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Compare Sri Lanka (2003) - Poland (2006)
Compare Sri Lanka (2003) z Poland (2006)
| Sri Lanka (2003) | Poland (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 | 16 provinces (wojewodztwa, singular - wojewodztwo); Dolnoslaskie, Kujawsko-Pomorskie, Lodzkie, Lubelskie, Lubuskie, Malopolskie, Mazowieckie, Opolskie, Podkarpackie, Podlaskie, Pomorskie, Slaskie, Swietokrzyskie, Warminsko-Mazurskie, Wielkopolskie, Zachodniopomorskie |
| Age structure | 0-14 years: 25.2% (male 2,543,336; female 2,431,223)
15-64 years: 67.9% (male 6,518,145; female 6,890,424) 65 years and over: 6.9% (male 641,708; female 717,603) (2003 est.) |
0-14 years: 15.9% (male 3,142,811/female 2,976,363)
15-64 years: 70.8% (male 13,585,306/female 13,704,763) 65 years and over: 13.3% (male 1,961,326/female 3,166,300) (2006 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | rice, sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseed, spices, tea, rubber, coconuts; milk, eggs, hides, beef | potatoes, fruits, vegetables, wheat; poultry, eggs, pork, dairy |
| Airports | 15 (2002) | 122 (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: 83
over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 29 1,524 to 2,437 m: 40 914 to 1,523 m: 8 under 914 m: 2 (2006) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 39
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 13 under 914 m: 21 (2006) |
| Area | total: 65,610 sq km
land: 64,740 sq km water: 870 sq km |
total: 312,685 sq km
land: 304,465 sq km water: 8,220 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly larger than West Virginia | slightly smaller than New Mexico |
| 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-third century B.C., and a great civilization developed at the cities of Anuradhapura (kingdom from circa 200 B.C. to circa 1000 A.D.) and Polonnaruwa (from about 1070 to 1200). In the 14th century, a south Indian dynasty seized power in the north and established a Tamil kingdom. Occupied by the Portuguese in the 16th century and by the Dutch in the 17th century, the island was ceded to the British in 1796, became a crown colony in 1802, and was united under British rule by 1815. As Ceylon, it became independent in 1948; its name was changed to Sri Lanka in 1972. Tensions between the Sinhalese majority and Tamil separatists erupted in violence in the mid-1980s. Tens of thousands have died in an ethnic war that continues to fester. After two decades of fighting, the government and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam began a ceasefire in December 2001, with Norway brokering peace negotiations. | Poland is an ancient nation that was conceived near the middle of the 10th century. Its golden age occurred in the 16th century. During the following century, the strengthening of the gentry and internal disorders weakened the nation. In a series of agreements between 1772 and 1795, Russia, Prussia, and Austria partitioned Poland amongst themselves. Poland regained its independence in 1918 only to be overrun by Germany and the Soviet Union in World War II. It became a Soviet satellite state following the war, but its government was comparatively tolerant and progressive. Labor turmoil in 1980 led to the formation of the independent trade union "Solidarity" that over time became a political force and by 1990 had swept parliamentary elections and the presidency. A "shock therapy" program during the early 1990s enabled the country to transform its economy into one of the most robust in Central Europe, but Poland still faces the lingering challenges of high unemployment, underdeveloped and dilapidated infrastructure, and a poor rural underclass. Solidarity suffered a major defeat in the 2001 parliamentary elections when it failed to elect a single deputy to the lower house of Parliament, and the new leaders of the Solidarity Trade Union subsequently pledged to reduce the Trade Union's political role. Poland joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union in 2004. With its transformation to a democratic, market-oriented country largely completed, Poland is an increasingly active member of Euro-Atlantic organizations. |
| Birth rate | 16.12 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 9.85 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $2.8 billion
expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
revenues: $52.73 billion
expenditures: $63.22 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
| Capital | Colombo; note - Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte is the legislative capital | name: Warsaw
geographic coordinates: 52 15 N, 21 00 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
| Climate | tropical monsoon; northeast monsoon (December to March); southwest monsoon (June to October) | temperate with cold, cloudy, moderately severe winters with frequent precipitation; mild summers with frequent showers and thundershowers |
| Coastline | 1,340 km | 491 km |
| Constitution | adopted 16 August 1978 | adopted by the National Assembly 2 April 1997, passed by national referendum 25 May 1997, effective 17 October 1997 |
| Country name | conventional long form: Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
conventional short form: Sri Lanka former: Serendib, Ceylon |
conventional long form: Republic of Poland
conventional short form: Poland local long form: Rzeczpospolita Polska local short form: Polska |
| Currency | Sri Lankan rupee (LKR) | - |
| Death rate | 6.46 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 9.89 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
| Debt - external | $9.8 billion (2002) | $101.5 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 Victor ASHE
embassy: Aleje Ujazdowskie 29/31 00-540 Warsaw mailing address: American Embassy Warsaw, US Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-5010 (pouch) telephone: [48] (22) 504-2000 FAX: [48] (22) 504-2688 consulate(s) general: Krakow |
| 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 Janusz REITER
chancery: 2640 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 234-3800 through 3802 FAX: [1] (202) 328-6271 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, New York |
| Disputes - international | none | as a member state that forms part of the EU's external border, Poland must implement the strict Schengen border rules |
| Economic aid - recipient | $577 million (1998) | $13.9 billion in available EU structural adjustment and cohesion funds (2004-06) |
| 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% in the early 1990s until a drought and a deteriorating security situation lowered growth to 3.8% in 1996. The economy rebounded in 1997-2000 with average growth of 5.3%, but 2001 saw the first contraction in the country's history, -1.4%, due to a combination of power shortages, severe budgetary problems, the global slowdown, and continuing civil strife. Growth recovered to 3.2% in 2002. About 800,000 Sri Lankans work abroad, 90% in the Middle East. They send home about $1 billion a year. | Poland has steadfastly pursued a policy of economic liberalization throughout the 1990s and today stands out as a success story among transition economies. Even so, much remains to be done, especially in bringing down the unemployment rate - currently the highest in the EU. The privatization of small- and medium-sized state-owned companies and a liberal law on establishing new firms has encouraged the development of the private business sector, but legal and bureaucratic obstacles alongside persistent corruption are hampering its further development. Poland's agricultural sector remains handicapped by surplus labor, inefficient small farms, and lack of investment. Restructuring and privatization of "sensitive sectors" (e.g., coal, steel, railroads, and energy), while recently initiated, have stalled. Reforms in health care, education, the pension system, and state administration have resulted in larger-than-expected fiscal pressures. Further progress in public finance depends mainly on reducing losses in Polish state enterprises, restraining entitlements, and overhauling the tax code to incorporate the growing gray economy and farmers, most of whom pay no tax. The previous Socialist-led government introduced a package of social and administrative spending cuts to reduce public spending by about $17 billion through 2007, but full implementation of the plan was trumped by election-year politics in 2005. The right-wing Law and Justice party won parliamentary elections in September, and Lech KACZYNSKI won the presidential election in October 2005, running on a state-interventionist fiscal and monetary platform. Poland joined the EU in May 2004, and surging exports to the EU contributed to Poland's strong growth in 2004, though its competitiveness could be threatened by the zloty's appreciation. GDP per capita roughly equals that of the three Baltic states. Poland stands to benefit from nearly $23.2 billion in EU funds, available through 2006. Farmers have already begun to reap the rewards of membership via booming exports, higher food prices, and EU agricultural subsidies. |
| Electricity - consumption | 5.915 billion kWh (2001) | 121.3 billion kWh (2004) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 15.2 billion kWh (2004) |
| Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 5 billion kWh (2004) |
| Electricity - production | 6.36 billion kWh (2001) | 150.8 billion kWh (2004) |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 51.7%
hydro: 48.3% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
- |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pidurutalagala 2,524 m |
lowest point: near Raczki Elblaskie -2 m
highest point: Rysy 2,499 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 | situation has improved since 1989 due to decline in heavy industry and increased environmental concern by post-Communist governments; air pollution nonetheless remains serious because of sulfur dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants, and the resulting acid rain has caused forest damage; water pollution from industrial and municipal sources is also a problem, as is disposal of hazardous wastes; pollution levels should continue to decrease as industrial establishments bring their facilities up to EU code, but at substantial cost to business and the government |
| 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: Air Pollution, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Kyoto Protocol, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94 |
| Ethnic groups | Sinhalese 74%, Tamil 18%, Moor 7%, Burgher, Malay, and Vedda 1% | Polish 96.7%, German 0.4%, Belarusian 0.1%, Ukrainian 0.1%, other and unspecified 2.7% (2002 census) |
| Exchange rates | Sri Lankan rupees per US dollar - 95.66 (2002), 89.38 (2001), 77.01 (2000), 70.64 (1999), 64.45 (1998) | zlotych per US dollar - 3.2355 (2005), 3.6576 (2004), 3.8891 (2003), 4.08 (2002), 4.0939 (2001)
note: zlotych is the plural form of zloty |
| Executive branch | chief of state: President Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA (since 12 November 1994); note - Ranil WICKREMASINGHE (since 9 December 2001) is the prime minister; the president is considered both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA (since 12 November 1994); note - Ranil WICKREMASINGHE (since 9 December 2001) is the prime minister; the president is considered both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president in consultation with the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term; election last held 21 December 1999 (next to be held NA December 2005) election results: Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA reelected president; percent of vote - Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA (PA) 51%, Ranil WICKREMASINGHE (UNP) 42%, other 7% |
chief of state: President Lech KACZYNSKI (since 23 December 2005)
head of government: Prime Minister Jaroslaw KACZYNSKI (since 10 July 2006); Deputy Prime Ministers Ludwik DORN (since 23 November 2005), Roman GIERTYCH (since 5 May 2006), Zyta GILOWSKA (since 22 September 2006), Andrzej LEPPER (since 16 October 2006) cabinet: Council of Ministers responsible to the prime minister and the Sejm; the prime minister proposes, the president appoints, and the Sejm approves the Council of Ministers elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 9 and 23 October 2005 (next to be held October 2010); prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president and confirmed by the Sejm election results: Lech KACZYNSKI elected president; percent of popular vote - Lech KACZYNSKI 54%, Donald Tusk 46% |
| Exports | NA (2001) | 53,000 bbl/day (2001) |
| Exports - commodities | textiles and apparel, tea, diamonds, coconut products, petroleum products | machinery and transport equipment 37.8%, intermediate manufactured goods 23.7%, miscellaneous manufactured goods 17.1%, food and live animals 7.6% (2003) |
| Exports - partners | US 39.1%, UK 12.9%, Belgium 4.7%, Germany 4.5% (2002) | Germany 28.2%, France 6.2%, Italy 6.1%, UK 5.6%, Czech Republic 4.6%, Russia 4.4%, Netherlands 4.2% (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 | two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red; similar to the flags of Indonesia and Monaco which are red (top) and white |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $73.7 billion (2002 est.) | - |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 20%
industry: 26% services: 54% (2001) |
agriculture: 5%
industry: 31.1% services: 64% (2005 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $3,700 (2002 est.) | - |
| GDP - real growth rate | 3.2% (2002 est.) | 3.4% (2005 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 7 00 N, 81 00 E | 52 00 N, 20 00 E |
| Geography - note | strategic location near major Indian Ocean sea lanes | historically, an area of conflict because of flat terrain and the lack of natural barriers on the North European Plain |
| Heliports | - | 3 (2006) |
| Highways | total: 96,695 km
paved: 91,860 km unpaved: 4,835 km (1999) |
- |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3.5%
highest 10%: 28% (1995) |
lowest 10%: 3.1%
highest 10%: 26.7% (2002) |
| Illicit drugs | - | major illicit producer of synthetic drugs for the international market; minor transshipment point for Asian and Latin American illicit drugs to Western Europe |
| Imports | NA (2001) | 413,700 bbl/day (2001) |
| Imports - commodities | textiles, mineral products, petroleum, foodstuffs, machinery and equipment | machinery and transport equipment 38%, intermediate manufactured goods 21%, chemicals 14.8%, minerals, fuels, lubricants, and related materials 9.1% (2003) |
| Imports - partners | India 11%, Hong Kong 7.6%, Singapore 7.1%, China 6.3%, Taiwan 5.9%, South Korea 5.7%, Japan 5.3%, Iran 4.2% (2002) | Germany 29.6%, Russia 8.7%, Italy 6.6%, Netherlands 5.9%, France 5.7% (2005) |
| Independence | 4 February 1948 (from UK) | 11 November 1918 (independent republic proclaimed) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 1.1% (2002) | 3.7% (2005 est.) |
| Industries | rubber processing, tea, coconuts, and other agricultural commodities; clothing, cement, petroleum refining, textiles, tobacco | machine building, iron and steel, coal mining, chemicals, shipbuilding, food processing, glass, beverages, textiles |
| Infant mortality rate | total: 15.22 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 16.45 deaths/1,000 live births female: 13.92 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
total: 7.22 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 7.95 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.44 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 9.6% (2002 est.) | 2.2% (2005 est.) |
| International organization participation | AsDB, C, 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, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), OPCW, PCA, SAARC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ACCT (observer), Arctic Council (observer), Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CBSS, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EU, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (associate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 5 (2000) | - |
| Irrigated land | 6,510 sq km (1998 est.) | 1,000 sq km (2003) |
| Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Court of Appeals; judges for both courts are appointed by the president | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president on the recommendation of the National Council of the Judiciary for an indefinite period); Constitutional Tribunal (judges are chosen by the Sejm for nine-year terms) |
| Labor force | 6.6 million (1998) | 17.1 million (2005 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | services 45%, agriculture 38%, industry 17% (1998 est.) | agriculture: 16.1%
industry: 29% services: 54.9% (2002) |
| Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 3,056 km
border countries: Belarus 416 km, Czech Republic 790 km, Germany 467 km, Lithuania 103 km, Russia (Kaliningrad Oblast) 210 km, Slovakia 541 km, Ukraine 529 km |
| Land use | arable land: 13.43%
permanent crops: 15.78% other: 70.79% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 40.25%
permanent crops: 1% other: 58.75% (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 |
Polish 97.8%, other and unspecified 2.2% (2002 census) |
| Legal system | a highly complex mixture of English common law, Roman-Dutch, Muslim, Sinhalese, and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | mixture of Continental (Napoleonic) civil law and holdover Communist legal theory; changes being gradually introduced as part of broader democratization process; limited judicial review of legislative acts, but rulings of the Constitutional Tribunal are final; court decisions can be appealed to the European Court of Justice in Strasbourg; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
| 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%, TNA 3.89%, PLOTE 0.19%; seats by party or electoral alliance - UNP, SLMC and CWC 114, PA and EPDP 79, JVP 16, TNA 15, PLOTE 1 |
bicameral legislature consisting of an upper house, the Senate or Senat (100 seats; members are elected by a majority vote on a provincial basis to serve four-year terms), and a lower house, the Sejm (460 seats; members are elected under a complex system of proportional representation to serve four-year terms); the designation of National Assembly or Zgromadzenie Narodowe is only used on those rare occasions when the two houses meet jointly
elections: Senate - last held 25 September 2005 (next to be held by September 2009); Sejm elections last held 25 September 2005 (next to be held by September 2009) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PiS 49, PO 34, LPR 7, SO 3, PSL 2, independents 5; Sejm - percent of vote by party - PiS 27%, PO 24.1%, SO 11.4%, SLD 11.3%, LPR 8%, PSL 7%, other 11.2%; seats by party - PiS 155, PO 133, SO 56, SLD 55, LPR 34, PSL 25, German minorities 2 note: two seats are assigned to ethnic minority parties in the Sejm only |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 72.62 years
male: 70.09 years female: 75.29 years (2003 est.) |
total population: 74.97 years
male: 70.95 years female: 79.23 years (2006 est.) |
| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 92.3% male: 94.8% female: 90% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.8% male: 99.8% female: 99.7% (2003 est.) |
| Location | Southern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of India | Central Europe, east of Germany |
| Map references | Asia | Europe |
| 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
exclusive economic zone: defined by international treaties |
| Merchant marine | total: 15 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 62,157 GRT/84,898 DWT
ships by type: cargo 13, container 1, petroleum tanker 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Germany 9, Hong Kong 1, UAE 1 (2002 est.) |
total: 11 ships (1000 GRT or over) 55,701 GRT/45,082 DWT
by type: cargo 6, chemical tanker 2, passenger/cargo 1, roll on/roll off 1, vehicle carrier 1 foreign-owned: 1 (Nigeria 1) registered in other countries: 106 (Antigua and Barbuda 3, Bahamas 15, Belize 2, Cyprus 20, Liberia 14, Malta 27, Norway 2, Panama 15, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1, Slovakia 2, Vanuatu 5) (2006) |
| Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, Police Force | Polish Armed Forces: Land Forces (includes Navy (Marynarka Wojenna, MW)), Polish Air Force (Polskie Sily Powietrzne, PSP) (2006) |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $719 million (FY98) | $3.5 billion (2002) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 4.2% (FY98) | 1.71% (2002) |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 5,383,661 (2003 est.) | - |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 4,172,921 (2003 est.) | - |
| Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2003 est.) | - |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 186,691 (2003 est.) | - |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 4 February (1948) | Constitution Day, 3 May (1791) |
| Nationality | noun: Sri Lankan(s)
adjective: Sri Lankan |
noun: Pole(s)
adjective: Polish |
| Natural hazards | occasional cyclones and tornadoes | flooding |
| Natural resources | limestone, graphite, mineral sands, gems, phosphates, clay, hydropower | coal, sulfur, copper, natural gas, silver, lead, salt, amber, arable land |
| Net migration rate | -1.35 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | -0.46 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
| Pipelines | crude oil and petroleum products 62 km (1987) | gas 13,552 km; oil 1,384 km; refined products 777 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 | Catholic-National Movement or RKN [Antoni MACIEREWICZ]; Civic Platform or PO [Donald TUSK]; Conservative Peasants Party or SKL [Artur BALASZ]; Democratic Left Alliance or SLD [Wojciech OLEJNICZAK]; Democratic Party or PD [Wladyslaw FRASYNIUK]; Dom Ojczysty (Fatherland Home); German Minority of Lower Silesia or MNSO [Henryk KROLL]; Law and Justice or PiS [Jaroslaw KACZYNSKI]; League of Polish Families or LPR [Marek KOTLINOWSKI]; Peasant-Democratic Party or PLD [Roman JAGIELINSKI]; Polish Accord or PP [Jan LOPUSZANSKI]; Polish Peasant Party or PSL [Waldemar PAWLAK]; Ruch Patriotyczny or RP [Jan OLSZEWSKI]; Samoobrona or SO [Andrzej LEPPER]; Social Democratic Party of Poland or SDPL [Marek BOROWSKI]; Social Movement or RS [Krzysztof PIESIEWICZ]; Union of Labor or UP [Andrzej SPYCHALSKI] |
| 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 | All Poland Trade Union Alliance or OPZZ (trade union) [Jan GUZ]; Roman Catholic Church [Cardinal Jozef GLEMP]; Solidarity Trade Union [Janusz SNIADEK] |
| Population | 19,742,439 (2003 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 yearend 2000, approximately 65,000 were housed in 131 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 2003 est.) |
38,536,869 (July 2006 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 22% (1997 est.) | 17% (2003 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 0.83% (2003 est.) | -0.05% (2006 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Colombo, Galle, Jaffna, Trincomalee | - |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 26, FM 45, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 14, FM 777, shortwave 1 (1998) |
| Railways | total: 1,508 km
broad gauge: 1,449 km 1.676-m gauge narrow gauge: 59 km 0.762-m gauge (2002) |
total: 23,072 km
broad gauge: 629 km 1.524-m gauge standard gauge: 22,443 km 1.435-m gauge (20,555 km operational; 11,910 km electrified) (2005) |
| Religions | Buddhist 70%, Hindu 15%, Christian 8%, Muslim 7% (1999) | Roman Catholic 89.8% (about 75% practicing), Eastern Orthodox 1.3%, Protestant 0.3%, other 0.3%, unspecified 8.3% (2002) |
| 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: 0.89 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.62 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 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: modernization of the telecommunications network has accelerated with market based competition finalized in 2003; fixed-line service, dominated by the former state-owned company, is dwarfed by the growth in wireless telephony
domestic: wireless service, available since 1993 (GSM service available since 1996) and provided by three nation-wide networks, has grown rapidly in response to the weak fixed-line coverage; third generation UMTS service available in urban areas; cellular coverage is generally good with more gaps in the east; fixed-line service is growing slowly and still lags in rural areas international: country code - 48; international direct dialing with automated exchanges; satellite earth station - 1 (Intelsat, Eutelsat, Inmarsat, and Intersputnik) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 494,509 (1998) | 11.803 million (2005) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 228,604 (1999) | 29,166,400 (2005) |
| Television broadcast stations | 21 (1997) | 40 (2006) |
| Terrain | mostly low, flat to rolling plain; mountains in south-central interior | mostly flat plain; mountains along southern border |
| Total fertility rate | 1.9 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 1.25 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 8% (2002) | 18.2% (2005 est.) |
| Waterways | 430 km (navigable by shallow-draft craft) | 3,997 km (navigable rivers and canals) (2005) |
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