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Compare Sri Lanka (2002) - Congo, Democratic Republic of the (2001)
Compare Sri Lanka (2002) z Congo, Democratic Republic of the (2001)
| Sri Lanka (2002) | Congo, Democratic Republic of the (2001) | |
 |  | |
| 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 | 10 provinces (provinces, singular - province) and one city* (ville); Bandundu, Bas-Congo, Equateur, Kasai-Occidental, Kasai-Oriental, Katanga, Kinshasa*, Maniema, Nord-Kivu, Orientale, Sud-Kivu |
| Age structure | 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.) |
0-14 years:
48.24% (male 12,988,488; female 12,878,232) 15-64 years: 49.21% (male 12,931,886; female 13,459,109) 65 years and over: 2.55% (male 575,113; female 791,890) (2001 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | rice, sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseed, spices, tea, rubber, coconuts; milk, eggs, hides, beef | coffee, sugar, palm oil, rubber, tea, quinine, cassava (tapioca), palm oil, bananas, root crops, corn, fruits; wood products |
| Airports | 15 (2001) | 232 (2000 est.) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 14
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 6 (2002) |
total:
24 over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 15 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1 1
under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
total:
208 1,524 to 2,437 m: 20 914 to 1,523 m: 96 under 914 m: 92 (2000 est.) |
| Area | total: 65,610 sq km
land: 64,740 sq km water: 870 sq km |
total:
2,345,410 sq km land: 2,267,600 sq km water: 77,810 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly larger than West Virginia | slightly less than one-fourth the size of the US |
| Background | 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. | Since 1994 the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DROC; formerly called Zaire) has been rent by ethnic strife and civil war, touched off by a massive inflow of refugees from the fighting in Rwanda and Burundi. The government of former president MOBUTU Sese Seko was toppled by a rebellion led by Laurent KABILA in May 1997; his regime was subsequently challenged by a Rwanda- and Uganda-backed rebellion in August 1998. Troops from Zimbabwe, Angola, Namibia, Chad, and Sudan intervened to support the Kinshasa regime. A cease-fire was signed on 10 July 1999, but sporadic fighting continued. KABILA was assassinated in January 2001 and his son Joseph KABILA was named head of state. The new president quickly began overtures to end the war. |
| Birth rate | 16.36 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 46.02 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $2.8 billion
expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
revenues:
$269 million expenditures: $244 million, including capital expenditures of $24 million (1996 est.) |
| Capital | Colombo; note - Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte is the legislative capital | Kinshasa |
| Climate | tropical monsoon; northeast monsoon (December to March); southwest monsoon (June to October) | tropical; hot and humid in equatorial river basin; cooler and drier in southern highlands; cooler and wetter in eastern highlands; north of Equator - wet season April to October, dry season December to February; south of Equator - wet season November to March, dry season April to October |
| Coastline | 1,340 km | 37 km |
| Constitution | adopted 16 August 1978 | 24 June 1967, amended August 1974, revised 15 February 1978, amended April 1990; transitional constitution promulgated in April 1994; in November 1998, a draft constitution was approved by former President Laurent KABILA but it has not been ratified by a national referendum |
| Country name | conventional long form: Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
conventional short form: Sri Lanka former: Serendib, Ceylon |
conventional long form:
Democratic Republic of the Congo conventional short form: none local long form: Republique Democratique du Congo local short form: none former: Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, Congo/Leopoldville, Congo/Kinshasa, Zaire abbreviation: DROC |
| Currency | Sri Lankan rupee (LKR) | Congolese franc (CDF) |
| Death rate | 6.45 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 15.15 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Debt - external | $9.9 billion (2000) | $13 billion (1998 est.) |
| 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 William Lacy SWING embassy: 310 Avenue des Aviateurs, Kinshasa mailing address: Unit 31550, APO AE 09828 telephone: [243] (12) 21804, 21807 FAX: [243] (88) 43805 |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | 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 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Faida MITIFU chancery: 1800 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 234-7690, 7691 FAX: [1] (202) 234-2609 |
| Disputes - international | none | the Democratic Republic of the Congo is in the grip of a civil war that has drawn in military forces from neighboring states, with Uganda and Rwanda supporting the rebel movements that occupy much of the eastern portion of the state; most of the Congo river boundary with the Republic of the Congo is indefinite (no agreement has been reached on the division of the river or its islands, except in the Pool Malebo/Stanley Pool area) |
| Economic aid - recipient | $577 million (1998) (1998) | $195.3 million (1995) |
| 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 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. | The economy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo - a nation endowed with vast potential wealth - has declined drastically since the mid-1980s. The new government instituted a tight fiscal policy that initially curbed inflation and currency depreciation, but these small gains were quickly reversed when the foreign-backed rebellion in the eastern part of the country began in August 1998. The war has dramatically reduced national output and government revenue and has increased external debt. Foreign businesses have curtailed operations due to uncertainty about the outcome of the conflict and because of increased government harassment and restrictions. The war has intensified the impact of such basic problems as an uncertain legal framework, corruption, raging inflation, and lack of openness in government economic policy and financial operations. A number of IMF and World Bank missions have met with the government to help it develop a coherent economic plan but associated reforms are on hold. |
| Electricity - consumption | 6.156 billion kWh (2000) | 4.55 billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 404 million kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 55 million kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - production | 6.619 billion kWh (2000) | 5.268 billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 32%
hydro: 68% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
fossil fuel:
2.05% hydro: 97.95% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pidurutalagala 2,524 m |
lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Pic Marguerite on Mont Ngaliema (Mount Stanley) 5,110 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 | poaching threatens wildlife populations; water pollution; deforestation; refugees who arrived in mid-1994 were responsible for significant deforestation, soil erosion, and wildlife poaching in the eastern part of the country (most of those refugees were repatriated in November and December 1996) |
| 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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
| Ethnic groups | Sinhalese 74%, Tamil 18%, Moor 7%, Burgher, Malay, and Vedda 1% | over 200 African ethnic groups of which the majority are Bantu; the four largest tribes - Mongo, Luba, Kongo (all Bantu), and the Mangbetu-Azande (Hamitic) make up about 45% of the population |
| Exchange rates | 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) | Congolese francs per US dollar - 50 (January 2001), 4.5 (January 2000), 4.02 (1999), 1.61 (1998), 1.31 (1997), 0.50 (1996)
note: on 30 June 1998 the Congolese franc was introduced, replacing the new zaire |
| Executive branch | 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% |
chief of state:
Joseph KABILA (since 26 January 2001); note - the president succeeded his father Laurent Desire KABILA after his assassination on 16 January 2001; as president he is both chief of state and head of government head of government: Joseph KABILA (since 26 January 2001); note - the president succeeded his father Laurent Desire KABILA after his assassination on 16 January 2001; as president he is both chief of state and head of government cabinet: National Executive Council, appointed by the president elections: before Laurent Desire KABILA seized power, the president was elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; election last held 29 July 1984 (next was scheduled to be held in May 1997); formerly, the prime minister was elected by the High Council of the Republic; note - elections were not held in 1991 as called for by the constitution election results: results of the last election were: MOBUTU Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu wa Za Banga reelected president in 1984 without opposition note: Marshal MOBUTU Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu wa Za Banga was president from 24 November 1965 until forced into exile on 16 May 1997 when his government was overthrown militarily by Laurent Desire KABILA, who immediately assumed governing authority; KABILA pledged to hold elections by April 1999, but in December 1998 announced that elections would be postponed until all foreign military forces attempting to topple the government had withdrawn from the country; KABILA was assassinated in January 2001 and was succeeded by his son Joseph KABILA |
| Exports | $4.9 billion f.o.b. (2001) | $960 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
| Exports - commodities | textiles and apparel 15%, tea, diamonds, coconut products, petroleum products | diamonds, copper, coffee, cobalt, crude oil |
| Exports - partners | US 39%, UK 13%, Middle East 8%, Germany 4%, Japan 4% (2000) | Benelux 62%, US 18%, South Africa, Finland, Italy (1999) |
| 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 around the entire flag and extends between the two panels | light blue with a large yellow five-pointed star in the center and a columnar arrangement of six small yellow five-pointed stars along the hoist side |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $62.7 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $31 billion (2000 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 21%
industry: 27% services: 52% (2000) |
agriculture:
58% industry: 17% services: 25% (1997 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $3,250 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $600 (2000 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | -1% (2001 est.) | -15% (2000 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 7 00 N, 81 00 E | 0 00 N, 25 00 E |
| Geography - note | strategic location near major Indian Ocean sea lanes | straddles Equator; very narrow strip of land that controls the lower Congo river and is only outlet to South Atlantic Ocean; dense tropical rain forest in central river basin and eastern highlands |
| Highways | total: 11,285 km
paved: 10,721 km unpaved: 564 km (1998 est.) |
total:
157,000 km (including 30 km of expressways)(1996) paved: NA km unpaved: NA km |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 4%
highest 10%: 28% (1995) |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
| Illicit drugs | - | illicit producer of cannabis, mostly for domestic consumption |
| Imports | $6 billion f.o.b. (2001) | $660 million (c.i.f., 2000 est.) |
| Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, textiles, petroleum, foodstuffs | foodstuffs, mining and other machinery, transport equipment, fuels |
| Imports - partners | Japan 9%, India 8%, Hong Kong 7%, Singapore 7%, South Korea 5% (2000) | South Africa 28%, Benelux 14%, Nigeria 9%, Kenya 7%, China (1999) |
| Independence | 4 February 1948 (from UK) | 30 June 1960 (from Belgium) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 1.4% (2001) | NA% |
| Industries | rubber processing, tea, coconuts, and other agricultural commodities; clothing, cement, petroleum refining, textiles, tobacco | mining (diamonds, copper, zinc), mineral processing, consumer products (including textiles, footwear, cigarettes, processed foods and beverages), cement |
| Infant mortality rate | 15.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | 99.88 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 14.2% (2001 est.) | 540% (2000 est.) |
| International organization participation | 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 | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, CEEAC, CEPGL, ECA, FAO, G-19, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, PCA, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 5 (2000) | 2 (2000) |
| Irrigated land | 6,510 sq km (1998 est.) | 100 sq km (1993 est.) |
| Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Court of Appeals; judges for both courts are appointed by the president | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme |
| Labor force | 6.6 million (1998) | 14.51 million (1993 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | services 45%, agriculture 38%, industry 17% (1998 est.) | agriculture 65%, industry 16%, services 19% (1991 est.) |
| Land boundaries | 0 km | total:
10,744 km border countries: Angola 2,511 km, Burundi 233 km, Central African Republic 1,577 km, Republic of the Congo 2,410 km, Rwanda 217 km, Sudan 628 km, Tanzania 473 km, Uganda 765 km, Zambia 1,930 km |
| Land use | arable land: 13.43%
permanent crops: 15.78% other: 70.79% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
3% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 7% forests and woodland: 77% other: 13% (1993 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 |
French (official), Lingala (a lingua franca trade language), Kingwana (a dialect of Kiswahili or Swahili), Kikongo, Tshiluba |
| 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 Belgian civil law system and tribal 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 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 |
a 300-member Transitional Constituent Assembly established in August 2000
elections: NA; members of the Transitional Constituent Assembly were appointed by former President KABILA |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 72.35 years
male: 69.83 years female: 75 years (2002 est.) |
total population:
48.94 years male: 46.96 years female: 50.98 years (2001 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 French, Lingala, Kingwana, or Tshiluba total population: 77.3% male: 86.6% female: 67.7% (1995 est.) |
| Location | Southern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of India | Central Africa, northeast of Angola |
| 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 |
exclusive economic zone:
boundaries with neighbors territorial sea: 12 NM |
| Merchant marine | 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.) |
none (2000 est.) |
| Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, Police Force | Army, Navy, Air Force, Special Presidential Security Group |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $719 million (FY98) | $250 million (FY97) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 4.2% (FY98) | 4.6% (FY97) |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 5,347,153 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49:
11,615,554 (2001 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 4,148,825 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49:
5,915,251 (2001 est.) |
| Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2002 est.) | - |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 193,522 (2002 est.) | - |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 4 February (1948) | Independence Day, 30 June (1960) |
| Nationality | noun: Sri Lankan(s)
adjective: Sri Lankan |
noun:
Congolese (singular and plural) adjective: Congolese or Congo |
| Natural hazards | occasional cyclones and tornadoes | periodic droughts in south; volcanic activity |
| Natural resources | limestone, graphite, mineral sands, gems, phosphates, clay, hydropower | cobalt, copper, cadmium, petroleum, industrial and gem diamonds, gold, silver, zinc, manganese, tin, germanium, uranium, radium, bauxite, iron ore, coal, hydropower, timber |
| Net migration rate | -1.39 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 0.14 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)
note: one million refugees fled into Zaire (now called the Democratic Republic of the Congo or DROC) in 1994 to escape the fighting between the Hutus and the Tutsis; fighting in the DROC between rebels and government forces in October 1996 caused 875,000 refugees to return to Rwanda in late 1996 and early 1997; an additional 173,000 Rwandan refugees disappeared in early 1997 and are assumed to have been killed by Zairian forces; fighting between the Congolese government and Uganda- and Rwanda-backed Congolese rebels spawned a regional war in DROC in August 1998, which left 1.8 million Congolese displaced in DROC and caused 300,000 Congolese refugees to flee to surrounding countries |
| Pipelines | crude oil and petroleum products 62 km (1987) | petroleum products 390 km |
| Political parties and leaders | 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 | Democratic Social Christian Party or PDSC [Andre BO-BOLIKO]; Popular Movement of the Revolution or MPR [leader NA]; Unified Lumumbast Party or PALU [Antoine GIZENGA]; Union for Democracy and Social Progress or UDPS [Etienne TSHISEKEDI wa Mulumba]; Union of Federalists and Independent Republicans or UFERI [Kouyoumba MUCHULI Mulembe] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | 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 | NA |
| Population | 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.) |
53,624,718
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 2001 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 22% (1997 est.) | NA% |
| Population growth rate | 0.85% (2002 est.) | 3.1% (2001 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Colombo, Galle, Jaffna, Trincomalee | Banana, Boma, Bukavu, Bumba, Goma, Kalemie, Kindu, Kinshasa, Kisangani, Matadi, Mbandaka |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 26, FM 45, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 3, FM 12, shortwave 1 (1999) |
| Radios | 3.85 million (1997) | 18.03 million (1997) |
| Railways | total: 1,463 km
broad gauge: 1,404 km 1.676-m gauge narrow gauge: 59 km 0.762-m gauge (2001) |
total:
5,138 km (1995) note: severely reduced route-distance in use because of damage to facilities by civil strife narrow gauge: 3,987 km 1.067-m gauge (858 km electrified); 125 km 1.000-m gauge; 1,026 km 0.600-m gauge (2000) |
| Religions | Buddhist 70%, Hindu 15%, Christian 8%, Muslim 7% (1999) | Roman Catholic 50%, Protestant 20%, Kimbanguist 10%, Muslim 10%, other syncretic sects and indigenous beliefs 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: 0.91 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
| Telephone system | 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) |
general assessment:
NA domestic: barely adequate wire and microwave radio relay service in and between urban areas; domestic satellite system with 14 earth stations international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 494,509 (1998) | 21,000 (1997) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 228,604 (1999) | 8,900 (1997) |
| Television broadcast stations | 21 (1997) | 20 (1999) |
| Terrain | mostly low, flat to rolling plain; mountains in south-central interior | vast central basin is a low-lying plateau; mountains in east |
| Total fertility rate | 1.93 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 6.84 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 7.7% (2001) | NA% |
| Waterways | 430 km (navigable by shallow-draft craft) | 15,000 km (including the Congo and its tributaries, and unconnected lakes) |
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