Compare Jordan (2007) - Sri Lanka (2005)

Compare Jordan (2007) z Sri Lanka (2005)

	Jordan (2007)	Sri Lanka (2005)

Administrative divisions	12 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Ajlun, Al 'Aqabah, Al Balqa', Al Karak, Al Mafraq, 'Amman, At Tafilah, Az Zarqa', Irbid, Jarash, Ma'an, Madaba	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: 33% (male 1,018,934/female 977,645) 15-64 years: 63% (male 2,037,550/female 1,777,361) 65 years and over: 4% (male 117,279/female 124,424) (2007 est.)	0-14 years: 24.5% (male 2,508,384/female 2,397,986) 15-64 years: 68.4% (male 6,658,765/female 7,059,468) 65 years and over: 7.2% (male 670,813/female 769,360) (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products	citrus, tomatoes, cucumbers, olives; sheep, poultry, stone fruits, strawberries, dairy	rice, sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseed, spices, tea, rubber, coconuts; milk, eggs, hides, beef
Airports	17 (2007)	14 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 15 over 3,047 m: 7 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2007)	total: 13 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 6 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 2 under 914 m: 2 (2007)	total: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.)
Area	total: 92,300 sq km land: 91,971 sq km water: 329 sq km	total: 65,610 sq km land: 64,740 sq km water: 870 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Indiana	slightly larger than West Virginia
Background	Following World War I and the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, the UK received a mandate to govern much of the Middle East. Britain separated out a semi-autonomous region of Transjordan from Palestine in the early 1920s, and the area gained its independence in 1946; it adopted the name of Jordan in 1950. The country's long-time ruler was King HUSSEIN (1953-99). A pragmatic leader, he successfully navigated competing pressures from the major powers (US, USSR, and UK), various Arab states, Israel, and a large internal Palestinian population, despite several wars and coup attempts. In 1989 he reinstituted parliamentary elections and gradual political liberalization; in 1994 he signed a peace treaty with Israel. King ABDALLAH II, the son of King HUSSEIN, assumed the throne following his father's death in February 1999. Since then, he has consolidated his power and undertaken an aggressive economic reform program. Jordan acceded to the World Trade Organization in 2000, and began to participate in the European Free Trade Association in 2001. After a two-year delay, parliamentary and municipal elections took place in the summer of 2003. The prime minister appointed in November 2005 stated the government would focus on political reforms, improving conditions for the poor, and fighting corruption.	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	20.69 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	15.63 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget	revenues: $4.463 billion expenditures: $5.491 billion (2006 est.)	revenues: $3.34 billion expenditures: $4.686 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)
Capital	name: Amman geographic coordinates: 31 57 N, 35 56 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Thursday in March; ends last Friday in September	Colombo; note - Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte is the legislative capital
Climate	mostly arid desert; rainy season in west (November to April)	tropical monsoon; northeast monsoon (December to March); southwest monsoon (June to October)
Coastline	26 km	1,340 km
Constitution	1 January 1952; amended many times	adopted 16 August 1978, certified 31 August 1978; new constitution proposed in 2002
Country name	conventional long form: Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan conventional short form: Jordan local long form: Al Mamlakah al Urduniyah al Hashimiyah local short form: Al Urdun former: Transjordan	conventional long form: Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka conventional short form: Sri Lanka former: Serendib, Ceylon
Death rate	2.68 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)	6.49 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external	$7.628 billion (2006 est.)	$10.85 billion (2004 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador David M. HALE embassy: Abdoun, Amman mailing address: P. O. Box 354, Amman 11118 Jordan; Unit 70200, Box 5, APO AE 09892-0200 telephone: [962] (6) 590-6000 FAX: [962] (6) 592-0121	chief of mission: Ambassador Jeffrey J. LUNSTEAD embassy: 210 Galle Road, Colombo 3 mailing address: P. O. Box 106, Colombo telephone: [94] (11) 244-8007 FAX: [94] (11) 243-7345
Diplomatic representation in the US	chief of mission: Ambassador ZEID Ra'ad Zeid al-Hussein, Prince chancery: 3504 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 966-2664 FAX: [1] (202) 966-3110	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	approximately two million Iraqis have fled the conflict in Iraq, with the majority taking refuge in Syria and Jordan; 2004 Agreement settles border dispute with Syria pending demarcation	none
Economic aid - recipient	ODA, $752 million (2005 est.)	$577 million (1998)
Economy - overview	Jordan is a small Arab country with insufficient supplies of water, oil, and other natural resources. Poverty, unemployment, and inflation are fundamental problems, but King ABDALLAH, since assuming the throne in 1999, has undertaken some broad economic reforms in a long-term effort to improve living standards. Since Jordan's graduation from its most recent IMF program in 2002, Amman has continued to follow IMF guidelines, practicing careful monetary policy, and making substantial headway with privatization. In 2006, Jordan reduced its debt to GDP ratio significantly. The government also has liberalized the trade regime sufficiently to secure Jordan's membership in the WTO (2000), a free trade accord with the US (2001), and an association agreement with the EU (2001). These measures have helped improve productivity and have put Jordan on the foreign investment map. Jordan imported most of its oil from Iraq, but the US-led war in Iraq in 2003 made Jordan more dependent on oil from other Gulf nations, and has forced the Jordanian Government to raise retail petroleum product prices and the sales tax base. Jordan's export market, which is heavily dependent on exports to Iraq, was also affected by the war but recovered quickly while contributing to the Iraq recovery effort. The main challenges facing Jordan are reducing dependence on foreign grants, reducing the budget deficit, and attracting investment to promote job creation.	In 1977, Colombo abandoned statist economic policies and its import substitution trade policy for market-oriented policies and export-oriented trade. Sri Lanka's most dynamic sectors now are food processing, textiles and apparel, food and beverages, telecommunications, and insurance and banking. In 2003, plantation crops made up only 15% of exports (compared with 93% in 1970), while textiles and garments accounted for 63%. GDP grew at an average annual rate of 5.5% in the early 1990s until a drought and a deteriorating security situation lowered growth to 3.8% in 1996. The economy rebounded in 1997-2000 with average growth of 5.3%, but 2001 saw the first contraction in the country's history, -1.4%, due to a combination of power shortages, severe budgetary problems, the global slowdown, and continuing civil strife. Growth recovered to 4.0% in 2002 and to 5.2% in both 2003 and 2004. 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	8.49 billion kWh (2005)	6.228 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports	4 million kWh (2005)	0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports	741 million kWh (2005)	0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - production	9.074 billion kWh (2005)	6.697 billion kWh (2002)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m highest point: Jabal Ram 1,734 m	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Pidurutalagala 2,524 m
Environment - current issues	limited natural fresh water resources; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification	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, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation
Ethnic groups	Arab 98%, Circassian 1%, Armenian 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	Jordanian dinars per US dollar - 0.709 (2006), 0.709 (2005), 0.709 (2004), 0.709 (2003), 0.709 (2002)	Sri Lankan rupees per US dollar - 101.194 (2004), 96.521 (2003), 95.662 (2002), 89.383 (2001), 77.005 (2000)
Executive branch	chief of state: King ABDALLAH II (since 7 February 1999); Prince HUSSEIN (born 1994), eldest son of King ABDALLAH, is first in line to inherit the throne head of government: Prime Minister Nadir al-DAHABI (since 22 November 2007); Deputy Prime Minister Ziad FARIZ (since 24 November 2005) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister in consultation with the monarch elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; prime minister appointed by the monarch	chief of state: President Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA (since 12 November 1994); note - Mahinda RAJAPAKSE (since 6 April 2004) is the prime minister; the president is considered both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA (since 12 November 1994); note - Mahinda RAJAPAKSE is the prime minister (since 6 April 2004); the president is considered both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president in consultation with the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term; election last held 21 December 1999 (next to be held NA December 2005) election results: Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA reelected president; percent of vote - Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA 51%, Ranil WICKREMASINGHE 42%, other 7%
Exports	0 bbl/day (2004 est.)	NA
Exports - commodities	clothing, pharmaceuticals, potash, phosphates, fertilizers, vegetables, manufactures	textiles and apparel; tea and spices; diamonds, emeralds, rubies; coconut products; rubber manufactures, fish
Exports - partners	US 25.2%, Iraq 16.9%, India 8%, Saudi Arabia 5.8%, Syria 4.7% (2006)	US 32.4%, UK 13.5%, India 6.8%, Germany 4.8% (2004)
Fiscal year	calendar year	calendar year
Flag description	three equal horizontal bands of black (top), representing the Abbassid Caliphate, white, representing the Ummayyad Caliphate, and green, representing the Fatimid Caliphate; a red isosceles triangle on the hoist side, representing the Great Arab Revolt of 1916, and bearing a small white seven-pointed star symbolizing the seven verses of the opening Sura (Al-Fatiha) of the Holy Koran; the seven points on the star represent faith in One God, humanity, national spirit, humility, social justice, virtue, and aspirations; design is based on the Arab Revolt flag of World War I	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: 3.9% industry: 10.3% services: 85.8% (2006 est.)	agriculture: 19.1% industry: 26.2% services: 54.7% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - $4,000 (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	6.4% (2006 est.)	5.2% (2004 est.)
Geographic coordinates	31 00 N, 36 00 E	7 00 N, 81 00 E
Geography - note	strategic location at the head of the Gulf of Aqaba and as the Arab country that shares the longest border with Israel and the occupied West Bank	strategic location near major Indian Ocean sea lanes
Heliports	1 (2007)	-
Highways	-	total: 11,650 km paved: 11,068 km unpaved: 582 km (2002)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 2.7% highest 10%: 30.6% (2003)	lowest 10%: 3.5% highest 10%: 28% (1995)
Imports	106,400 bbl/day (2004 est.)	NA
Imports - commodities	crude oil, textile fabrics, machinery, transport equipment, manufactured goods	textile fabrics, mineral products, petroleum, foodstuffs, machinery and transportation equipment
Imports - partners	Saudi Arabia 23.2%, Germany 8.2%, China 8%, US 5.3% (2006)	India 18%, Singapore 8.7%, Hong Kong 7.7%, China 5.7%, Iran 5.2%, Japan 5.1%, Malaysia 4.1% (2004)
Independence	25 May 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration)	4 February 1948 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate	4.6% (2006 est.)	7.1% (2004 est.)
Industries	clothing, phosphate mining, fertilizers, pharmaceuticals, petroleum refining, cement, potash, inorganic chemicals, light manufacturing, tourism	rubber processing, tea, coconuts, and other agricultural commodities; telecommunications, insurance, and banking; clothing, cement, petroleum refining, textiles, tobacco
Infant mortality rate	total: 16.16 deaths/1,000 live births male: 19.33 deaths/1,000 live births female: 12.81 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)	total: 14.35 deaths/1,000 live births male: 15.57 deaths/1,000 live births female: 13.07 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	6.2% (2006 est.)	5.8% (2004 est.)
International organization participation	ABEDA, AFESD, AMF, CAEU, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAS, MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUC, OIC, ONUB, OPCW, OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO	AsDB, C, CP, FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), ONUB, OPCW, PCA, SAARC, SACEP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
Irrigated land	750 sq km (2003)	6,510 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	Court of Cassation; Supreme Court (court of final appeal)	Supreme Court; Court of Appeals; judges for both courts are appointed by the president
Labor force	1.512 million (2006 est.)	7.26 million (2004 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 5% industry: 12.5% services: 82.5% (2001 est.)	agriculture 38%, industry 17%, services 45% (1998 est.)
Land boundaries	total: 1,635 km border countries: Iraq 181 km, Israel 238 km, Saudi Arabia 744 km, Syria 375 km, West Bank 97 km	0 km
Land use	arable land: 3.32% permanent crops: 1.18% other: 95.5% (2005)	arable land: 13.86% permanent crops: 15.7% other: 70.44% (2001)
Languages	Arabic (official), English widely understood among upper and middle classes	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 Islamic law and French codes; judicial review of legislative acts in a specially provided High Tribunal; 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 Assembly or Majlis al-'Umma consists of the Senate, also called the House of Notables or Majlis al-Ayan (55 seats; members appointed by the monarch from designated categories of public figures to serve four-year terms) and the Chamber of Deputies, also called the House of Representatives or Majlis al-Nuwaab (110 seats; members elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms; note - 6 seats are reserved for women and are allocated by a special electoral panel if no women are elected) elections: Chamber of Deputies - last held 20 November 2007 (next to be held in 2011) election results: Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - independents 104, IAF 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 2 April 2004 (next to be held by 2010) election results: percent of vote by party or electoral alliance - SLFP and JVP 45.6%, UNP 37.83%, TNA 6.84%, JHU 5.97%, SLMC 2.02%, UPF 0.54%, EPDP 0.27%, others 0.93%; seats by party or electoral alliance - SLFP and JVP 105, UNP 82, TNA 22, JHU 9, SLMC 5, UPF 1, EPDP 1
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 78.55 years male: 76.04 years female: 81.22 years (2007 est.)	total population: 73.17 years male: 70.6 years female: 75.86 years (2005 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 89.9% male: 95.1% female: 84.7% (2003 est.)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 92.3% male: 94.8% female: 90% (2003 est.)
Location	Middle East, northwest of Saudi Arabia	Southern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of India
Map references	Middle East	Asia
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 3 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: 30 ships (1000 GRT or over) 410,472 GRT/564,643 DWT by type: bulk carrier 2, cargo 11, container 3, passenger/cargo 8, petroleum tanker 2, roll on/roll off 4 foreign-owned: 15 (UAE 15) registered in other countries: 15 (Bahamas 2, Panama 11, Syria 2) (2007)	total: 23 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 120,924 GRT/173,604 DWT by type: cargo 18, container 2, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 2 foreign-owned: 10 (Germany 10) registered in other countries: 1 (2005)
Military branches	Jordanian Armed Forces (JAF): Royal Jordanian Land Force, Royal Jordanian Navy, Royal Jordanian Air Force (Al-Quwwat al-Jawwiya al-Malakiya al-Urduniya), Special Operations Command (Socom); Public Security Directorate (normally falls under Ministry of Interior, but comes under JAF in wartime or crisis situations) (2006)	Army, Navy, Air Force, Police Force
Military expenditures - dollar figure	-	$514.8 million (2004)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	8.6% (2006)	2.6% (2004)
National holiday	Independence Day, 25 May (1946)	Independence Day, 4 February (1948)
Nationality	noun: Jordanian(s) adjective: Jordanian	noun: Sri Lankan(s) adjective: Sri Lankan
Natural hazards	droughts; periodic earthquakes	occasional cyclones and tornadoes
Natural resources	phosphates, potash, shale oil	limestone, graphite, mineral sands, gems, phosphates, clay, hydropower
Net migration rate	6.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)	-1.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Pipelines	gas 426 km; oil 49 km (2006)	-
Political parties and leaders	al-Ahd Party; Arab Islamic Democratic Movement [Yusuf ABU BAKR]; Arab Land Party [Dr. Ayishah Salih HIJAZAYN]; Arab Socialist Ba'th Party [Taysir al-HIMSI]; Ba'th Arab Progressive Party [Fu'ad DABBUR]; Freedom Party; Future Party; Islamic Action Front or IAF [Zaki Sa'ed BANI IRSHEID]; Islamic Center Party [Marwan al-FAURI]; Jordanian Arab Ansar Party; Jordanian Arab New Dawn Party; Jordanian Arab Party; Jordanian Citizens' Rights Movement; Jordanian Communist Party [Munir HAMARINAH]; Jordanian Communist Workers Party; Jordanian Democratic Left Party [Musa MA'AYTEH]; Jordanian Democratic Popular Unity Party [Sa'id Dhiyab Ali MUSTAFA]; Jordanian Generations Party [Muhammad KHALAYLEH]; Jordanian Green Party [Muhammad BATAYNEH]; Jordanian Labor Party [Dr. Mazin Sulayman Jiryis HANNA]; Jordanian Peace Party; Jordanian People's Committees Movement; Jordanian People's Democratic Party (Hashd) [Ahmad YUSUF]; Jordanian Rafah Party; Jordanian Renaissance Party; Mission Party; Nation Party [Ahmad al-HANANDEH]; National Action Party (Haqq) [Tariq al-KAYYALI]; National Constitutional Party [Abdul Hadi MAJALI]; National Popular Democratic Movement [Mahmud al-NUWAYHI]; Progressive Party [Fawwaz al-ZUBI]	All Ceylon Tamil Congress or ACTC [KUMARGURUPARAM]; Ceylon Workers Congress or CWC [Arumugam THONDAMAN]; Communist Party or CP [D. GUNASEKERA]; Democratic United National (Lalith) Front or DUNLF [Shrimani ATULATHMUDALI]; Eelam People's Democratic Party or EPDP [Douglas DEVANANDA]; Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front or EPRLF [Suresh PREMACHANDRAN]; Janatha Vimukthi Perumuna or JVP [Tilvan SILVA]; National Heritage Party or JHU [Tilak KARUNARATNE]; National Unity Alliance or NUA [Ferial ASHRAFF]; People's Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam or PLOTE [leader NA]; Sihala Urumaya or SU [leader NA]; Sri Lanka Freedom Party or SLFP [Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA]; Sri Lanka Muslim Congress or SLMC [Rauff HAKEEM]; Sri Lanka Progressive Front or SLPF [P. Nelson PERERA]; Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization or TELO [SABARATNAM]; Tamil National Alliance or TNA [R. SAMPANTHAN]; Tamil United Liberation Front or TULF [V. ANANDASANGAREE]; United National Party or UNP [Ranil WICKREMASINGHE]; Up-country People's Front or UPF [P. CHANDRASEKARAN]; several ethnic Tamil and Muslim parties, represented in either Parliament or provincial councils
Political pressure groups and leaders	Anti-Normalization Committee [Ali Abu SUKKAR, president vice chairman]; Jordan Bar Association [Hussein Mujalli, chairman]; Jordanian Press Association [Sayf al-SHARIF, president]; Muslim Brotherhood [Salem AL-FALAHAT, controller general]	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	6,053,193 (July 2007 est.)	20,064,776 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 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line	14.2% (2002)	22% (1997 est.)
Population growth rate	2.412% (2007 est.)	0.79% (2005 est.)
Ports and harbors	-	Colombo, Galle
Radio broadcast stations	AM 6, FM 5, shortwave 1 (1999)	AM 26, FM 45, shortwave 1 (1998)
Railways	total: 505 km narrow gauge: 505 km 1.050-m gauge (2006)	total: 1,449 km broad gauge: 1,449 km 1.676-m gauge (2004)
Religions	Sunni Muslim 92%, Christian 6% (majority Greek Orthodox, but some Greek and Roman Catholics, Syrian Orthodox, Coptic Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox, and Protestant denominations), other 2% (several small Shi'a Muslim and Druze populations) (2001 est.)	Buddhist 69.1%, Muslim 7.6%, Hindu 7.1%, Christian 6.2%, unspecified 10% (2001 census provisional data)
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.042 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.146 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.943 male(s)/female total population: 1.102 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: 0.87 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: service has improved recently with increased use of digital switching equipment; microwave radio relay transmission and coaxial and fiber-optic cable are employed on trunk lines; better access to the fixed-line telephone system is needed in the rural areas and easier access to pay telephones is needed by the urban public domestic: 1995 telecommunications law opened all non-fixed-line services to private competition; in 2005, monopoly over fixed-line services terminated and the entire telecommunications sector was opened to competition; mobile-cellular usage is increasing rapidly and teledensity is approaching 75 per 100 persons international: country code - 962; landing point for the Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG) submarine cable network that provides links to Asia, Middle East, Europe; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat, 1 Arabsat, and 29 land and maritime Inmarsat terminals; fiber-optic cable to Saudi Arabia and microwave radio relay link with Egypt and Syria; participant in Medarabtel	general assessment: very inadequate domestic service, particularly in rural areas; likely improvement with privatization of national telephone company and encouragement to private investment; good international service (1999) domestic: national trunk network consists mostly of digital microwave radio relay; fiber-optic links now in use in Colombo area and two fixed wireless local loops have been installed; competition is strong in mobile cellular systems; telephone density remains low at 2.6 main lines per 100 persons (1999) international: country code - 94; submarine cables to Indonesia and Djibouti; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) (1999)
Telephones - main lines in use	614,000 (2006)	881,400 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular	4.343 million (2006)	931,600 (2002)
Television broadcast stations	20 (plus 96 repeaters) (1995)	21 (1997)
Terrain	mostly desert plateau in east, highland area in west; Great Rift Valley separates East and West Banks of the Jordan River	mostly low, flat to rolling plain; mountains in south-central interior
Total fertility rate	2.55 children born/woman (2007 est.)	1.85 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate	15.4% official rate; unofficial rate is approximately 30% (2006 est.)	7.8% (2004 est.)
Waterways	-	160 km (primarily on rivers in southwest) (2004)

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