Sri Lanka (2006) | Libya (2006) | |
Administrative divisions | 8 provinces; Central, North Central, North Eastern, North Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Uva, Western
note: in 1998 the Government of Sri Lanka proposed a merger of the former Northern and Eastern provinces; while this merger was never ratified, the Government treats North Eastern Province as a de facto singular administrative unit |
25 municipalities (baladiyat, singular - baladiyah); Ajdabiya, Al 'Aziziyah, Al Fatih, Al Jabal al Akhdar, Al Jufrah, Al Khums, Al Kufrah, An Nuqat al Khams, Ash Shati', Awbari, Az Zawiyah, Banghazi, Darnah, Ghadamis, Gharyan, Misratah, Murzuq, Sabha, Sawfajjin, Surt, Tarabulus, Tarhunah, Tubruq, Yafran, Zlitan; note - the 25 municipalities may have been replaced by 13 regions |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 24.1% (male 2,488,689/female 2,379,233)
15-64 years: 68.6% (male 6,727,399/female 7,140,751) 65 years and over: 7.3% (male 687,842/female 798,326) (2006 est.) |
0-14 years: 33.6% (male 1,012,748/female 969,978)
15-64 years: 62.2% (male 1,891,643/female 1,778,621) 65 years and over: 4.2% (male 121,566/female 126,198) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseed, spices, tea, rubber, coconuts; milk, eggs, hides, beef; fish | wheat, barley, olives, dates, citrus, vegetables, peanuts, soybeans; cattle |
Airports | 16 (2006) | 141 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 14
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 7 (2006) |
total: 60
over 3,047 m: 23 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 23 914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 2 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 2
under 914 m: 2 (2006) |
total: 81
over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 15 914 to 1,523 m: 41 under 914 m: 18 (2006) |
Area | total: 65,610 sq km
land: 64,740 sq km water: 870 sq km |
total: 1,759,540 sq km
land: 1,759,540 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than West Virginia | slightly larger than Alaska |
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 A.D. 1000) 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 into war in 1983. Tens of thousands have died in an ethnic conflict that continues to fester. After two decades of fighting, the government and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam formalized a cease-fire in February 2002, with Norway brokering peace negotiations. | The Italians supplanted the Ottoman Turks from the area around Tripoli in 1911 and did not reliquish their hold until 1943 when defeated in World War II. Libya then passed to UN administration and achieved independence in 1951. Following a 1969 military coup, Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI began to espouse his own political system, the Third Universal Theory. The system is a combination of socialism and Islam derived in part from tribal practices and is supposed to be implemented by the Libyan people themselves in a unique form of "direct democracy." QADHAFI has always seen himself as a revolutionary and visionary leader. He used oil funds during the 1970s and 1980s to promote his ideology outside Libya, supporting subversives and terrorists abroad to hasten the end of Marxism and capitalism. In addition, beginning in 1973, he engaged in military operations in northern Chad's Aozou Strip - to gain access to minerals and to use as a base of influence in Chadian politics - but was forced to retreat in 1987. UN sanctions in 1992 isolated QADHAFI politically following the downing of Pan AM Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. Libyan support for terrorism appeared to have decreased after the imposition of sanctions. During the 1990s, QADHAFI also began to rebuild his relationships with Europe. UN sanctions were suspended in April 1999 and finally lifted in September 2003 after Libya resolved the Lockerbie case. In December 2003, Libya announced that it had agreed to reveal and end its programs to develop weapons of mass destruction, and QADHAFI has made significant strides in normalizing relations with western nations since then. He has received various Western European leaders as well as many working-level and commercial delegations, and made his first trip to Western Europe in 15 years when he traveled to Brussels in April 2004. QADHAFI also finally resolved in 2004 several outstanding cases against his government for terrorist activities in the 1980s by compensating the families of victims of the UTA and La Belle disco bombings. |
Birth rate | 15.51 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 26.49 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $3.804 billion
expenditures: $5.469 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
revenues: $25.34 billion
expenditures: $15.47 billion; including capital expenditures of $5.6 billion (2005 est.) |
Capital | name: Colombo
geographic coordinates: 6 56 N, 79 51 E time difference: UTC+5.5 (10.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) note: Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte (legislative capital) |
name: Tripoli
geographic coordinates: 32 54 N, 13 11 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | tropical monsoon; northeast monsoon (December to March); southwest monsoon (June to October) | Mediterranean along coast; dry, extreme desert interior |
Coastline | 1,340 km | 1,770 km |
Constitution | adopted 16 August 1978, certified 31 August 1978 | 11 December 1969; amended 2 March 1977 |
Country name | conventional long form: Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
conventional short form: Sri Lanka local long form: Shri Lamka Prajatantrika Samajaya di Janarajaya/Ilankai Jananayaka Choshalichak Kutiyarachu local short form: Shri Lamka/Ilankai former: Serendib, Ceylon |
conventional long form: Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
conventional short form: Libya local long form: Al Jumahiriyah al Arabiyah al Libiyah ash Shabiyah al Ishtirakiyah al Uzma local short form: none |
Death rate | 6.52 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 3.48 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $11.05 billion (2005 est.) | $4.267 billion (2005 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Robert O. BLAKE, Jr.
embassy: 210 Galle Road, Colombo 3 mailing address: P. O. Box 106, Colombo telephone: [94] (11) 249-8500 FAX: [94] (11) 243-7345 |
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires ad Interim Gregory L. BERRY
embassy: Corinthia Bab Africa Hotel, Souq At-Tlat Al-Qadim, Tripoli mailing address: US Embassy, 8850 Tripoli Place, Washington, DC 20521-8850 telephone: [218] 21-335-1848 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Bernard GOONETILLEKE
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 (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Ali AUJALI
chancery: 2600 Virginia Avenue NW, Suite 705, Washington, DC 20037 telephone: [1] (202) 944-9601 FAX: [1] (202) 944-9060 |
Disputes - international | none | Libya has claimed more than 32,000 sq km in southeastern Algeria and about 25,000 sq km in Niger in currently dormant disputes; various Chadian rebels from the Aozou region reside in southern Libya |
Economic aid - recipient | $577 million (1998) | ODA, $4.4 million (2002) |
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. In 2003, plantation crops made up only 15% of exports (compared with 93% in 1970), while textiles and garments accounted for 63%. GDP grew at an average annual rate of about 5.5% in the 1990s, but 2001 saw the first contraction in the country's history, by 1.4%, due to a combination of power shortages, severe budgetary problems, the global slowdown, and continuing civil strife. Growth recovered to 5% between 2002 and 2005. About 800,000 Sri Lankans work abroad, 90% in the Middle East. They send home about $1 billion a year. The struggle by the Tamil Tigers of the north and east for a largely independent homeland continues to cast a shadow over the economy. In late December 2004, a major tsunami took about 31,000 lives, left more than 6,300 missing and 443,000 displaced, and destroyed an estimated $1.5 billion worth of property. | The Libyan economy depends primarily upon revenues from the oil sector, which contribute about 95% of export earnings, about one-quarter of GDP, and 60% of public sector wages. Substantial revenues from the energy sector coupled with a small population give Libya one of the highest per capita GDPs in Africa, but little of this income flows down to the lower orders of society. Libyan officials in the past four years have made progress on economic reforms as part of a broader campaign to reintegrate the country into the international fold. This effort picked up steam after UN sanctions were lifted in September 2003 and as Libya announced that it would abandon programs to build weapons of mass destruction in December 2003. Almost all US unilateral sanctions against Libya were removed in April 2004, helping Libya attract more foreign direct investment, mostly in the energy sector. Libya faces a long road ahead in liberalizing the socialist-oriented economy, but initial steps - including applying for WTO membership, reducing some subsidies, and announcing plans for privatization - are laying the groundwork for a transition to a more market-based economy. The non-oil manufacturing and construction sectors, which account for about 20% of GDP, have expanded from processing mostly agricultural products to include the production of petrochemicals, iron, steel, and aluminum. Climatic conditions and poor soils severely limit agricultural output, and Libya imports about 75% of its food. |
Electricity - consumption | 6.796 billion kWh (2003) | 13.39 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 7.308 billion kWh (2003) | 14.4 billion kWh (2003) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pidurutalagala 2,524 m |
lowest point: Sabkhat Ghuzayyil -47 m
highest point: Bikku Bitti 2,267 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 | desertification; very limited natural fresh water resources; the Great Manmade River Project, the largest water development scheme in the world, is being built to bring water from large aquifers under the Sahara to coastal cities |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | Sinhalese 73.8%, Sri Lankan Moors 7.2%, Indian Tamil 4.6%, Sri Lankan Tamil 3.9%, other 0.5%, unspecified 10% (2001 census provisional data) | Berber and Arab 97%, Greeks, Maltese, Italians, Egyptians, Pakistanis, Turks, Indians, Tunisians |
Exchange rates | Sri Lankan rupees per US dollar - 100.498 (2005), 101.194 (2004), 96.521 (2003), 95.662 (2002), 89.383 (2001) | Libyan dinars per US dollar - 1.3084 (2005), 1.305 (2004), 1.2929 (2003), 1.2707 (2002), 0.6051 (2001) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Mahinda RAJAPAKSE (since 19 November 2005); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government; Ratnasiri WICKREMANAYAKE (since 21 November 2005) holds the ceremonial title of prime minister
head of government: President Mahinda RAJAPAKSE (since 19 November 2005) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president in consultation with the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 17 November 2005 (next to be held 2011) election results: Mahinda RAJAPAKSE elected president; percent of vote - Mahinda RAJAPAKSE 50.3%, Ranil WICKREMESINGHE 48.4%, other 1.3% |
chief of state: Revolutionary Leader Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI (since 1 September 1969); note - holds no official title, but is de facto chief of state
head of government: Secretary of the General People's Committee (Prime Minister) al-Baghdadi Ali al-MAHMUDI (since 5 March 2006) cabinet: General People's Committee established by the General People's Congress elections: national elections are indirect through a hierarchy of people's committees; head of government elected by the General People's Congress; election last held 2 March 2000 (next to be held NA) election results: NA |
Exports | NA bbl/day | 1.34 million bbl/day NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | textiles and apparel, tea and spices; diamonds, emeralds, rubies; coconut products, rubber manufactures, fish | crude oil, refined petroleum products, natural gas |
Exports - partners | US 30.9%, UK 11.6%, India 7.3%, Belgium 4.8%, Germany 4.5% (2005) | Italy 37.9%, Germany 15.2%, Spain 8.7%, Turkey 6.3%, France 6.2%, US 5.2% (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 | plain green; green is the traditional color of Islam (the state religion) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 17.8%
industry: 27.6% services: 54.5% (2005 est.) |
agriculture: 7.6%
industry: 49.9% services: 42.5% (2005 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 6% (2005 est.) | 8.4% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 7 00 N, 81 00 E | 25 00 N, 17 00 E |
Geography - note | strategic location near major Indian Ocean sea lanes | more than 90% of the country is desert or semidesert |
Heliports | - | 2 (2006) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3.5%
highest 10%: 28% (1995) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | NA bbl/day | 0 bbl/day NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | textile fabrics, mineral products, petroleum, foodstuffs, machinery and transportation equipment | machinery, transport equipment, semi-finished goods, food, consumer products |
Imports - partners | India 19.7%, China 9.9%, Singapore 7.2%, Iran 5.5%, Malaysia 4.6%, Hong Kong 4.5% (2005) | Italy 21.5%, Germany 10.4%, Tunisia 5.6%, Turkey 4.9%, UK 4.9%, France 4.8%, South Korea 4.7%, China 4.6% (2005) |
Independence | 4 February 1948 (from UK) | 24 December 1951 (from UN trusteeship) |
Industrial production growth rate | 8.2% (2005 est.) | NA% |
Industries | processing of rubber, tea, coconuts, tobacco and other agricultural commodities; telecommunications, insurance, banking; clothing, textiles; cement, petroleum refining | petroleum, iron and steel, food processing, textiles, handicrafts, cement |
Infant mortality rate | total: 13.97 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 15.18 deaths/1,000 live births female: 12.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
total: 23.71 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 25.99 deaths/1,000 live births female: 21.32 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 11.6% (2005 est.) | 3.4% (2005 est.) |
International organization participation | AsDB, BIMSTEC, C, CP, FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), OPCW, PCA, SAARC, SACEP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIS, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AMU, AU, CAEU, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO (observer) |
Irrigated land | 7,430 sq km (2003) | 4,700 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Court of Appeals; judges for both courts are appointed by the president | Supreme Court |
Labor force | 8.08 million (2005 est.) | 1.64 million (2005 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 38%
industry: 17% services: 45% (1998 est.) |
agriculture: 17%
industry: 23% services: 59% (2004 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 4,348 km
border countries: Algeria 982 km, Chad 1,055 km, Egypt 1,115 km, Niger 354 km, Sudan 383 km, Tunisia 459 km |
Land use | arable land: 13.96%
permanent crops: 15.24% other: 70.8% (2005) |
arable land: 1.03%
permanent crops: 0.19% other: 98.78% (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 |
Arabic, Italian, English, all are widely understood in the major cities |
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 Italian civil law system and Islamic law; separate religious courts; no constitutional provision for judicial review of legislative acts; 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 2 April 2004 (next to be held by 2010) election results: percent of vote by party or electoral alliance - SLFP and JVP (no longer in formal UPFA alliance) 45.6%, UNP 37.83%, TNA 6.84%, JHU 5.97%, SLMC 2.02%, UPF 0.54%, EPDP 0.27%, others 0.93%; seats by party - UNP 68, SLFP 57, JVP 39, UNP dissident 1, TNA 22, CWC 8, JHU 7, JHU dissidents 2, SLMC 6, SLMC dissidents 4, Communist Party 2, LSSP 2, MEP 2, NUA 2, UPF 2, EPDP 1 |
unicameral General People's Congress (NA seats; members elected indirectly through a hierarchy of people's committees) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 73.41 years
male: 70.83 years female: 76.12 years (2006 est.) |
total population: 76.69 years
male: 74.46 years female: 79.02 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: 82.6% male: 92.4% female: 72% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of India | Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Tunisia |
Map references | Asia | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
territorial sea: 12 nm
note: Gulf of Sidra closing line - 32 degrees, 30 minutes north |
Merchant marine | total: 22 ships (1000 GRT or over) 144,066 GRT/196,418 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 1, cargo 17, container 2, petroleum tanker 2 foreign-owned: 7 (Germany 5, UAE 2) registered in other countries: 5 (Panama 5) (2006) |
total: 18 ships (1000 GRT or over) 86,034 GRT/89,820 DWT
by type: cargo 10, liquefied gas 3, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 2, roll on/roll off 2 foreign-owned: 4 (Kuwait 1, Norway 1, Turkey 2) (2006) |
Military branches | Sri Lankan Army, Sri Lankan Navy, Sri Lankan Air Force (2006) | Armed Peoples on Duty (APOD, Army), Libyan Arab Navy, Libyan Arab Air Force (LAAF) (2006) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $606.2 million (2005 est.) | $1.3 billion (FY99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.6% (2005 est.) | 3.9% (FY99) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 4 February (1948) | Revolution Day, 1 September (1969) |
Nationality | noun: Sri Lankan(s)
adjective: Sri Lankan |
noun: Libyan(s)
adjective: Libyan |
Natural hazards | occasional cyclones and tornadoes | hot, dry, dust-laden ghibli is a southern wind lasting one to four days in spring and fall; dust storms, sandstorms |
Natural resources | limestone, graphite, mineral sands, gems, phosphates, clay, hydropower | petroleum, natural gas, gypsum |
Net migration rate | -1.23 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Pipelines | - | condensate 882 km; gas 3,481 km; oil 6,916 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 Perumuna or JVP [Somawansa AMARASINGHE]; Lanka Sama Samaja Party or LSSP; Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (People's United Front) or MEP [D. GUNAWARDENE]; National Heritage Party or JHU [Tilak KARUNARATNE]; National Unity Alliance or NUA [Ferial ASHRAFF]; People's Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam or PLOTE [D. SIDHARTHAN]; Sihala Urumaya or SU; 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 [R. SAMPANTHAN]; Tamil United Liberation Front or TULF [V. ANANDASANGAREE]; United National Party or UNP [Ranil WICKREMASINGHE]; Up-country People's Front or UPF [P. CHANDRASEKARAN]; several ethnic Tamil and Muslim parties, represented in either Parliament or provincial councils | none |
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 | various Arab nationalist movements with almost negligible memberships may be functioning clandestinely, as well as some Islamic elements; an anti-QADHAFI Libyan exile movement exists, primarily based in London, but has little influence |
Population | 20,222,240
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 and more than 200,000 Tamils have sought refuge in the West (July 2006 est.) |
5,900,754
note: includes 166,510 non-nationals (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 22% (1997 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.78% (2006 est.) | 2.3% (2006 est.) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 26, FM 45, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 16, FM 3, shortwave 3 (2002) |
Railways | total: 1,449 km
broad gauge: 1,449 km 1.676-m gauge (2005) |
0 km
note: Libya is working on seven lines totaling 2,757 km of 1.435-m gauge track; it hopes to have trains running by 2008 (2005) |
Religions | Buddhist 69.1%, Muslim 7.6%, Hindu 7.1%, Christian 6.2%, unspecified 10% (2001 census provisional data) | Sunni Muslim 97% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.96 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2006 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 (1999) international: country code - 94; submarine cables to Indonesia and Djibouti; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) (1999) |
general assessment: telecommunications system is being modernized; mobile cellular telephone system became operational in 1996
domestic: microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, cellular, tropospheric scatter, and a domestic satellite system with 14 earth stations international: country code - 218; satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat, NA Arabsat, and NA Intersputnik; submarine cables to France and Italy; microwave radio relay to Tunisia and Egypt; tropospheric scatter to Greece; participant in Medarabtel (1999) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 1.244 million (2005) | 750,000 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 3.362 million (2005) | 234,800 (2004) |
Television broadcast stations | 21 (1997) | 12 (plus one low-power repeater) (1999) |
Terrain | mostly low, flat to rolling plain; mountains in south-central interior | mostly barren, flat to undulating plains, plateaus, depressions |
Total fertility rate | 1.84 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 3.28 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 7.7% (2005 est.) | 30% (2004 est.) |
Waterways | 160 km (primarily on rivers in southwest) (2005) | - |