists mostly of digital microwave radio relay; fiber-optic links now in use in Colombo area and 2 fixed wireless local loops have been installed; competition is strong in mobile cellular systems and mobile cellular subscribership is increasing; telephone density remains low international: country code - 94; submarine cables to Indonesia, Djibouti, India and Maldives; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)
Telephones - main lines in use	2.12 million (2005)	2.087 million (2007)
Telephones - mobile cellular	5.231 million (2005)	5.959 million (2007)
Television broadcast stations	120 (plus 431 repeaters) (1999)	14 (2006)
Terrain	mostly low, flat to rolling plains interspersed with lakes and low hills	mostly low, flat to rolling plain; mountains in south-central interior
Total fertility rate	1.73 children born/woman (2006 est.)	2.05 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate	8.4% (2005 est.)	7.6% (2006 est.)
Waterways	7,842 km note: includes Saimaa Canal system of 3,577 km; southern part leased from Russia (2005)	160 km (primarily on rivers in southwest) (2006)

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