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Compare Nicaragua (2005) - Sri Lanka (2003)

Compare Nicaragua (2005) z Sri Lanka (2003)

 Nicaragua (2005)Sri Lanka (2003)
 NicaraguaSri Lanka
Administrative divisions 15 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento) and 2 autonomous regions* (regiones autonomistas, singular - region autonomista); Atlantico Norte*, Atlantico Sur*, Boaco, Carazo, Chinandega, Chontales, Esteli, Granada, Jinotega, Leon, Madriz, Managua, Masaya, Matagalpa, Nueva Segovia, Rio San Juan, Rivas 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: 37.2% (male 1,036,487/female 999,226)


15-64 years: 59.7% (male 1,623,065/female 1,638,017)


65 years and over: 3.1% (male 73,935/female 94,370) (2005 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, bananas, sugarcane, cotton, rice, corn, tobacco, sesame, soya, beans; beef, veal, pork, poultry, dairy products rice, sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseed, spices, tea, rubber, coconuts; milk, eggs, hides, beef
Airports 176 (2004 est.) 15 (2002)
Airports - with paved runways total: 11


2,438 to 3,047 m: 3


1,524 to 2,437 m: 2


914 to 1,523 m: 3


under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.)
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: 165


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 23


under 914 m: 141 (2004 est.)
total: 1


under 914 m: 1 (2002)
Area total: 129,494 sq km


land: 120,254 sq km


water: 9,240 sq km
total: 65,610 sq km


land: 64,740 sq km


water: 870 sq km
Area - comparative slightly smaller than the state of New York slightly larger than West Virginia
Background The Pacific Coast of Nicaragua was settled as a Spanish colony from Panama in the early 16th century. Independence from Spain was declared in 1821 and the country became an independent republic in 1838. Britain occupied the Caribbean Coast in the first half of the 19th century, but gradually ceded control of the region in subsequent decades. Violent opposition to governmental manipulation and corruption spread to all classes by 1978 and resulted in a short-lived civil war that brought the Marxist Sandinista guerrillas to power in 1979. Nicaraguan aid to leftist rebels in El Salvador caused the US to sponsor anti-Sandinista contra guerrillas through much of the 1980s. Free elections in 1990, 1996, and again in 2001 saw the Sandinistas defeated. The country has slowly rebuilt its economy during the 1990s, but was hard hit by Hurricane Mitch in 1998. 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 24.88 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) 16.12 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Budget revenues: $725.5 million


expenditures: $1.039 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)
revenues: $2.8 billion


expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.)
Capital Managua Colombo; note - Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte is the legislative capital
Climate tropical in lowlands, cooler in highlands tropical monsoon; northeast monsoon (December to March); southwest monsoon (June to October)
Coastline 910 km 1,340 km
Constitution 9 January 1987; reforms in 1995 and 2000 adopted 16 August 1978
Country name conventional long form: Republic of Nicaragua


conventional short form: Nicaragua


local long form: Republica de Nicaragua


local short form: Nicaragua
conventional long form: Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka


conventional short form: Sri Lanka


former: Serendib, Ceylon
Currency - Sri Lankan rupee (LKR)
Death rate 4.49 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) 6.46 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Debt - external $4.573 billion (2004 est.) $9.8 billion (2002)
Diplomatic representation from the US chief of mission: Ambassador Barbara Calandra MOORE


embassy: Kilometer 4.5 Carretera Sur, Managua


mailing address: APO AA 34021


telephone: [505] 266-6010


FAX: [505] 266-9074
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 Salvador STADTHAGEN (since 5 December 2003)


chancery: 1627 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009


telephone: [1] (202) 939-6570, [1] (202) 939-6573


FAX: [1] (202) 939-6545


consulate(s) general: Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco
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 Nicaragua filed a claim against Honduras in 1999 and against Colombia in 2001 at the ICJ over disputed maritime boundary involving 50,000 sq km in the Caribbean Sea, including the Archipelago de San Andres y Providencia and Quita Sueno Bank; the 1992 ICJ ruling for El Salvador and Honduras advised a tripartite resolution to establish a maritime boundary in the Gulf of Fonseca, which considers Honduran access to the Pacific; legal dispute over navigational rights of San Juan River on border with Costa Rica none
Economic aid - recipient $541.8 million (2003) $577 million (1998)
Economy - overview Nicaragua, one of the hemisphere's poorest countries, faces low per capita income, massive unemployment, and huge external debt. Distribution of income is one of the most unequal on the globe. While the country has made progress toward macroeconomic stability over the past few years, GDP annual growth has been far too low to meet the country's needs. As a result of successful performance under its International Monetary Fund policy program and other efforts, Nicaragua qualified in early 2004 for some $4 billion in foreign debt reduction under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. Even after this reduction, however, the government continues to bear a significant foreign and domestic debt burden. If ratified, the US-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) will provide an opportunity for Nicaragua to attract investment, create jobs, and deepen economic development. While President BOLANOS enjoys the support of the international financial bodies, his internal political base is meager. 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 2.318 billion kWh (2002) 5.915 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports 6.8 million kWh (2002) 0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports 15.3 million kWh (2002) 0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - production 2.553 billion kWh (2002) 6.36 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source - fossil fuel: 51.7%


hydro: 48.3%


nuclear: 0%


other: 0% (2001)
Elevation extremes lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m


highest point: Mogoton 2,438 m
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m


highest point: Pidurutalagala 2,524 m
Environment - current issues deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution 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, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, 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 mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 69%, white 17%, black 9%, Amerindian 5% Sinhalese 74%, Tamil 18%, Moor 7%, Burgher, Malay, and Vedda 1%
Exchange rates gold cordobas per US dollar - 15.937 (2004), 15.105 (2003), 14.251 (2002), 13.372 (2001), 12.684 (2000) 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 Enrique BOLANOS Geyer (since 10 January 2002); Vice President Jose RIZO Castellon (since 10 January 2002); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government


head of government: President Enrique BOLANOS Geyer (since 10 January 2002); Vice President Jose RIZO Castellon (since 10 January 2002); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government


cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president


elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 4 November 2001 (next to be held by November 2006)


election results: Enrique BOLANOS Geyer (PLC) elected president - 56.3%, Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra (FSLN) 42.3%, Alberto SABORIO (PCN) 1.4%; Jose RIZO Castellon elected vice president
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 738 bbl/day (2003) NA (2001)
Exports - commodities coffee, beef, shrimp and lobster, tobacco, sugar, gold, peanuts textiles and apparel, tea, diamonds, coconut products, petroleum products
Exports - partners US 64.8%, El Salvador 7%, Mexico 3.6% (2004) US 39.1%, UK 12.9%, Belgium 4.7%, Germany 4.5% (2002)
Fiscal year calendar year calendar year
Flag description three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and blue with the national coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms features a triangle encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on the top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom; similar to the flag of El Salvador, which features a round emblem encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Honduras, which has five blue stars arranged in an X pattern centered in the white band 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 - $73.7 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 20.7%


industry: 24.7%


services: 54.6% (2004 est.)
agriculture: 20%


industry: 26%


services: 54% (2001)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $2,300 (2004 est.) purchasing power parity - $3,700 (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 4% (2004 est.) 3.2% (2002 est.)
Geographic coordinates 13 00 N, 85 00 W 7 00 N, 81 00 E
Geography - note largest country in Central America; contains the largest freshwater body in Central America, Lago de Nicaragua strategic location near major Indian Ocean sea lanes
Highways total: 18,712 km


paved: 2,126 km


unpaved: 16,586 km (2002)
total: 96,695 km


paved: 91,860 km


unpaved: 4,835 km (1999)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: 1.2%


highest 10%: 45% (2001)
lowest 10%: 3.5%


highest 10%: 28% (1995)
Illicit drugs transshipment point for cocaine destined for the US and transshipment point for arms-for-drugs dealing -
Imports 27,950 bbl/day (2003) NA (2001)
Imports - commodities consumer goods, machinery and equipment, raw materials, petroleum products textiles, mineral products, petroleum, foodstuffs, machinery and equipment
Imports - partners US 22.6%, Costa Rica 8.5%, Venezuela 8.4%, Guatemala 6.8%, Mexico 5.8%, El Salvador 4.9%, South Korea 4.5% (2004) 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 15 September 1821 (from Spain) 4 February 1948 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate 4.4% (2000 est.) 1.1% (2002)
Industries food processing, chemicals, machinery and metal products, textiles, clothing, petroleum refining and distribution, beverages, footwear, wood rubber processing, tea, coconuts, and other agricultural commodities; clothing, cement, petroleum refining, textiles, tobacco
Infant mortality rate total: 29.11 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 32.6 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 25.44 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 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) 9.3% (2004 est.) 9.6% (2002 est.)
International organization participation BCIE, CACM, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO 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) - 5 (2000)
Irrigated land 880 sq km (1998 est.) 6,510 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (16 judges elected for five-year terms by the National Assembly) Supreme Court; Court of Appeals; judges for both courts are appointed by the president
Labor force 1.93 million (2004 est.) 6.6 million (1998)
Labor force - by occupation agriculture 30.5%, industry 17.3%, services 52.2% (2003 est.) services 45%, agriculture 38%, industry 17% (1998 est.)
Land boundaries total: 1,231 km


border countries: Costa Rica 309 km, Honduras 922 km
0 km
Land use arable land: 15.94%


permanent crops: 1.94%


other: 82.12% (2001)
arable land: 13.43%


permanent crops: 15.78%


other: 70.79% (1998 est.)
Languages Spanish 97.5% (official), Miskito 1.7%, other 0.8% (1995 census)


note: English and indigenous languages on Atlantic coast
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; Supreme Court may review administrative acts 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 Asamblea Nacional (92 seats; members are elected by proportional representation and party lists to serve five-year terms; one seat for previous President, one seat for runner-up in previous Presidential election


elections: last held 4 November 2001 (next to be held by November 2006)


election results: percent of vote by party - Liberal Alliance (ruling party - includes PCCN, PLC, PALI, PLIUN, and PUCA) 46.03%, FSLN 36.55%, PCN 2.12%; seats by party - Liberal Alliance 53, FSLN 38, PCN 1
unicameral Parliament (225 seats; members elected by popular vote on the basis of a modified proportional representation system by district to serve six-year terms)


elections: last held 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: 70.33 years


male: 68.27 years


female: 72.49 years (2005 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


total population: 67.5%


male: 67.2%


female: 67.8% (2003 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 92.3%


male: 94.8%


female: 90% (2003 est.)
Location Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Costa Rica and Honduras Southern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of India
Map references Central America and the Caribbean Asia
Maritime claims territorial sea: 200 nm


continental shelf: natural prolongation
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: 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 (includes Navy, Air Force) Army, Navy, Air Force, Police Force
Military expenditures - dollar figure $32.8 million (2004) $719 million (FY98)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 0.7% (2004) 4.2% (FY98)
Military manpower - availability - males age 15-49: 5,383,661 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service - 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, 15 September (1821) Independence Day, 4 February (1948)
Nationality noun: Nicaraguan(s)


adjective: Nicaraguan
noun: Sri Lankan(s)


adjective: Sri Lankan
Natural hazards destructive earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides; extremely susceptible to hurricanes occasional cyclones and tornadoes
Natural resources gold, silver, copper, tungsten, lead, zinc, timber, fish limestone, graphite, mineral sands, gems, phosphates, clay, hydropower
Net migration rate -1.19 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) -1.35 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Pipelines oil 54 km (2004) crude oil and petroleum products 62 km (1987)
Political parties and leaders Alliance for the Republic or APRE [Miguel LOPEZ Baldizon, Oscar WENDOLYN Vargas, Karla WHITE]; Central American Unionist Party or PUCA [leader NA]; Christian Alternative Party or AC [Orlando TARDENCILLA Espinoza]; Conservative Party of Nicaragua or PCN [Mario RAPPACCIOLI]; Independent Liberal Party or PLI [Anibal MARTINEZ Nunez, Pedro REYES Vallejos]; Independent Liberal Party for National Unity or PLIUN [leader NA]; Liberal Constitutional Party or PLC [Jorge CASTILLO Quant]; Liberal Salvation Movement or MSL [Eliseo NUNEZ Hernandez]; New Liberal Party or PALI [leader NA]; Nicaraguan Party of the Christian Path or PCCN [Guillermo OSORNO Molina]; Nicaraguan Resistance Party or PRN [Salvador TALAVERA]; Sandinista National Liberation Front or FSLN [Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra]; Sandinista Renovation Movement or MRS [leader NA]; Unity Alliance or AU [leader NA] 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 National Workers Front or FNT is a Sandinista umbrella group of eight labor unions including - Farm Workers Association or ATC, Health Workers Federation or FETASALUD, Heroes and Martyrs Confederation of Professional Associations or CONAPRO, National Association of Educators of Nicaragua or ANDEN, National Union of Employees or UNE, National Union of Farmers and Ranchers or UNAG, Sandinista Workers Central or CST, and Union of Journalists of Nicaragua or UPN; Permanent Congress of Workers or CPT is an umbrella group of four non-Sandinista labor unions including - Autonomous Nicaraguan Workers Central or CTN-A, Confederation of Labor Unification or CUS, Independent General Confederation of Labor or CGT-I, and Labor Action and Unity Central or CAUS; Nicaraguan Workers' Central or CTN is an independent labor union; Superior Council of Private Enterprise or COSEP is a confederation of business groups 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 5,465,100 (July 2005 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 50% (2001 est.) 22% (1997 est.)
Population growth rate 1.92% (2005 est.) 0.83% (2003 est.)
Ports and harbors Bluefields, Corinto, El Bluff Colombo, Galle, Jaffna, Trincomalee
Radio broadcast stations AM 63, FM 32, shortwave 1 (1998) AM 26, FM 45, shortwave 1 (1998)
Railways total: 6 km


narrow gauge: 6 km 1.067-m gauge (2004)
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 72.9%, Evangelical 15.1%, Moravian 1.5%, Episcopal 0.1%, other 1.9%, none 8.5% (1995 census) Buddhist 70%, Hindu 15%, Christian 8%, Muslim 7% (1999)
Sex ratio at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female


total population: 1 male(s)/female (2005 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 16 years of age; universal 18 years of age; universal
Telephone system general assessment: inadequate system being upgraded by foreign investment


domestic: low-capacity microwave radio relay and wire system being expanded; connected to Central American Microwave System


international: country code - 505; satellite earth stations - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region) and 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 171,600 (2002) 494,509 (1998)
Telephones - mobile cellular 202,800 (2002) 228,604 (1999)
Television broadcast stations 3 (plus seven low-power repeaters) (1997) 21 (1997)
Terrain extensive Atlantic coastal plains rising to central interior mountains; narrow Pacific coastal plain interrupted by volcanoes mostly low, flat to rolling plain; mountains in south-central interior
Total fertility rate 2.81 children born/woman (2005 est.) 1.9 children born/woman (2003 est.)
Unemployment rate 7.8% plus underemployment of 46.5% (2003 est.) 8% (2002)
Waterways 2,220 km (including lakes Managua and Nicaragua) (1997) 430 km (navigable by shallow-draft craft)
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