Sri Lanka (2006) | Tokelau (2001) | |
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 |
none (territory of New Zealand) |
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:
NA% 15-64 years: NA% 65 years and over: NA% |
Agriculture - products | rice, sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseed, spices, tea, rubber, coconuts; milk, eggs, hides, beef; fish | coconuts, copra, breadfruit, papayas, bananas; pigs, poultry, goats |
Airports | 16 (2006) | none; lagoon landings by amphibious aircraft from Samoa |
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) |
- |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 2
under 914 m: 2 (2006) |
- |
Area | total: 65,610 sq km
land: 64,740 sq km water: 870 sq km |
total:
10 sq km land: 10 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than West Virginia | about 17 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC |
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. | Originally settled by Polynesian emigrants from surrounding island groups, the Tokelau Islands were made a British protectorate in 1889. They were transferred to New Zealand administration in 1925. According to a UN report, these low-lying islands will disappear in the 21st century, if global warming continues to raise sea levels. |
Birth rate | 15.51 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | NA births/1,000 population |
Budget | revenues: $3.804 billion
expenditures: $5.469 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
revenues:
$430,830 expenditures: $2.8 million, including capital expenditures of $37,300 (1987 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) |
none; each atoll has its own administrative center |
Climate | tropical monsoon; northeast monsoon (December to March); southwest monsoon (June to October) | tropical; moderated by trade winds (April to November) |
Coastline | 1,340 km | 101 km |
Constitution | adopted 16 August 1978, certified 31 August 1978 | administered under the Tokelau Islands Act of 1948, as amended in 1970 |
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:
none conventional short form: Tokelau |
Currency | - | New Zealand dollar (NZD) |
Death rate | 6.52 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | NA deaths/1,000 population |
Debt - external | $11.05 billion (2005 est.) | $0 |
Dependency status | - | territory of New Zealand; note - Tokelauans are drafting a constitution, developing institutions and patterns of self-government as Tokelau moves toward free association with Wellington |
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 |
none (territory of New Zealand) |
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 |
none (territory of New Zealand) |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $577 million (1998) | $3.8 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | In 1977, Colombo abandoned statist economic policies and its import substitution trade policy for market-oriented policies and export-oriented trade. Sri Lanka's most dynamic sectors now are food processing, textiles and apparel, food and beverages, telecommunications, and insurance and banking. 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. | Tokelau's small size (three villages), isolation, and lack of resources greatly restrain economic development and confine agriculture to the subsistence level. The people must rely on aid from New Zealand to maintain public services, annual aid being substantially greater than GDP. The principal sources of revenue come from sales of copra, postage stamps, souvenir coins, and handicrafts. Money is also remitted to families from relatives in New Zealand. |
Electricity - consumption | 6.796 billion kWh (2003) | NA kWh |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2003) | - |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2003) | - |
Electricity - production | 7.308 billion kWh (2003) | NA kWh |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
NA% hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA% |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pidurutalagala 2,524 m |
lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location 5 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 | very limited natural resources and overcrowding are contributing to emigration to New Zealand |
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 |
- |
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) | Polynesian |
Exchange rates | Sri Lankan rupees per US dollar - 100.498 (2005), 101.194 (2004), 96.521 (2003), 95.662 (2002), 89.383 (2001) | New Zealand dollars per US dollar - 2.2502 (January 2001), 2.1863 (2000), 1.8886 (1999), 1.8632 (1998), 1.5083 (1997), 1.4543 (1996) |
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:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); the UK and New Zealand are represented by Administrator Lindsay WATT (since NA March 1993) head of government: Aliki Faipule FALIMATEAO (since NA 1997) cabinet: the Council of Faipule, consisting of three elected leaders, one from each atoll; functions as a cabinet elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade in New Zealand; the head of government is chosen from the Council of Faipule and serves a one-year term |
Exports | NA bbl/day | $98,000 (f.o.b., 1983) |
Exports - commodities | textiles and apparel, tea and spices; diamonds, emeralds, rubies; coconut products, rubber manufactures, fish | stamps, copra, handicrafts |
Exports - partners | US 30.9%, UK 11.6%, India 7.3%, Belgium 4.8%, Germany 4.5% (2005) | NZ |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
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 | the flag of New Zealand is used |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $1.5 million (1993 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 17.8%
industry: 27.6% services: 54.5% (2005 est.) |
agriculture:
NA% industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $1,000 (1993 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 6% (2005 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 7 00 N, 81 00 E | 9 00 S, 172 00 W |
Geography - note | strategic location near major Indian Ocean sea lanes | - |
Highways | - | total:
NA km paved: NA km unpaved: NA km |
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 | $323,400 (c.i.f., 1983) |
Imports - commodities | textile fabrics, mineral products, petroleum, foodstuffs, machinery and transportation equipment | foodstuffs, building materials, fuel |
Imports - partners | India 19.7%, China 9.9%, Singapore 7.2%, Iran 5.5%, Malaysia 4.6%, Hong Kong 4.5% (2005) | NZ |
Independence | 4 February 1948 (from UK) | none (territory of New Zealand) |
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 | small-scale enterprises for copra production, woodworking, plaited craft goods; stamps, coins; fishing |
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.) |
NA deaths/1,000 live births |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 11.6% (2005 est.) | NA% |
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 | SPC, WHO (associate) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 7,430 sq km (2003) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Court of Appeals; judges for both courts are appointed by the president | Supreme Court in New Zealand exercises civil and criminal jurisdiction in Tokelau |
Labor force | 8.08 million (2005 est.) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 38%
industry: 17% services: 45% (1998 est.) |
- |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: 13.96%
permanent crops: 15.24% other: 70.8% (2005) |
arable land:
0% (soil is thin and infertile) permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 0% other: 100% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Sinhala (official and national language) 74%, Tamil (national language) 18%, other 8%
note: English is commonly used in government and is spoken competently by about 10% of the population |
Tokelauan (a Polynesian language), English |
Legal system | a highly complex mixture of English common law, Roman-Dutch, Muslim, Sinhalese, and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | British and local statutes |
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 Fono (45 seats - 15 from each of the three atolls; members chosen by each atoll's Council of Elders or Taupulega to serve three-year terms); note - the Tokelau Amendment Act of 1996 confers legislative power on the General Fono |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 73.41 years
male: 70.83 years female: 76.12 years (2006 est.) |
total population:
NA years male: NA years female: NA years |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 92.3% male: 94.8% female: 90% (2003 est.) |
- |
Location | Southern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of India | Oceania, group of three islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand |
Map references | Asia | Oceania |
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 |
exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
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) |
none (2000 est.) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of New Zealand |
Military branches | Sri Lankan Army, Sri Lankan Navy, Sri Lankan Air Force (2006) | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $606.2 million (2005 est.) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.6% (2005 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 4 February (1948) | Waitangi Day (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty over New Zealand), 6 February (1840) |
Nationality | noun: Sri Lankan(s)
adjective: Sri Lankan |
noun:
Tokelauan(s) adjective: Tokelauan |
Natural hazards | occasional cyclones and tornadoes | lies in Pacific typhoon belt |
Natural resources | limestone, graphite, mineral sands, gems, phosphates, clay, hydropower | NEGL |
Net migration rate | -1.23 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | NA migrant(s)/1,000 population |
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 | none |
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.) |
1,445 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 22% (1997 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.78% (2006 est.) | -0.92% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | none; offshore anchorage only |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 26, FM 45, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA
note: each atoll has a radio broadcast station of unknown type that broadcasts shipping and weather reports (1998) |
Radios | - | 1,000 (1997) |
Railways | total: 1,449 km
broad gauge: 1,449 km 1.676-m gauge (2005) |
0 km |
Religions | Buddhist 69.1%, Muslim 7.6%, Hindu 7.1%, Christian 6.2%, unspecified 10% (2001 census provisional data) | Congregational Christian Church 70%, Roman Catholic 28%, other 2%
note: on Atafu, all Congregational Christian Church of Samoa; on Nukunonu, all Roman Catholic; on Fakaofo, both denominations, with the Congregational Christian Church predominant |
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.) |
- |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 21 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 (1999) international: country code - 94; submarine cables to Indonesia and Djibouti; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) (1999) |
general assessment:
adequate domestic: radiotelephone service between islands international: radiotelephone service to Samoa; government-regulated telephone service (TeleTok), with 3 satellite earth stations, established in 1997 |
Telephones - main lines in use | 1.244 million (2005) | NA |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 3.362 million (2005) | 0 (2001) |
Television broadcast stations | 21 (1997) | NA |
Terrain | mostly low, flat to rolling plain; mountains in south-central interior | low-lying coral atolls enclosing large lagoons |
Total fertility rate | 1.84 children born/woman (2006 est.) | NA children born/woman |
Unemployment rate | 7.7% (2005 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | 160 km (primarily on rivers in southwest) (2005) | none |