Compare Madagascar (2003) - Sri Lanka (2002)

Compare Madagascar (2003) z Sri Lanka (2002)

	Madagascar (2003)	Sri Lanka (2002)

Administrative divisions	6 provinces (faritany); Antananarivo, Antsiranana, Fianarantsoa, Mahajanga, Toamasina, Toliara	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: 45% (male 3,822,823; female 3,807,958) 15-64 years: 51.9% (male 4,366,748; female 4,452,686) 65 years and over: 3.1% (male 243,411; female 286,118) (2003 est.)	0-14 years: 25.6% (male 2,559,246; female 2,446,393) 15-64 years: 67.7% (male 6,446,320; female 6,802,515) 65 years and over: 6.7% (male 628,398; female 693,911) (2002 est.)
Agriculture - products	coffee, vanilla, sugarcane, cloves, cocoa, rice, cassava (tapioca), beans, bananas, peanuts; livestock products	rice, sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseed, spices, tea, rubber, coconuts; milk, eggs, hides, beef
Airports	121 (2002)	15 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 29 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 20 under 914 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: 92 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 46 under 914 m: 44 (2002)	total: 1 1 under 914 m: 1 (2002)
Area	total: 587,040 sq km land: 581,540 sq km water: 5,500 sq km	total: 65,610 sq km land: 64,740 sq km water: 870 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly less than twice the size of Arizona	slightly larger than West Virginia
Background	Formerly an independent kingdom, Madagascar became a French colony in 1886, but regained its independence in 1960. During 1992-93, free presidential and National Assembly elections were held, ending 17 years of single-party rule. In 1997, in the second presidential race, Didier RATSIRAKA, the leader during the 1970s and 1980s, was returned to the presidency. The 2001 presidential election was contested between the followers of Didier RATSIRAKA and Marc RAVALOMANANA, nearly causing secession of half of the country. In April 2002, the High Constitutional Court announced RAVALOMANANA the winner.	The Sinhalese arrived in Sri Lanka late in the 6th century B.C., probably from northern India. Buddhism was introduced beginning in about the mid-3rd century B.C. and a great civilization developed at such cities as Anuradhapura (kingdom from c. 200 B.C. to c. 1000 A.D.) and Polonnaruwa (c. 1070 to 1200). In the 14th century, a south Indian dynasty seized power in the north and established a Tamil kingdom. Occupied by the Portuguese in the 16th century and by the Dutch in the 17th century, the island was ceded to the British in 1796 and became a crown colony in 1802. As Ceylon it became independent in 1948; its name was changed in 1972. Tensions between the Sinhalese majority and Tamil separatists erupted in violence in the mid-1980s. Tens of thousands have died in an ethnic war that continues to fester.
Birth rate	42.16 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)	16.36 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Budget	revenues: $553 million expenditures: $735 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998 est.)	revenues: $2.8 billion expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.)
Capital	Antananarivo	Colombo; note - Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte is the legislative capital
Climate	tropical along coast, temperate inland, arid in south	tropical monsoon; northeast monsoon (December to March); southwest monsoon (June to October)
Coastline	4,828 km	1,340 km
Constitution	19 August 1992 by national referendum	adopted 16 August 1978
Country name	conventional long form: Republic of Madagascar conventional short form: Madagascar local long form: Republique de Madagascar local short form: Madagascar former: Malagasy Republic	conventional long form: Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka conventional short form: Sri Lanka former: Serendib, Ceylon
Currency	Malagasy franc (MGF)	Sri Lankan rupee (LKR)
Death rate	11.88 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)	6.45 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Debt - external	$4.6 billion (2002)	$9.9 billion (2000)
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Wanda L. NESBITT embassy: 14-16 Rue Rainitovo, Antsahavola, Antananarivo 101 mailing address: B. P. 620, Antsahavola, Antananarivo telephone: [261] (20) 22-212-57, 22-212-73, 22-209-56 FAX: [261] (20) 22-345-39	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 Rajaonarivony NARISOA chancery: 2374 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 265-5525, 5526 FAX: [1] (202) 483-7603 consulate(s) general: New York	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	claims Bassas da India, Europa Island, Glorioso Islands, and Juan de Nova Island (all administered by France)	none
Economic aid - recipient	$838 million (1997)	$577 million (1998) (1998)
Economy - overview	Having discarded past socialist economic policies, Madagascar has since the mid 1990s followed a World Bank and IMF led policy of privatization and liberalization, which has placed the country on a slow and steady growth path. Agriculture, including fishing and forestry, is a mainstay of the economy, accounting for one-fourth of GDP and employing four-fifths of the population. Export earnings primarily are earned in the small industrial sector, which features textile manufacturing and agriculture processing. Deforestation and erosion, aggravated by the use of firewood as the primary source of fuel are serious concerns. The separatist political crisis of 2002 undermined macroeconomic stability, with the estimated drop in output being subject to a wide margin of error. Poverty reduction will be the centerpiece of economic policy for the next few years.	In 1977, Colombo abandoned statist economic policies and its import substitution trade policy for market-oriented policies and export-oriented trade. Sri Lanka's most dynamic sectors now are food processing, textiles and apparel, food and beverages, telecommunications, and insurance and banking. By 1996 plantation crops made up only 20% of exports (compared with 93% in 1970), while textiles and garments accounted for 63%. GDP grew at an average annual rate of 5.5% throughout the 1990s until a drought and a deteriorating security situation lowered growth to 3.8% in 1996. The economy rebounded in 1997-2000 with average growth of 5.3%. But 2001 saw the first contraction in the country's history, due to a combination of power shortages, severe budgetary problems, the global slowdown, and continuing civil strife.
Electricity - consumption	772.1 million kWh (2001)	6.156 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2001)	0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2001)	0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - production	830.2 million kWh (2001)	6.619 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source	fossil fuel: 36.1% hydro: 63.9% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)	fossil fuel: 32% hydro: 68% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Maromokotro 2,876 m	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Pidurutalagala 2,524 m
Environment - current issues	soil erosion results from deforestation and overgrazing; desertification; surface water contaminated with raw sewage and other organic wastes; several species of flora and fauna unique to the island are endangered	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 Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements	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	Malayo-Indonesian (Merina and related Betsileo), Cotiers (mixed African, Malayo-Indonesian, and Arab ancestry - Betsimisaraka, Tsimihety, Antaisaka, Sakalava), French, Indian, Creole, Comoran	Sinhalese 74%, Tamil 18%, Moor 7%, Burgher, Malay, and Vedda 1%
Exchange rates	Malagasy francs per US dollar - 6,831.96 (2002), 6,588.49 (2001), 6,767.48 (2000), 6,283.77 (1999), 5,441.4 (1998)	Sri Lankan rupees per US dollar - 93.383 (January 2002), 89.383 (2001), 77.005 (2000), 70.635 (1999), 64.450 (1998), 58.995 (1997)
Executive branch	chief of state: President Marc RAVALOMANANA (since 6 May 2002) head of government: Prime Minister Jacques SYLLA (27 May 2002) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 16 December 2001 (next to be held NA November 2006); prime minister appointed by the president from a list of candidates nominated by the National Assembly election results: percent of vote - Didier RATSIRAKA (AREMA) 40.89%, Marc RAVALOMANANA 46.21%; note - on 29 April 2002, the High Constitutional Court announced RAVALOMANANA the winner by 51.5% after a recount; RATSIRIKA's prime minister was put under house arrest on 27 May 2002, and SYLLA was appointed the new prime minister by President RAVALOMANANA	chief of state: President Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA (since 12 November 1994); note - Ranil WICKREMASINGHE (since 9 December 2001) is the prime minister; in Sri Lanka the president is considered both the chief of state and head of government, in contrast to the more common practice of dividing the roles between the president and the prime minister when both offices exist head of government: President Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA (since 12 November 1994); note - Ranil WICKREMASINGHE (since 9 December 2001) is the prime minister; in Sri Lanka the president is considered both the chief of state and head of government, in contrast to the more common practice of dividing the roles between the president and the prime minister when both offices exist cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president in consultation with the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term; election last held 21 December 1999 (next to be held NA December 2005) election results: Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA reelected president; percent of vote - Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA (PA) 51%, Ranil WICKREMASINGHE (UNP) 42%, other 7%
Exports	NA (2001)	$4.9 billion f.o.b. (2001)
Exports - commodities	coffee, vanilla, shellfish, sugar; cotton cloth, chromite, petroleum products	textiles and apparel 15%, tea, diamonds, coconut products, petroleum products
Exports - partners	France 34%, US 24.6%, Netherlands 6%, Germany 5.9%, Mauritius 4% (2002)	US 39%, UK 13%, Middle East 8%, Germany 4%, Japan 4% (2000)
Fiscal year	calendar year	calendar year
Flag description	two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and green with a vertical white band of the same width on 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 - $12.59 billion (2002)	purchasing power parity - $62.7 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 25% industry: 12% services: 63% (2001 est.)	agriculture: 21% industry: 27% services: 52% (2000)
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $800 (2002 est.)	purchasing power parity - $3,250 (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	-11.9% (2002 est.)	-1% (2001 est.)
Geographic coordinates	20 00 S, 47 00 E	7 00 N, 81 00 E
Geography - note	world's fourth-largest island; strategic location along Mozambique Channel	strategic location near major Indian Ocean sea lanes
Highways	total: 49,827 km paved: 5,780 km unpaved: 44,047 km (1999 est.)	total: 11,285 km paved: 10,721 km unpaved: 564 km (1998 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 3% highest 10%: 29% (1999)	lowest 10%: 4% highest 10%: 28% (1995)
Illicit drugs	illicit producer of cannabis (cultivated and wild varieties) used mostly for domestic consumption; transshipment point for heroin	-
Imports	NA (2001)	$6 billion f.o.b. (2001)
Imports - commodities	capital goods, petroleum, consumer goods, food	machinery and equipment, textiles, petroleum, foodstuffs
Imports - partners	France 17.2%, Iran 11%, Mauritius 10.6%, Bahrain 9.4%, Hong Kong 6.9%, South Africa 5.9%, China 4.1% (2002)	Japan 9%, India 8%, Hong Kong 7%, Singapore 7%, South Korea 5% (2000)
Independence	26 June 1960 (from France)	4 February 1948 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate	3% (2000 est.)	1.4% (2001)
Industries	meat processing, soap, breweries, tanneries, sugar, textiles, glassware, cement, automobile assembly plant, paper, petroleum, tourism	rubber processing, tea, coconuts, and other agricultural commodities; clothing, cement, petroleum refining, textiles, tobacco
Infant mortality rate	total: 80.21 deaths/1,000 live births male: 88.63 deaths/1,000 live births female: 71.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)	15.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	7.4% (2001 est.)	14.2% (2001 est.)
International organization participation	ACCT, ACP, AfDB, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, InOC, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAU, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO	AsDB, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), OPCW, PCA, SAARC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)	2 (2000)	5 (2000)
Irrigated land	10,900 sq km (1998 est.)	6,510 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; High Constitutional Court or Haute Cour Constitutionnelle	Supreme Court; Court of Appeals; judges for both courts are appointed by the president
Labor force	7.3 million (2000)	6.6 million (1998)
Labor force - by occupation	-	services 45%, agriculture 38%, industry 17% (1998 est.)
Land boundaries	0 km	0 km
Land use	arable land: 4.41% permanent crops: 0.93% other: 94.66% (1998 est.)	arable land: 13.43% permanent crops: 15.78% other: 70.79% (1998 est.)
Languages	French (official), Malagasy (official)	Sinhala (official and national language) 74%, Tamil (national language) 18%, other 8% note: English is commonly used in government and is spoken competently by about 10% of the population
Legal system	based on French civil law system and traditional Malagasy 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	unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (160 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms); note - the legislature is scheduled to become a bicameral Parliament with the establishment of a Senate; two-thirds of the seats of this Senate will be filled by regional assemblies whose members will be elected by popular vote; the remaining one-third of the seats will be appointed by the president; the total number of seats will be determined by the National Assembly; all members will serve four-year terms elections: National Assembly - last held 15 December 2002 (next to be held NA 2006) election results: National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - TIM 103, FP 22, AREMA 3, LEADER/Fanilo 2, RPSD 5, others 3, independents 22	unicameral Parliament (225 seats; members elected by popular vote on the basis of a modified proportional representation system by district to serve six-year terms) elections: last held 7 December 2001 (next to be held NA December 2007) election results: percent of vote by party or electoral alliance - UNP, SLMC and CWC 46.8%, PA and EPDP 38%, JVP 9.1%, Tamil National Alliance 3.89%, PLOTE 0.19%; seats by party or electoral alliance - UNP, SLMC and CWC 114, PA and EPDP 79, JVP 16, Tamil National Alliance 15, PLOTE 1
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 56.14 years male: 53.82 years female: 58.53 years (2003 est.)	total population: 72.35 years male: 69.83 years female: 75 years (2002 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 68.9% male: 75.5% female: 62.5% (2003 est.)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 90.2% male: 93.4% female: 87.2% (1995 est.)
Location	Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Mozambique	Southern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of India
Map references	Africa	Asia
Maritime claims	contiguous zone: 24 NM continental shelf: 200 NM or 100 NM from the 2,500-m deep isobath exclusive economic zone: 200 NM 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	total: 11 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 14,865 GRT/17,936 DWT ships by type: cargo 8, chemical tanker 1, roll on/roll off 2 (2002 est.)	total: 18 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 137,321 GRT/233,367 DWT ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 15, container 1, petroleum tanker 1, includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Germany 9, Hong Kong 1, United Arab Emirates 1 (2002 est.)
Military branches	People's Armed Forces (comprising Intervention Force, Development Force, Aeronaval [Navy and Air] Force), Gendarmerie, Presidential Security Regiment	Army, Navy, Air Force, Police Force
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$52.3 million (FY02)	$719 million (FY98)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	1.2% (FY02)	4.2% (FY98)
Military manpower - availability	males age 15-49: 3,880,332 (2003 est.)	males age 15-49: 5,347,153 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service	males age 15-49: 2,300,587 (2003 est.)	males age 15-49: 4,148,825 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - military age	20 years of age (2003 est.)	18 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually	males: 163,864 (2003 est.)	males: 193,522 (2002 est.)
National holiday	Independence Day, 26 June (1960)	Independence Day, 4 February (1948)
Nationality	noun: Malagasy (singular and plural) adjective: Malagasy	noun: Sri Lankan(s) adjective: Sri Lankan
Natural hazards	periodic cyclones	occasional cyclones and tornadoes
Natural resources	graphite, chromite, coal, bauxite, salt, quartz, tar sands, semiprecious stones, mica, fish, hydropower	limestone, graphite, mineral sands, gems, phosphates, clay, hydropower
Net migration rate	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)	-1.39 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Pipelines	-	crude oil and petroleum products 62 km (1987)
Political parties and leaders	Association for the Rebirth of Madagascar or AREMA [leader vacant]; Economic Liberalism and Democratic Action for National Recovery or LEADER/Fanilo [Herizo RAZAFIMAHALEO]; I Love Madagascar or TIM [leader NA]; National Union or FP [leader NA]; Renewal of the Social Democratic Party or RPSD [Evariste MARSON]	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	Federalist Movement; National Council of Christian Churches or FFKM	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	16,979,744 (July 2003 est.)	19,576,783 note: since the outbreak of hostilities between the government and armed Tamil separatists in the mid-1980s, several hundred thousand Tamil civilians have fled the island; as of mid-1999, approximately 66,000 were housed in 133 refugee camps in south India, another 40,000 lived outside the Indian camps, and more than 200,000 Tamils have sought refuge in the West (July 2002 est.)
Population below poverty line	71% (1999 est.)	22% (1997 est.)
Population growth rate	3.03% (2003 est.)	0.85% (2002 est.)
Ports and harbors	Antsiranana, Antsohimbondrona, Mahajanga, Toamasina, Toliara	Colombo, Galle, Jaffna, Trincomalee
Radio broadcast stations	AM 2 (plus a number of repeater stations), FM 9, shortwave 6 (2001)	AM 26, FM 45, shortwave 1 (1998)
Radios	-	3.85 million (1997)
Railways	total: 732 km narrow gauge: 732 km 1.000-m gauge (2002)	total: 1,463 km broad gauge: 1,404 km 1.676-m gauge narrow gauge: 59 km 0.762-m gauge (2001)
Religions	indigenous beliefs 52%, Christian 41%, Muslim 7%	Buddhist 70%, Hindu 15%, Christian 8%, Muslim 7% (1999)
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2003 est.)	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.91 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: system is above average for the region domestic: open-wire lines, coaxial cables, microwave radio relay, and tropospheric scatter links connect regions international: submarine cable to Bahrain; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region)	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	55,000 (2000)	494,509 (1998)
Telephones - mobile cellular	63,100 (2000)	228,604 (1999)
Television broadcast stations	1 (plus 36 repeaters) (2001)	21 (1997)
Terrain	narrow coastal plain, high plateau and mountains in center	mostly low, flat to rolling plain; mountains in south-central interior
Total fertility rate	5.73 children born/woman (2003 est.)	1.93 children born/woman (2002 est.)
Unemployment rate	5.9% (1998)	7.7% (2001)
Waterways	of local importance only	430 km (navigable by shallow-draft craft)

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