##ciekawa_strona##
Compare Sri Lanka (2002) - Venezuela (2006)
Compare Sri Lanka (2002) z Venezuela (2006)
| Sri Lanka (2002) | Venezuela (2006) | |
 |  | |
| 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 | 23 states (estados, singular - estado), 1 capital district* (distrito capital), and 1 federal dependency** (dependencia federal); Amazonas, Anzoategui, Apure, Aragua, Barinas, Bolivar, Carabobo, Cojedes, Delta Amacuro, Dependencias Federales**, Distrito Federal*, Falcon, Guarico, Lara, Merida, Miranda, Monagas, Nueva Esparta, Portuguesa, Sucre, Tachira, Trujillo, Vargas, Yaracuy, Zulia
note: the federal dependency consists of 11 federally controlled island groups with a total of 72 individual islands |
| 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: 29.1% (male 3,860,116/female 3,620,440)
15-64 years: 65.7% (male 8,494,944/female 8,410,874) 65 years and over: 5.2% (male 609,101/female 734,960) (2006 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | rice, sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseed, spices, tea, rubber, coconuts; milk, eggs, hides, beef | corn, sorghum, sugarcane, rice, bananas, vegetables, coffee; beef, pork, milk, eggs; fish |
| Airports | 15 (2001) | 375 (2006) |
| 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: 129
over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 11 1,524 to 2,437 m: 34 914 to 1,523 m: 60 under 914 m: 19 (2006) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1 1
under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 246
1,524 to 2,437 m: 9 914 to 1,523 m: 90 under 914 m: 147 (2006) |
| Area | total: 65,610 sq km
land: 64,740 sq km water: 870 sq km |
total: 912,050 sq km
land: 882,050 sq km water: 30,000 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly larger than West Virginia | slightly more than twice the size of California |
| 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. | Venezuela was one of three countries that emerged from the collapse of Gran Colombia in 1830 (the others being Ecuador and New Granada, which became Colombia). For most of the first half of the 20th century, Venezuela was ruled by generally benevolent military strongmen, who promoted the oil industry and allowed for some social reforms. Democratically elected governments have held sway since 1959. Hugo CHAVEZ, president since 1999, has promoted a controversial policy of "democratic socialism," which purports to alleviate social ills while at the same time attacking globalization and undermining regional stability. Current concerns include: a weakening of democratic institutions, political polarization, a politicized military, drug-related violence along the Colombian border, increasing internal drug consumption, overdependence on the petroleum industry with its price fluctuations, and irresponsible mining operations that are endangering the rain forest and indigenous peoples. |
| Birth rate | 16.36 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 18.71 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $2.8 billion
expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
revenues: $39.63 billion
expenditures: $41.27 billion; including capital expenditures of $2.6 billion (2005 est.) |
| Capital | Colombo; note - Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte is the legislative capital | name: Caracas
geographic coordinates: 10 30 N, 66 56 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
| Climate | tropical monsoon; northeast monsoon (December to March); southwest monsoon (June to October) | tropical; hot, humid; more moderate in highlands |
| Coastline | 1,340 km | 2,800 km |
| Constitution | adopted 16 August 1978 | 30 December 1999 |
| Country name | conventional long form: Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
conventional short form: Sri Lanka former: Serendib, Ceylon |
conventional long form: Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
conventional short form: Venezuela local long form: Republica Bolivariana de Venezuela local short form: Venezuela |
| Currency | Sri Lankan rupee (LKR) | - |
| Death rate | 6.45 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 4.92 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
| Debt - external | $9.9 billion (2000) | $41.51 billion (2005 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 R. BROWNFIELD
embassy: Calle F con Calle Suapure, Urbanizacion Colinas de Valle Arriba, Caracas 1080 mailing address: P. O. Box 62291, Caracas 1060-A; APO AA 34037 telephone: [58] (212) 975-9234, 975-6411 FAX: [58] (212) 975-8991 |
| 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 Bernardo ALVAREZ Herrera
chancery: 1099 30th Street NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 342-2214 FAX: [1] (202) 342-6820 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Houston, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico) |
| Disputes - international | none | claims all of the area west of the Essequibo River in Guyana, preventing any discussion of a maritime boundary; Guyana has expressed its intention to join Barbados in asserting claims before the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) that Trinidad and Tobago's maritime boundary with Venezuela extends into their waters; dispute with Colombia over Los Monjes islands and maritime boundary near the Gulf of Venezuela; Colombian-organized illegal narcotics and paramilitary activities penetrate Venezuela's shared border region resulting in several thousand residents migrating away from the border; US, France, and the Netherlands recognize Venezuela's claim to give full effect to Aves Island, which creates a Venezuelan EEZ/continental shelf extending over a large portion of the Caribbean Sea; Dominica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines protest Venezuela's claim that Aves Island sustains human habitation and other states' recognition of it |
| Economic aid - recipient | $577 million (1998) (1998) | $74 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 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. | Venezuela continues to be highly dependent on the petroleum sector, accounting for roughly one-third of GDP, around 80% of export earnings, and over half of government operating revenues. Government revenue also has been bolstered by increased tax collection, which has surpassed its 2005 collection goal by almost 50%. Tax revenue is the primary source of non-oil revenue, which accounts for 53% of the 2006 budget. A disastrous two-month national oil strike, from December 2002 to February 2003, temporarily halted economic activity. The economy remained in depression in 2003, declining by 9.2% after an 8.9% fall in 2002. Output recovered strongly in 2004-2005, aided by high oil prices and strong consumption growth. Venezuela continues to be an important source of crude oil for the US market. Both inflation and unemployment remain fundamental problems. |
| Electricity - consumption | 6.156 billion kWh (2000) | 81.32 billion kWh (2003) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2003) |
| Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2003) |
| Electricity - production | 6.619 billion kWh (2000) | 87.44 billion kWh (2003) |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 32%
hydro: 68% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
- |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pidurutalagala 2,524 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Pico Bolivar (La Columna) 5,007 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 | sewage pollution of Lago de Valencia; oil and urban pollution of Lago de Maracaibo; deforestation; soil degradation; urban and industrial pollution, especially along the Caribbean coast; threat to the rainforest ecosystem from irresponsible mining operations |
| 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: Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, 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% | Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Arab, German, African, indigenous people |
| 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) | bolivares per US dollar - 2,089.8 (2005), 1,891.3 (2004), 1,607 (2003), 1,161 (2002), 723.7 (2001) |
| 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 Hugo CHAVEZ Frias (since 3 February 1999); Vice President Jose Vicente RANGEL Vale (since 28 April 2002); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Hugo CHAVEZ Frias (since 3 February 1999); Vice President Jose Vicente RANGEL Vale (since 28 April 2002) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 3 December 2006 (next to be held December 2012) note: in 1999, a National Constituent Assembly drafted a new constitution that increased the presidential term to six years; an election was subsequently held on 30 July 2000 under the terms of this new constitution election results: Hugo CHAVEZ Frias reelected president; percent of vote - Hugo CHAVEZ Frias 63%, Manuel ROSALES 37% |
| Exports | $4.9 billion f.o.b. (2001) | 2.1 million bbl/day (2004 est.) |
| Exports - commodities | textiles and apparel 15%, tea, diamonds, coconut products, petroleum products | petroleum, bauxite and aluminum, steel, chemicals, agricultural products, basic manufactures |
| Exports - partners | US 39%, UK 13%, Middle East 8%, Germany 4%, Japan 4% (2000) | US 51.2%, Netherlands Antilles 7.3%, Canada 2.4% (2005) |
| 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 | three equal horizontal bands of yellow (top), blue, and red with the coat of arms on the hoist side of the yellow band and an arc of eight white five-pointed stars centered in the blue band |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $62.7 billion (2001 est.) | - |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 21%
industry: 27% services: 52% (2000) |
agriculture: 4%
industry: 41.9% services: 54.1% (2005 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $3,250 (2001 est.) | - |
| GDP - real growth rate | -1% (2001 est.) | 9.3% (2005 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 7 00 N, 81 00 E | 8 00 N, 66 00 W |
| Geography - note | strategic location near major Indian Ocean sea lanes | on major sea and air routes linking North and South America; Angel Falls in the Guiana Highlands is the world's highest waterfall |
| Heliports | - | 1 (2006) |
| Highways | total: 11,285 km
paved: 10,721 km unpaved: 564 km (1998 est.) |
- |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 4%
highest 10%: 28% (1995) |
lowest 10%: 0.8%
highest 10%: 36.5% (1998) |
| Illicit drugs | - | small-scale illicit producer of opium and coca for the processing of opiates and coca derivatives; however, large quantities of cocaine, heroin, and marijuana transit the country from Colombia bound for US and Europe; significant narcotics-related money-laundering activity, especially along the border with Colombia and on Margarita Island; active eradication program primarily targeting opium; increasing signs of drug-related activities by Colombian insurgents on border |
| Imports | $6 billion f.o.b. (2001) | NA bbl/day |
| Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, textiles, petroleum, foodstuffs | raw materials, machinery and equipment, transport equipment, construction materials |
| Imports - partners | Japan 9%, India 8%, Hong Kong 7%, Singapore 7%, South Korea 5% (2000) | US 31.6%, Colombia 11%, Brazil 9.1%, Mexico 6.9% (2005) |
| Independence | 4 February 1948 (from UK) | 5 July 1811 (from Spain) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 1.4% (2001) | 7.2% (2005 est.) |
| Industries | rubber processing, tea, coconuts, and other agricultural commodities; clothing, cement, petroleum refining, textiles, tobacco | petroleum, construction materials, food processing, textiles; iron ore mining, steel, aluminum; motor vehicle assembly |
| Infant mortality rate | 15.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 21.54 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 24.58 deaths/1,000 live births female: 18.27 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 14.2% (2001 est.) | 16% (2005 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 | CAN, CDB, CSN, FAO, G-3, G-15, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 5 (2000) | - |
| Irrigated land | 6,510 sq km (1998 est.) | 5,750 sq km (2003) |
| Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Court of Appeals; judges for both courts are appointed by the president | Supreme Tribunal of Justice or Tribuna Suprema de Justicia (magistrates are elected by the National Assembly for a single 12-year term) |
| Labor force | 6.6 million (1998) | 12.31 million (2005 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | services 45%, agriculture 38%, industry 17% (1998 est.) | agriculture: 13%
industry: 23% services: 64% (1997 est.) |
| Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 4,993 km
border countries: Brazil 2,200 km, Colombia 2,050 km, Guyana 743 km |
| Land use | arable land: 13.43%
permanent crops: 15.78% other: 70.79% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 2.85%
permanent crops: 0.88% other: 96.27% (2005) |
| 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 |
Spanish (official), numerous indigenous dialects |
| Legal system | a highly complex mixture of English common law, Roman-Dutch, Muslim, Sinhalese, and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | open, adversarial 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 or Asamblea Nacional (167 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms; three seats reserved for the indigenous peoples of Venezuela)
elections: last held 4 December 2005 (next to be held in 2010) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - pro-government 167 (MVR 114, PODEMOS 15, PPT 11, indigenous 2, other 25), opposition 0 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 72.35 years
male: 69.83 years female: 75 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 74.54 years
male: 71.49 years female: 77.81 years (2006 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: 93.4% male: 93.8% female: 93.1% (2003 est.) |
| Location | Southern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of India | Northern South America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, between Colombia and Guyana |
| Map references | Asia | South America |
| 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 |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 15 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
| 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: 56 ships (1000 GRT or over) 824,941 GRT/1,327,924 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 7, cargo 10, chemical tanker 2, container 1, liquefied gas 6, passenger/cargo 12, petroleum tanker 18 foreign-owned: 13 (Denmark 3, Greece 3, India 1, Mexico 3, Panama 1, Russia 1, Spain 1) registered in other countries: 15 (Bahamas 1, Panama 14) (2006) |
| Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, Police Force | National Armed Forces (Fuerzas Armadas Nacionales or FAN): Ground Forces or Army (Fuerzas Terrestres or Ejercito), Naval Forces (Fuerzas Navales or Armada; includes Marines, Coast Guard), Air Force (Fuerzas Aereas or Aviacion), Armed Forces of Cooperation or National Guard (Fuerzas Armadas de Cooperacion or Guardia Nacional) |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $719 million (FY98) | $1.61 billion (2005 est.) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 4.2% (FY98) | 1.2% (2005 est.) |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 5,347,153 (2002 est.) | - |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 4,148,825 (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, 5 July (1811) |
| Nationality | noun: Sri Lankan(s)
adjective: Sri Lankan |
noun: Venezuelan(s)
adjective: Venezuelan |
| Natural hazards | occasional cyclones and tornadoes | subject to floods, rockslides, mudslides; periodic droughts |
| Natural resources | limestone, graphite, mineral sands, gems, phosphates, clay, hydropower | petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, gold, bauxite, other minerals, hydropower, diamonds |
| Net migration rate | -1.39 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
| Pipelines | crude oil and petroleum products 62 km (1987) | extra heavy crude 992 km; gas 5,369 km; oil 7,607 km; refined products 1,681 km; unknown (oil/water) 141 km (2006) |
| 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 | Christian Democrats or COPEI [Eduardo FERNANDEZ]; Democratic Action or AD [Jesus MENDEZ Quijada]; Fatherland for All or PPT [Jose ALBORNOZ]; Fifth Republic Movement or MVR [Hugo CHAVEZ]; Justice First [Julio BORGES]; Movement Toward Socialism or MAS [Hector MUJICA]; Venezuela Project or PV [Henrique SALAS Romer]; We Can or PODEMOS [Ismael GARCIA] |
| 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 | FEDECAMARAS, a conservative business group; VECINOS groups; Venezuelan Confederation of Workers or CTV (labor organization dominated by the Democratic Action) |
| 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.) |
25,730,435 (July 2006 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 22% (1997 est.) | 47% (1998 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 0.85% (2002 est.) | 1.38% (2006 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Colombo, Galle, Jaffna, Trincomalee | - |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 26, FM 45, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 201, FM NA (20 in Caracas), shortwave 11 (1998) |
| 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 (2001) |
total: 682 km
standard gauge: 682 km 1.435-m gauge (2005) |
| Religions | Buddhist 70%, Hindu 15%, Christian 8%, Muslim 7% (1999) | nominally Roman Catholic 96%, Protestant 2%, other 2% |
| 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: 1.08 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
| 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: modern and expanding
domestic: domestic satellite system with 3 earth stations; recent substantial improvement in telephone service in rural areas; substantial increase in digitalization of exchanges and trunk lines; installation of a national interurban fiber-optic network capable of digital multimedia services international: country code - 58; 3 submarine coaxial cables; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 PanAmSat; participating with Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia in the construction of an international fiber-optic network |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 494,509 (1998) | 3,605,500 (2005) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 228,604 (1999) | 12.496 million (2005) |
| Television broadcast stations | 21 (1997) | 66 (plus 45 repeaters) (1997) |
| Terrain | mostly low, flat to rolling plain; mountains in south-central interior | Andes Mountains and Maracaibo Lowlands in northwest; central plains (llanos); Guiana Highlands in southeast |
| Total fertility rate | 1.93 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 2.23 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 7.7% (2001) | 12.2% (2005 est.) |
| Waterways | 430 km (navigable by shallow-draft craft) | 7,100 km
note: Orinoco River and Lake de Maracaibo navigable by oceangoing vessels, Orinoco for 400 km (2005) |
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