Sierra Leone (2007) | Sri Lanka (2005) | |
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Administrative divisions | 3 provinces and 1 area*; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western* | 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: 44.8% (male 1,349,878/female 1,400,297)
15-64 years: 52% (male 1,531,763/female 1,664,996) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 92,360/female 105,268) (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 | rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish | rice, sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseed, spices, tea, rubber, coconuts; milk, eggs, hides, beef |
Airports | 10 (2007) | 14 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
over 3,047 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: 9
914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 71,740 sq km
land: 71,620 sq km water: 120 sq km |
total: 65,610 sq km
land: 64,740 sq km water: 870 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than South Carolina | slightly larger than West Virginia |
Background | The government is slowly reestablishing its authority after the civil war from 1991 to 2002 that resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than 2 million people (about one-third of the population). The last UN peacekeepers withdrew in December 2005 leaving full responsibility for security with domestic forces. A new civilian UN mission - the UN Integrated Office in Sierra Leone (UNIOSIL) - was established to support the government's efforts to consolidate peace. The most pressing long-term threat to stability in Sierra Leone is the potential for political insecurity surrounding elections in July 2007. | 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 | 45.41 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 15.63 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $96 million
expenditures: $351 million (2000 est.) |
revenues: $3.34 billion
expenditures: $4.686 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
Capital | name: Freetown
geographic coordinates: 8 30 N, 13 15 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Colombo; note - Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte is the legislative capital |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April) | tropical monsoon; northeast monsoon (December to March); southwest monsoon (June to October) |
Coastline | 402 km | 1,340 km |
Constitution | 1 October 1991; subsequently amended several times | adopted 16 August 1978, certified 31 August 1978; new constitution proposed in 2002 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Sierra Leone
conventional short form: Sierra Leone local long form: Republic of Sierra Leone local short form: Sierra Leone |
conventional long form: Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
conventional short form: Sri Lanka former: Serendib, Ceylon |
Death rate | 22.64 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 6.49 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.61 billion (2003 est.) | $10.85 billion (2004 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Thomas N. HULL
embassy: Corner of Walpole and Siaka Stevens Streets, Freetown mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [232] (22) 515 000 or [232] (76) 515 000 FAX: [232] (22) 225471 |
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 Ibrahim M. KAMARA
chancery: 1701 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 939-9261 through 9263 FAX: [1] (202) 483-1793 |
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 | as domestic fighting among disparate ethnic groups, rebel groups, warlords, and youth gangs in Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone gradually abate, the number of refugees in border areas has begun to slowly dwindle; UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) has maintained over 4,000 peacekeepers in Sierra Leone since 1999; Sierra Leone considers excessive Guinea's definition of the flood plain limits to define the left bank boundary of the Makona and Moa rivers and protests Guinea's continued occupation of these lands including the hamlet of Yenga occupied since 1998 | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $343.4 million (2005 est.) | $577 million (1998) |
Economy - overview | Sierra Leone is an extremely poor nation with tremendous inequality in income distribution. While it possesses substantial mineral, agricultural, and fishery resources, its economic and social infrastructure is not well developed, and serious social disorders continue to hamper economic development. Nearly half of the working-age population engages in subsistence agriculture. Manufacturing consists mainly of the processing of raw materials and of light manufacturing for the domestic market. Alluvial diamond mining remains the major source of hard currency earnings accounting for nearly half of Sierra Leone's exports. The fate of the economy depends upon the maintenance of domestic peace and the continued receipt of substantial aid from abroad, which is essential to offset the severe trade imbalance and supplement government revenues. The IMF has completed a Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility program that helped stabilize economic growth and reduce inflation. A recent increase in political stability has led to a revival of economic activity such as the rehabilitation of bauxite and rutile mining. | 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 | 227.9 million kWh (2005) | 6.228 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 245 million kWh (2005) | 6.697 billion kWh (2002) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Loma Mansa (Bintimani) 1,948 m |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pidurutalagala 2,524 m |
Environment - current issues | rapid population growth pressuring the environment; overharvesting of timber, expansion of cattle grazing, and slash-and-burn agriculture have resulted in deforestation and soil exhaustion; civil war depleted natural resources; overfishing | 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, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
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 | 20 African ethnic groups 90% (Temne 30%, Mende 30%, other 30%), Creole (Krio) 10% (descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area in the late-18th century), refugees from Liberia's recent civil war, small numbers of Europeans, Lebanese, Pakistanis, and Indians | 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 | leones per US dollar - 2,961.7 (2006), 2,889.6 (2005), 2,701.3 (2004), 2,347.9 (2003), 2,099 (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: President Ernest Bai KOROMA (since 17 September 2007); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Ernest Bai KOROMA (since 17 September 2007) cabinet: Ministers of State appointed by the president with the approval of the House of Representatives; the cabinet is responsible to the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 11 August 2007 and 8 September 2007 (next to be held in 2012) election results: second round results; percent of vote - Ernest Bai KOROMA 54.6%, Solomon BEREWA 45.4% |
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 | NA bbl/day | NA |
Exports - commodities | diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish | textiles and apparel; tea and spices; diamonds, emeralds, rubies; coconut products; rubber manufactures, fish |
Exports - partners | Belgium 52.1%, US 19.1%, Netherlands 6.8% (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 light green (top), white, and light blue | 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: 49%
industry: 31% services: 21% (2001 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 | 7.1% (2006 est.) | 5.2% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 8 30 N, 11 30 W | 7 00 N, 81 00 E |
Geography - note | rainfall along the coast can reach 495 cm (195 inches) a year, making it one of the wettest places along coastal, western Africa | strategic location near major Indian Ocean sea lanes |
Heliports | 2 (2007) | - |
Highways | - | total: 11,650 km
paved: 11,068 km unpaved: 582 km (2002) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 0.5%
highest 10%: 43.6% (1989) |
lowest 10%: 3.5%
highest 10%: 28% (1995) |
Imports | NA bbl/day | NA |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, chemicals | textile fabrics, mineral products, petroleum, foodstuffs, machinery and transportation equipment |
Imports - partners | Cote d'Ivoire 9.3%, US 7.7%, China 7.7%, Brazil 6.9%, UK 6.7%, Netherlands 5.5%, South Africa 4.5%, India 4.3%, France 4.2% (2006) | India 18%, Singapore 8.7%, Hong Kong 7.7%, China 5.7%, Iran 5.2%, Japan 5.1%, Malaysia 4.1% (2004) |
Independence | 27 April 1961 (from UK) | 4 February 1948 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 7.1% (2004 est.) |
Industries | diamond mining; small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear); petroleum refining, small commercial ship repair | rubber processing, tea, coconuts, and other agricultural commodities; telecommunications, insurance, and banking; clothing, cement, petroleum refining, textiles, tobacco |
Infant mortality rate | total: 158.27 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 175.39 deaths/1,000 live births female: 140.65 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) | 1% (2002 est.) | 5.8% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, AU, C, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, 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 | 300 sq km (2003) | 6,510 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Appeals Court; High Court | Supreme Court; Court of Appeals; judges for both courts are appointed by the president |
Labor force | 1.369 million (1981 est.) | 7.26 million (2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture 38%, industry 17%, services 45% (1998 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 958 km
border countries: Guinea 652 km, Liberia 306 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 7.95%
permanent crops: 1.05% other: 91% (2005) |
arable land: 13.86%
permanent crops: 15.7% other: 70.44% (2001) |
Languages | English (official, regular use limited to literate minority), Mende (principal vernacular in the south), Temne (principal vernacular in the north), Krio (English-based Creole, spoken by the descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area, a lingua franca and a first language for 10% of the population but understood by 95%) | 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 English law and customary laws indigenous to local tribes; 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 Parliament (124 seats; 112 members elected by popular vote, 12 filled by paramount chiefs elected in separate elections; to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held on 11 August 2007 (next to be held in 2012) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - APC 59, SLPP 43, PMDC 10 |
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: 40.58 years
male: 38.36 years female: 42.87 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 English, Mende, Temne, or Arabic
total population: 35.1% male: 46.9% female: 24.4% (2004 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 92.3% male: 94.8% female: 90% (2003 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia | Southern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of India |
Map references | Africa | Asia |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 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: 113 ships (1000 GRT or over) 314,549 GRT/419,409 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 1, cargo 85, chemical tanker 4, combination ore/oil 1, container 4, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 1, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 4, petroleum tanker 7, roll on/roll off 4 foreign-owned: 47 (Belgium 1, China 8, Greece 1, Romania 2, Russia 5, Syria 8, Turkey 7, Ukraine 8, UAE 7) (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 | Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF): Army (includes Air Wing, Navy (Maritime Wing)) (2007) | Army, Navy, Air Force, Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $514.8 million (2004) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.3% (2006) | 2.6% (2004) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 27 April (1961) | Independence Day, 4 February (1948) |
Nationality | noun: Sierra Leonean(s)
adjective: Sierra Leonean |
noun: Sri Lankan(s)
adjective: Sri Lankan |
Natural hazards | dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to February); sandstorms, dust storms | occasional cyclones and tornadoes |
Natural resources | diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite | limestone, graphite, mineral sands, gems, phosphates, clay, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 0.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: refugees currently in surrounding countries are slowly returning (2007 est.) |
-1.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | All People's Congress or APC [Ernest Bai KOROMA]; Peace and Liberation Party or PLP [Darlington MORRISON]; People's Movement for Democratic Change or PMDC [Charles MARGAI]; Sierra Leone People's Party or SLPP [Solomon BEREWA]; numerous others | 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 | trade unions and student unions | 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 | 6,144,562 (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 | 70.2% (2004) | 22% (1997 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.292% (2007 est.) | 0.79% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Colombo, Galle |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 9, shortwave 1 (2001) | AM 26, FM 45, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Railways | - | total: 1,449 km
broad gauge: 1,449 km 1.676-m gauge (2004) |
Religions | Muslim 60%, Christian 10%, indigenous beliefs 30% | Buddhist 69.1%, Muslim 7.6%, Hindu 7.1%, Christian 6.2%, unspecified 10% (2001 census provisional data) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 0.964 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.877 male(s)/female total population: 0.938 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: marginal telephone and telegraph service
domestic: the national microwave radio relay trunk system connects Freetown to Bo and Kenema international: country code - 232; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2000) |
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 | 24,000 (2002) | 881,400 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 113,200 (2003) | 931,600 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (1999) | 21 (1997) |
Terrain | coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east | mostly low, flat to rolling plain; mountains in south-central interior |
Total fertility rate | 6.01 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 1.85 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 7.8% (2004 est.) |
Waterways | 800 km (600 km year round) (2005) | 160 km (primarily on rivers in southwest) (2004) |