Sri Lanka (2001) | Burundi (2003) | |
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Administrative divisions | 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 | 16 provinces; Bubanza, Bujumbura, Bururi, Cankuzo, Cibitoke, Gitega, Karuzi, Kayanza, Kirundo, Makamba, Muramvya, Muyinga, Mwaro, Ngozi, Rutana, Ruyigi |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
25.99% (male 2,578,618; female 2,464,928) 15-64 years: 67.39% (male 6,369,881; female 6,708,852) 65 years and over: 6.62% (male 615,253; female 671,103) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 46.7% (male 1,438,759; female 1,409,567)
15-64 years: 50.6% (male 1,516,833; female 1,564,513) 65 years and over: 2.7% (male 66,355; female 100,129) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseed, spices, tea, rubber, coconuts; milk, eggs, hides, beef | coffee, cotton, tea, corn, sorghum, sweet potatoes, bananas, manioc (tapioca); beef, milk, hides |
Airports | 14 (2000 est.) | 7 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
12 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 6 (2000 est.) |
total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 6
914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 3 (2002) |
Area | total:
65,610 sq km land: 64,740 sq km water: 870 sq km |
total: 27,830 sq km
land: 25,650 sq km water: 2,180 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than West Virginia | slightly smaller than Maryland |
Background | Occupied by the Portuguese in the 16th century and the Dutch in the 17th century, the island was ceded to the British 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. | Burundi's first democratically elected president was assassinated in October 1993 after only four months in office. Since then, some 200,000 Burundians have perished in widespread, often intense ethnic violence between Hutu and Tutsi factions. Hundreds of thousands have been internally displaced or have become refugees in neighboring countries. Burundi troops, seeking to secure their borders, intervened in the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1998. More recently, many of these troops have been redeployed back to Burundi to deal with periodic upsurges in rebel activity. A new transitional government, inaugurated on 1 November 2001, was to be the first step toward holding national elections in three years. While the Government of Burundi signed a cease-fire agreement in December 2002 with three of Burundi's four Hutu rebel groups, implementation of the agreement has been problematic and one rebel group refuses to sign on, clouding prospects for a sustainable peace. |
Birth rate | 16.58 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 39.72 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$3 billion expenditures: $3 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $125 million
expenditures: $176 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Colombo; note - Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte is the legislative capital | Bujumbura |
Climate | tropical monsoon; northeast monsoon (December to March); southwest monsoon (June to October) | equatorial; high plateau with considerable altitude variation (772 m to 2,670 m above sea level); average annual temperature varies with altitude from 23 to 17 degrees centigrade but is generally moderate as the average altitude is about 1,700 m; average annual rainfall is about 150 cm; wet seasons from February to May and September to November, and dry seasons from June to August and December to January |
Coastline | 1,340 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | adopted 16 August 1978 | 13 March 1992; provided for establishment of a plural political system; supplanted on 6 June 1998 by a Transitional Constitution which enlarged the National Assembly and created two vice presidents |
Country name | conventional long form:
Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka conventional short form: Sri Lanka former: Serendib, Ceylon |
conventional long form: Republic of Burundi
conventional short form: Burundi local long form: Republika y'u Burundi local short form: Burundi former: Urundi |
Currency | Sri Lankan rupee (LKR) | Burundi franc (BIF) |
Death rate | 6.43 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 17.8 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $9.9 billion (2000) | $1.14 billion (2001) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | 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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador James Howard YELLIN
embassy: Avenue des Etats-Unis, Bujumbura mailing address: B. P. 1720, Bujumbura telephone: [257] 223454 FAX: [257] 222926 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Warnasena RASAPUTRAM 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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Antoine NTAMOBWA
chancery: Suite 212, 2233 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 342-2574 FAX: [1] (202) 342-2578 |
Disputes - international | none | Tutsi, Hutu, and other conflicting ethnic groups, associated political rebels, armed gangs, and various government forces continue fighting in the Great Lakes region, transcending the boundaries of Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda to gain control over populated and natural resource areas; government heads pledge to end conflict, but localized violence continues despite UN peacekeeping efforts |
Economic aid - recipient | $577 million (1998) | $92.7 million (2000) |
Economy - overview | 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 annual average 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 1997-98 with growth of 6.4% and 4.7% - but slowed to 4.3% in 1999. Growth increased to 5.6% in 2000, with growth in tourism and exports leading the way. But a resurgence of civil war between the Sinhalese and the minority Tamils and a possible slowdown in tourism dampen prospects for 2001. For the next round of reforms, the central bank of Sri Lanka recommends that Colombo expand market mechanisms in nonplantation agriculture, dismantle the government's monopoly on wheat imports, and promote more competition in the financial sector. | Burundi is a landlocked, resource-poor country with an underdeveloped manufacturing sector. The economy is predominantly agricultural with roughly 90% of the population dependent on subsistence agriculture. Economic growth depends on coffee and tea exports, which account for 90% of foreign exchange earnings. The ability to pay for imports, therefore, rests primarily on weather conditions and international coffee and tea prices. The Tutsi minority, 14% of the population, dominates the government and the coffee trade at the expense of the Hutu majority, 85% of the population. Since October 1993 an ethnic-based war has resulted in the death of over 200,000 persons, sent 800,000 refugees into Tanzania, and displaced 525,000 others internally. Doubts about the prospects for sustainable peace continue to impede development. Only one in two children go to school, and approximately one in ten adults has HIV/AIDS. Food, medicine, and electricity remain in short supply. |
Electricity - consumption | 5.604 billion kWh (1999) | 177.5 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 33 million kWh; note - supplied by the Democratic Republic of the Congo (2001) |
Electricity - production | 6.026 billion kWh (1999) | 155.4 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
29.9% hydro: 70.1% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 0.6%
hydro: 99.4% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Pidurutalagala 2,524 m |
lowest point: Lake Tanganyika 772 m
highest point: Mount Heha 2,670 m |
Environment - current issues | 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 | soil erosion as a result of overgrazing and the expansion of agriculture into marginal lands; deforestation (little forested land remains because of uncontrolled cutting of trees for fuel); habitat loss threatens wildlife populations |
Environment - international 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 |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban |
Ethnic groups | Sinhalese 74%, Tamil 18%, Moor 7%, Burgher, Malay, and Vedda 1% | Hutu (Bantu) 85%, Tutsi (Hamitic) 14%, Twa (Pygmy) 1%, Europeans 3,000, South Asians 2,000 |
Exchange rates | Sri Lankan rupees per US dollar - 83.506 (January 2001), 77.005 (2000), 70.635 (1999), 64.450 (1998), 58.995 (1997), 55.271 (1996) | Burundi francs per US dollar - NA (2002), 830.35 (2001), 720.67 (2000), 563.56 (1999), 447.77 (1998) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA (since 12 November 1994); note - Ratnasiri WICKRAMANAYAKE (since 10 August 2000) is the prime minister; in Sri Lanka the president is considered to be both the chief of state and the head of the government, this is 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 - Ratnasiri WICKRAMANAYAKE (since 10 August 2000) is the prime minister; in Sri Lanka the president is considered to be both the chief of state and the head of the government, this is 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% |
chief of state: President Domitien NDAYIZEYE (since 30 April 2003); note - NDAYIZEYE, a Hutu, was sworn in as president for the second half of the three-year transitional government inaugurated on 1 November 2001; Vice President Alphonse KADEGE (since 30 April 2003); note - from the Tutsi minority
head of government: President Domitien NDAYIZEYE (since 30 April 2003); note - NDAYIZEYE, a Hutu, was sworn in as president for the second half of the three-year transitional government inaugurated on 1 November 2001; Vice President Alphonse KADEGE (since 30 April 2003); note - from the Tutsi minority cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by president elections: NA; current president assumed power on 30 April 2003 as part of the transitional government established by the 2000 Arusha Accord |
Exports | $5.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | textiles and apparel, tea, diamonds, coconut products, petroleum products | coffee, tea, sugar, cotton, hides |
Exports - partners | US 39%, UK 13%, Middle East 8%, Germany 5%, Japan 4% (1999) | Switzerland 28.8%, Germany 20.2%, Belgium 9.4%, Kenya 7.8%, Rwanda 6.5%, Netherlands 4.6% (2002) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | 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 that goes around the entire flag and extends between the two panels | divided by a white diagonal cross into red panels (top and bottom) and green panels (hoist side and outer side) with a white disk superimposed at the center bearing three red six-pointed stars outlined in green arranged in a triangular design (one star above, two stars below) |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $62.7 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $3.146 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
21% industry: 19% services: 60% (1998) |
agriculture: 50%
industry: 19% services: 31% (2002 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $3,250 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $500 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.6% (2000 est.) | 4.5% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 7 00 N, 81 00 E | 3 30 S, 30 00 E |
Geography - note | strategic location near major Indian Ocean sea lanes | landlocked; straddles crest of the Nile-Congo watershed; the Kagera, which drains into Lake Victoria, is the most remote headstream of the White Nile |
Highways | total:
11,285 km paved: 10,721 km unpaved: 564 km (1998 est.) |
total: 14,480 km
paved: 1,028 km unpaved: 13,452 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
1.8% highest 10%: 39.7% (1995-96 est.) |
lowest 10%: 1.8%
highest 10%: 32.9% (1998) |
Imports | $6.1 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, textiles, petroleum, foodstuffs | capital goods, petroleum products, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | Japan 10%, India 9%, Hong Kong 8%, Singapore 8%, South Korea 6% (1999) | Belgium 12.4%, Saudi Arabia 12.3%, Tanzania 9.3%, Kenya 7.7%, France 7.4%, India 4.5% (2002) |
Independence | 4 February 1948 (from UK) | 1 July 1962 (from UN trusteeship under Belgian administration) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4% (1999) | 18% (2001) |
Industries | processing of rubber, tea, coconuts, and other agricultural commodities; clothing, cement, petroleum refining, textiles, tobacco | light consumer goods such as blankets, shoes, soap; assembly of imported components; public works construction; food processing |
Infant mortality rate | 16.08 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 71.54 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 78.45 deaths/1,000 live births female: 64.42 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 8.5% (2000 est.) | 12% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | AsDB, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), OPCW, PCA, SAARC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNTAET, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CEEAC, CEPGL, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (subscriber), ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 5 (2000) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 5,500 sq km (1993 est.) | 740 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Court of Appeals; judges for both courts are appointed by the president | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; Constitutional Court; Courts of Appeal (there are three in separate locations); Tribunals of First Instance (17 at the province level and 123 small local tribunals) |
Labor force | 6.6 million (1998) | 3.7 million (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | services 45%, agriculture 38%, industry 17% (1998 est.) | NA |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 974 km
border countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo 233 km, Rwanda 290 km, Tanzania 451 km |
Land use | arable land:
14% permanent crops: 15% permanent pastures: 7% forests and woodland: 32% other: 32% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 29.98%
permanent crops: 12.85% other: 57.17% (1998 est.) |
Languages | 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 |
Kirundi (official), French (official), Swahili (along Lake Tanganyika and in the Bujumbura area) |
Legal system | a highly complex mixture of English common law, Roman-Dutch, Muslim, Sinhalese, and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on German and Belgian civil codes and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | 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 10 October 2000 (next to be held NA October 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - PA 45.11%, UNP 40.22%, JVP 6%, NUA 2.29%, SU 1.48%, TULF 1.23%, other 3.67%; seats by party - PA 107, UNP 89, JVP 10, TULF 5, EPDP 4, NUA 4, TELO 3, ACTC 1, SU 1, independent 1 |
bicameral, consists of a National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (expanded from 121 to approximately 140 seats under the transitional government inaugurated 1 November 2001; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and a Senate (54 seats; term length is undefined, the current senators will likely serve out the three-year transition period)
elections: last held 29 June 1993 (next was scheduled to be held in 1998, but was suspended by presidential decree in 1996; elections are planned to follow the completion of the three-year transitional government) election results: percent of vote by party - FRODEBU 71.04%, UPRONA 21.4%, other 7.56%; seats by party - FRODEBU 65, UPRONA 16, civilians 27, other parties 13 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
72.09 years male: 69.58 years female: 74.73 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 43.2 years
male: 42.54 years female: 43.88 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 90.2% male: 93.4% female: 87.2% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 51.6% male: 58.5% female: 45.2% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of India | Central Africa, east of Democratic Republic of the Congo |
Map references | Asia | Africa |
Maritime claims | 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 |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total:
20 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 149,902 GRT/247,852 DWT ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 16, container 1, petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 1 (2000 est.) |
- |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, Police Force | Army (including naval and air units), Gendarmerie |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $719 million (FY98) | $42.13 million (FY02) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 4.2% (FY98) | 5.3% (FY02) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
5,304,323 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 1,375,900 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
4,119,511 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 723,516 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | 16 years of age (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
193,522 (2001 est.) |
males: 79,462 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 4 February (1948) | Independence Day, 1 July (1962) |
Nationality | noun:
Sri Lankan(s) adjective: Sri Lankan |
noun: Burundian(s)
adjective: Burundian |
Natural hazards | occasional cyclones and tornadoes | flooding, landslides, drought |
Natural resources | limestone, graphite, mineral sands, gems, phosphates, clay, hydropower | nickel, uranium, rare earth oxides, peat, cobalt, copper, platinum (not yet exploited), vanadium, arable land, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -1.43 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -0.12 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil and petroleum products 62 km (1987) | - |
Political parties and leaders | All Ceylon Tamil Congress or ACTC [Nalliah GURUPAUAN]; Ceylon Workers Congress or CLDC [Arumugam THONDAMAN]; Communist Party [Raja COLLURE]; Democratic United National (Lalith) Front or DUNLF [Srimani ATHULATHMUDALI]; Eelam People's Democratic Party or EPDP [Douglas DEVANANDA]; Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front or EPRLF [Suresh PREMACHANDRA]; Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna or JVP [Tilvan SILVA]; National Unity Alliance or NUA [leader NA]; People's Alliance or PA [Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA]; People's Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam or PLOTE [D. SIDDATHAN]; Sihala Urumaya or SU [leader NA]; Sri Lanka Freedom Party or SLFP [Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA]; Sri Lanka Muslim Congress or SLMC [Rauff HAKEEM and Ferial ASHRAFF]; Sri Lanka Progressive Front or SLPF [leader NA]; Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization or TELO [SUBRAMANIUM]; 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 | the two national, mainstream, governing parties are: Unity for National Progress or UPRONA [Alphonse KADEGE, president]; Burundi Democratic Front or FRODEBU [Jean MINANI, president]
note: a multiparty system was introduced after 1998, included are: Burundi African Alliance for the Salvation or ABASA [Terrence NSANZE]; Rally for Democracy and Economic and Social Development or RADDES [Joseph NZEYIMANA]; Party for National Redress or PARENA [Jean-Baptiste BAGAZA]; People's Reconciliation Party or PRP [Mathias HITIMANA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Buddhist clergy; labor unions; Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam or LTTE (insurgent group fighting for a separate state); radical chauvinist Sinhalese groups such as the National Movement Against Terrorism; Sinhalese Buddhist lay groups | loosely organized Hutu and Tutsi militias, often affiliated with Hutu and Tutsi extremist parties or subordinate to government security forces |
Population | 19,408,635 (July 2001 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 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 |
6,096,156
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 22% (1997 est.) | 70% (2002 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.87% (2001 est.) | 2.18% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Colombo, Galle, Jaffna, Trincomalee | Bujumbura |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 26, FM 45, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 0, FM 4, shortwave 1 (2001) |
Radios | 3.85 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
1,463 km broad gauge: 1,404 km 1.676-m gauge narrow gauge: 59 km 0.762-m gauge (1996) |
0 km |
Religions | Buddhist 70%, Hindu 15%, Christian 8%, Muslim 7% (1999) | Christian 67% (Roman Catholic 62%, Protestant 5%), indigenous beliefs 23%, Muslim 10% |
Sex ratio | 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: 0.92 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.66 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | NA years of age; universal adult |
Telephone system | general assessment:
very inadequate domestic service, particularly in rural areas; some hope for 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) |
general assessment: primitive system
domestic: sparse system of open-wire, radiotelephone communications, and low-capacity microwave radio relay international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 494,509 (1998) | 18,000 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 228,604 (1999) | 30,000 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 21 (1997) | 1 (2001) |
Terrain | mostly low, flat to rolling plain; mountains in south-central interior | hilly and mountainous, dropping to a plateau in east, some plains |
Total fertility rate | 1.95 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 5.99 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 8.8% (1999 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | 430 km (navigable by shallow-draft craft) | Lake Tanganyika |