Sri Lanka (2002) | Togo (2002) | |
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 | 5 regions (regions, singular - region); De La Kara, Des Plateaux, Des Savanes, Centrale, Maritime |
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: 45.1% (male 1,195,052; female 1,187,014)
15-64 years: 52.4% (male 1,351,345; female 1,420,617) 65 years and over: 2.5% (male 56,270; female 75,203) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseed, spices, tea, rubber, coconuts; milk, eggs, hides, beef | coffee, cocoa, cotton, yams, cassava (tapioca), corn, beans, rice, millet, sorghum; livestock; fish |
Airports | 15 (2001) | 9 (2001) |
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: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1 1
under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
Area | total: 65,610 sq km
land: 64,740 sq km water: 870 sq km |
total: 56,785 sq km
land: 54,385 sq km water: 2,400 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than West Virginia | slightly smaller than West Virginia |
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. | French Togoland became Togo in 1960. General Gnassingbe EYADEMA, installed as military ruler in 1967, is Africa's longest-serving head of state. Despite the facade of multiparty elections instituted in the early 1990s, the government continues to be dominated by President EYADEMA, whose Rally of the Togolese People (RPT) party has maintained power almost continually since 1967. In addition, Togo has come under fire from international organizations for human rights abuses and is plagued by political unrest. Most bilateral and multilateral aid to Togo remains frozen. |
Birth rate | 16.36 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 36.11 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $2.8 billion
expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
revenues: $232 million
expenditures: $252 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.) |
Capital | Colombo; note - Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte is the legislative capital | Lome |
Climate | tropical monsoon; northeast monsoon (December to March); southwest monsoon (June to October) | tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north |
Coastline | 1,340 km | 56 km |
Constitution | adopted 16 August 1978 | multiparty draft constitution approved by High Council of the Republic 1 July 1992; adopted by public referendum 27 September 1992 |
Country name | conventional long form: Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
conventional short form: Sri Lanka former: Serendib, Ceylon |
conventional long form: Togolese Republic
conventional short form: Togo local long form: Republique Togolaise local short form: none former: French Togoland |
Currency | Sri Lankan rupee (LKR) | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States |
Death rate | 6.45 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 11.3 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $9.9 billion (2000) | $1.5 billion (1999) (1999) |
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 Karl HOFMANN
embassy: Angle Rue Kouenou and Rue 15 Beniglato, Lome mailing address: B. P. 852, Lome telephone: [228] 221 29 91 through 221 29 94 FAX: [228] 221 79 52 |
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 Akoussoulelou BODJONA
chancery: 2208 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 234-4212 FAX: [1] (202) 232-3190 |
Disputes - international | none | Benin accuses Togo of moving boundary markers and stationing troops in its territory |
Economic aid - recipient | $577 million (1998) (1998) | $201.1 million (1995) (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. | This small sub-Saharan economy is heavily dependent on both commercial and subsistence agriculture, which provides employment for 65% of the labor force. Some basic foodstuffs must still be imported. Cocoa, coffee, and cotton generate about 40% of export earnings, with cotton being the most significant cash crop despite falling prices on the world market. Political unrest, including private and public sector strikes throughout 1992 and 1993, jeopardized the reform program, shrunk the tax base, and disrupted vital economic activity. The 12 January 1994 devaluation of the XOF currency by 50% provided an important impetus to renewed structural adjustment. In the industrial sector, phosphate mining is by far the most important activity. Togo is the world's fourth largest producer, and geological advantages keep production costs low. The recently privatized mining operation, Office Togolais des Phosphates (OTP), is slowly recovering from a steep fall in prices in the early 1990's, but continues to face the challenge of tough foreign competition, exacerbated by weakening demand. Togo serves as a regional commercial and trade center. It continues to expand its duty-free export-processing zone (EPZ), launched in 1989, which has attracted enterprises from France, Italy, Scandinavia, the US, India, and China and created jobs for Togolese nationals. The government's decade-long effort, supported by the World Bank and the IMF, to implement economic reform measures, encourage foreign investment, and bring revenues in line with expenditures has stalled. Progress depends on following through on privatization, increased openness in government financial operations, progress towards legislative elections, and possible downsizing of the military, on which the regime has depended to stay in place. Lack of large-scale foreign aid, deterioration of the financial sector, energy shortages, and depressed commodity prices continue to constrain economic growth. The takeover of the national power company by a Franco-Canadian consortium in 2000 should ease the energy crisis. |
Electricity - consumption | 6.156 billion kWh (2000) | 525.21 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 435 million kWh
note: electricity supplied by Ghana (2000) |
Electricity - production | 6.619 billion kWh (2000) | 97 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 32%
hydro: 68% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
fossil fuel: 98%
hydro: 2% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pidurutalagala 2,524 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Agou 986 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 | deforestation attributable to slash-and-burn agriculture and the use of wood for fuel; water pollution presents health hazards and hinders the fishing industry; air pollution increasing in urban areas |
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, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Sinhalese 74%, Tamil 18%, Moor 7%, Burgher, Malay, and Vedda 1% | native African (37 tribes; largest and most important are Ewe, Mina, and Kabre) 99%, European and Syrian-Lebanese less than 1% |
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) | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 741.79 (January 2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997); note - from 1 January 1999, the XOF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XOF per euro |
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: President Gen. Gnassingbe EYADEMA (since 14 April 1967)
head of government: Prime Minister Koffi SAMA (since 29 June 2002) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president and the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 21 June 1998 (next to be held June 2003); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Gnassingbe EYADEMA reelected president; percent of vote - Gnassingbe EYADEMA 52.13%, Gilchrist OLYMPIO 34.12%, other 13.75% |
Exports | $4.9 billion f.o.b. (2001) | $306 million f.o.b. (2001) |
Exports - commodities | textiles and apparel 15%, tea, diamonds, coconut products, petroleum products | cotton, phosphates, coffee, cocoa |
Exports - partners | US 39%, UK 13%, Middle East 8%, Germany 4%, Japan 4% (2000) | Benin 12%, Nigeria 9%, Belgium 5%, Ghana 4% (2000) |
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 | five equal horizontal bands of green (top and bottom) alternating with yellow; there is a white five-pointed star on a red square in the upper hoist-side corner; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $62.7 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $7.6 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 21%
industry: 27% services: 52% (2000) |
agriculture: 42%
industry: 21% services: 37% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $3,250 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,500 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | -1% (2001 est.) | 2.2% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 7 00 N, 81 00 E | 8 00 N, 1 10 E |
Geography - note | strategic location near major Indian Ocean sea lanes | the country's length allows it to stretch through six distinct geographic regions; climate varies from tropical to savanna |
Highways | total: 11,285 km
paved: 10,721 km unpaved: 564 km (1998 est.) |
total: 7,520 km
paved: 2,376 km unpaved: 5,144 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 4%
highest 10%: 28% (1995) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | - | transit hub for Nigerian heroin and cocaine traffickers; money laundering not a significant problem |
Imports | $6 billion f.o.b. (2001) | $420 million f.o.b. (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, textiles, petroleum, foodstuffs | machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products |
Imports - partners | Japan 9%, India 8%, Hong Kong 7%, Singapore 7%, South Korea 5% (2000) | Ghana 26%, France 11%, China 7%, Cote d'Ivoire 7% (2000) |
Independence | 4 February 1948 (from UK) | 27 April 1960 (from French-administered UN trusteeship) |
Industrial production growth rate | 1.4% (2001) | NA% |
Industries | rubber processing, tea, coconuts, and other agricultural commodities; clothing, cement, petroleum refining, textiles, tobacco | phosphate mining, agricultural processing, cement; handicrafts, textiles, beverages |
Infant mortality rate | 15.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | 69.32 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 14.2% (2001 est.) | 2.3% (2001 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, ECA, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, MIPONUH, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 5 (2000) | 3 (2001) |
Irrigated land | 6,510 sq km (1998 est.) | 70 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Court of Appeals; judges for both courts are appointed by the president | Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme |
Labor force | 6.6 million (1998) | 1.74 million (1996) (1996) |
Labor force - by occupation | services 45%, agriculture 38%, industry 17% (1998 est.) | agriculture 65%, industry 5%, services 30% (1998 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 1,647 km
border countries: Benin 644 km, Burkina Faso 126 km, Ghana 877 km |
Land use | arable land: 13.43%
permanent crops: 15.78% other: 70.79% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 41.37%
permanent crops: 1.84% other: 56.79% (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 |
French (official and the language of commerce), Ewe and Mina (the two major African languages in the south), Kabye (sometimes spelled Kabiye) and Dagomba (the two major African languages in the north) |
Legal system | a highly complex mixture of English common law, Roman-Dutch, Muslim, Sinhalese, and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | French-based court system |
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 |
unicameral National Assembly (81 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 27 October 2002 (next NA 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - RPT 72, RSD 3, UDPS 2, Juvento 2, MOCEP 1, independents 1 note: two opposition parties boycotted the election, the Union of the Forces for Change, and the Action Committee for Renewal |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 72.35 years
male: 69.83 years female: 75 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 54.02 years
male: 52.03 years female: 56.07 years (2002 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: 51.7% male: 67% female: 37% (1995 est.) |
Location | Southern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of India | Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Benin and Ghana |
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: 200 NM
territorial sea: 30 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.) |
total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,603 GRT/2,800 DWT
ships by type: specialized tanker 1 note: includes a foreign-owned ship registered here as a flag of convenience: Greece 1 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, Police Force | Army, Navy, Air Force, Gendarmerie |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $719 million (FY98) | $21.9 million (FY01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 4.2% (FY98) | 1.8% (FY01) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 5,347,153 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 1,220,758 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 4,148,825 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 640,280 (2002 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, 27 April (1960) |
Nationality | noun: Sri Lankan(s)
adjective: Sri Lankan |
noun: Togolese (singular and plural)
adjective: Togolese |
Natural hazards | occasional cyclones and tornadoes | hot, dry harmattan wind can reduce visibility in north during winter; periodic droughts |
Natural resources | limestone, graphite, mineral sands, gems, phosphates, clay, hydropower | phosphates, limestone, marble, arable land |
Net migration rate | -1.39 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil and petroleum products 62 km (1987) | - |
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 | Action Committee for Renewal or CAR [Yawovi AGBOYIBO]; Coordination des Forces Nouvelles or CFN [Joseph KOFFIGOH]; Democratic Convention of African Peoples or CDPA [Leopold GNININVI]; Party for Democracy and Renewal or PDR [Zarifou AYEVA]; Patriotic Pan-African Convergence or CPP [Edem KODJO]; Rally of the Togolese People or RPT [President Gen. Gnassingbe EYADEMA]; Union of Forces for Change or UFC [Gilchrist OLYMPIO (in exile), Jean Pierre FABRE, general secretary in Togo]; Union of Independent Liberals or ULI [Jacques AMOUZOU]
note: Rally of the Togolese People or RPT, led by President EYADEMA, was the only party until the formation of multiple parties was legalized 12 April 1991 |
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.) |
5,285,501
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 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 22% (1997 est.) | 32% (1989 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.85% (2002 est.) | 2.48% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Colombo, Galle, Jaffna, Trincomalee | Kpeme, Lome |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 26, FM 45, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (1998) |
Radios | 3.85 million (1997) | 940,000 (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: 525 km
narrow gauge: 525 km 1.000-m gauge (2001) |
Religions | Buddhist 70%, Hindu 15%, Christian 8%, Muslim 7% (1999) | indigenous beliefs 51%, Christian 29%, Muslim 20% |
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: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2002 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; 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: fair system based on a network of microwave radio relay routes supplemented by open-wire lines and a mobile cellular system
domestic: microwave radio relay and open-wire lines for conventional system; cellular system has capacity of 10,000 telephones international: satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 Symphonie |
Telephones - main lines in use | 494,509 (1998) | 25,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 228,604 (1999) | 2,995 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 21 (1997) | 3 (plus two repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly low, flat to rolling plain; mountains in south-central interior | gently rolling savanna in north; central hills; southern plateau; low coastal plain with extensive lagoons and marshes |
Total fertility rate | 1.93 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 5.14 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 7.7% (2001) | NA% |
Waterways | 430 km (navigable by shallow-draft craft) | 50 km (Mono river) |