Sri Lanka (2007) | Northern Mariana Islands (2003) | |
Administrative divisions | 8 provinces; Central, North Central, North Eastern, North Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Uva, Western
note: in October 2006, the Sri Lankan Supreme Court ruled voided a presidential directive merging the North and Eastern Provinces; many have defended the merger as a prerequisite for a negotiated settlement to the ethnic conflict; a parliamentary decision on the issue is pending |
none (commonwealth in political union with the US); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are four municipalities at the second order; Northern Islands, Rota, Saipan, Tinian |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 24.3% (male 2,596,295/female 2,495,949)
15-64 years: 67.9% (male 6,947,310/female 7,259,271) 65 years and over: 7.8% (male 765,507/female 861,983) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 23.3% (male 9,483; female 9,168)
15-64 years: 74.8% (male 27,839; female 32,041) 65 years and over: 1.8% (male 748; female 727) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseed, spices, tea, rubber, coconuts; milk, eggs, hides, beef; fish | coconuts, fruits, vegetables; cattle |
Airports | 18 (2007) | 6 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 14
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 7 (2007) |
total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 4
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 3 (2007) |
total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
Area | total: 65,610 sq km
land: 64,740 sq km water: 870 sq km |
total: 477 sq km
land: 477 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes 14 islands including Saipan, Rota, and Tinian |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than West Virginia | 2.5 times the size of 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 the ethnic conflict that continues to fester. After two decades of fighting, the government and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) formalized a cease-fire in February 2002 with Norway brokering peace negotiations. Violence between the LTTE and government forces intensified in 2006, but neither side has formally withdrawn from the cease-fire. | Under US administration as part of the UN Trust Territory of the Pacific, the people of the Northern Mariana Islands decided in the 1970s not to seek independence but instead to forge closer links with the US. Negotiations for territorial status began in 1972. A covenant to establish a commonwealth in political union with the US was approved in 1975. A new government and constitution went into effect in 1978. |
Birth rate | 17 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 19.97 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $4.883 billion
expenditures: $6.827 billion (2006 est.) |
revenues: $193 million
expenditures: $223 million, including capital expenditures of NA (FY 01/02 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) |
Saipan |
Climate | tropical monsoon; northeast monsoon (December to March); southwest monsoon (June to October) | tropical marine; moderated by northeast trade winds, little seasonal temperature variation; dry season December to June, rainy season July to October |
Coastline | 1,340 km | 1,482 km |
Constitution | adopted 16 August 1978, certified 31 August 1978 | Covenant Agreement effective 4 November 1986 and the Constitution of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands effective 1 January 1978 |
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: Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
conventional short form: Northern Mariana Islands former: Mariana Islands District (Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands) |
Currency | - | US dollar (USD) |
Death rate | 6.01 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 2.44 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $12.16 billion (2006 est.) | $NA |
Dependency status | - | commonwealth in political union with the US; federal funds to the Commonwealth administered by the US Department of the Interior, Office of Insular Affairs |
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 |
- |
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 |
- |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $1.189 billion (2005) | extensive funding from US |
Economy - overview | In 1977, Colombo abandoned statist economic policies and its import substitution trade policy for more market-oriented policies, export-oriented trade, and encouragement of foreign investment. Recent changes in government, however, have brought some policy reversals. Currently, the ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party has a more statist economic approach, which seeks to reduce poverty by steering investment to disadvantaged areas, developing small and medium enterprises, promoting agriculture, and expanding the already enormous civil service. The government has halted most privatizations. Although suffering a brutal civil war that began in 1983, Sri Lanka saw GDP growth average 4.5% in the last 10 years with the exception of a recession in 2001. 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. Growth, partly spurred by reconstruction, reached 5% in 2005 and more than 6% in 2006. Sri Lanka's most dynamic sectors now are food processing, textiles and apparel, food and beverages, port construction, telecommunications, and insurance and banking. In 2005, plantation crops made up only about 15% of exports (compared with more than 90% in 1970), while textiles and garments accounted for more than 60%. About 800,000 Sri Lankans work abroad, 90% in the Middle East. They send home more than $1 billion a year. The struggle by the Tamil Tigers of the north and east for an independent homeland continues to cast a shadow over the economy. | The economy benefits substantially from financial assistance from the US. The rate of funding has declined as locally generated government revenues have grown. The key tourist industry employs about 50% of the work force and accounts for roughly one-fourth of GDP. Japanese tourists predominate. Annual tourist entries have exceeded one-half million in recent years, but financial difficulties in Japan have caused a temporary slowdown. The agricultural sector is made up of cattle ranches and small farms producing coconuts, breadfruit, tomatoes, and melons. Garment production is by far the most important industry with employment of 17,500 mostly Chinese workers and sizable shipments to the US under duty and quota exemptions. |
Electricity - consumption | 7.072 billion kWh (2005) | NA kWh |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh |
Electricity - production | 8.411 billion kWh (2005) | NA kWh |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pidurutalagala 2,524 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Agrihan 965 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 | contamination of groundwater on Saipan may contribute to disease; clean-up of landfill; protection of endangered species conflicts with development |
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) | Chamorro, Carolinians and other Micronesians, Caucasian, Japanese, Chinese, Filipino, Korean |
Exchange rates | Sri Lankan rupees per US dollar - 103.99 (2006), 100.498 (2005), 101.194 (2004), 96.521 (2003), 95.662 (2002) | the US dollar is used |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Mahinda RAJAPAKSA (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 largely ceremonial title of prime minister
head of government: President Mahinda RAJAPAKSA (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 on 17 November 2005 (next to be held in 2011) election results: Mahinda RAJAPAKSA elected president; percent of vote - Mahinda RAJAPAKSA 50.3%, Ranil WICKREMESINGHE 48.4%, other 1.3% |
chief of state: President George W. BUSH of the US (since 20 January 2001); Vice President Richard B. CHENEY (since 20 January 2001)
head of government: Governor Juan N. BABAUTA (since NA January 2002); Lieutenant Governor Diego T. BENEVENTE (since NA January 2002) cabinet: NA elections: US president and vice president elected on the same ticket for four-year terms; governor and lieutenant governor elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held NA November 2001 (next to be held NA November 2005) election results: Juan N. BABAUTA elected governor in a four-way race; percent of vote - Juan N. BABAUTA (Republican Party) 49% |
Exports | NA bbl/day | $NA |
Exports - commodities | textiles and apparel, tea and spices; diamonds, emeralds, rubies; coconut products, rubber manufactures, fish | garments |
Exports - partners | US 27.6%, UK 11.3%, India 9.3%, Belgium 4.7% (2006) | US (2000) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 October - 30 September |
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 | blue, with a white, five-pointed star superimposed on the gray silhouette of a latte stone (a traditional foundation stone used in building) in the center, surrounded by a wreath |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $900 million
note: $900 million $900 million GDP estimate includes US subsidy (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 16.5%
industry: 27.1% services: 56.5% (2006 est.) |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $12,500 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 7.4% (2006 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 7 00 N, 81 00 E | 15 12 N, 145 45 E |
Geography - note | strategic location near major Indian Ocean sea lanes | strategic location in the North Pacific Ocean |
Heliports | - | 1 (2002) |
Highways | - | total: 362 km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km (1991) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1.1%
highest 10%: 39.7% (FY03/04) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | NA bbl/day | $NA |
Imports - commodities | textile fabrics, mineral products, petroleum, foodstuffs, machinery and transportation equipment | food, construction equipment and materials, petroleum products |
Imports - partners | India 19.6%, China 10.5%, Singapore 8.7%, Iran 5.7%, Malaysia 5.1%, Hong Kong 4.2%, Japan 4.1% (2006) | US, Japan (2000) |
Independence | 4 February 1948 (from UK) | none (commonwealth in political union with the US) |
Industrial production growth rate | 6.2% (2006 est.) | NA% |
Industries | processing of rubber, tea, coconuts, tobacco and other agricultural commodities; telecommunications, insurance, banking; clothing, textiles; cement, petroleum refining | tourism, construction, garments, handicrafts |
Infant mortality rate | total: 19.45 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 21.2 deaths/1,000 live births female: 17.63 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
total: 5.52 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 6.6 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.37 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 13.7% (2006 est.) | 1.2% (1997 est.) |
International organization participation | AsDB, BIMSTEC, C, CP, FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), OPCW, PCA, SAARC, SACEP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIS, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | ESCAP (associate), Interpol (subbureau), SPC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2001) |
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 | Commonwealth Supreme Court; Superior Court; Federal District Court |
Labor force | 7.602 million (2006 est.) | 6,006 total indigenous labor force; 2,699 unemployed; 28,717 foreign workers |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 34.3%
industry: 25.3% services: 40.4% (30 June 2006 est.) |
NA |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: 13.96%
permanent crops: 15.24% other: 70.8% (2005) |
arable land: 15.22%
permanent crops: 6.52% other: 78.26% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Sinhala (official and national language) 74%, Tamil (national language) 18%, other 8%
note: English is commonly used in government and is spoken competently by about 10% of the population |
English, Chamorro, Carolinian
note: 86% of population speaks a language other than English at home |
Legal system | a highly complex mixture of English common law, Roman-Dutch, Islamic, Sinhalese, and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on US system, except for customs, wages, immigration laws, and taxation |
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 on 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 37.8%, TNA 6.8%, JHU 6%, SLMC 2%, UPF 0.5%, EPDP 0.3%, other 1%; seats by party - UNP 68, SLFP 57, JVP 39, TNA 22, CWC 8, JHU 7, SLMC 6, SLMC dissidents 4, Communist Party 2, JHU dissidents 2, LSSP 2, MEP 2, NUA 2, UPF 2, EPDP 1, UNP dissident 1 |
bicameral Legislature consists of the Senate (9 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year staggered terms) and the House of Representatives (18 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 5 November 2001 (next to be held NA November 2003); House of Representatives - last held 1 November 2003 (next to be held NA November 2005) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Republican Party 4, Democratic Party 3, Reform Party 1, independent 1; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Covenant Party 9, Republican Party 7, Democratic Party 1, independent 1 note: the Northern Mariana Islands does not have a nonvoting delegate in the US Congress; instead, it has an elected official or "resident representative" located in Washington, DC; seats by party - Republican Party 1 (Pedro A. TENORIO) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 74.8 years
male: 72.81 years female: 76.88 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 76.16 years
male: 73.06 years female: 79.44 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 90.7% male: 92.3% female: 89.1% (2001 census) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97% male: 97% female: 96% (1980 est.) |
Location | Southern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of India | Oceania, islands in the North Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to the Philippines |
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: 24 ships (1000 GRT or over) 162,280 GRT/227,478 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 2, cargo 18, container 2, petroleum tanker 2 foreign-owned: 6 (Germany 6) registered in other countries: 3 (Panama 3) (2007) |
none (2002 est.) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the US |
Military branches | Sri Lankan Army, Sri Lankan Navy, Sri Lankan Air Force (2006) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.6% (2006) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 4 February (1948) | Commonwealth Day, 8 January (1978) |
Nationality | noun: Sri Lankan(s)
adjective: Sri Lankan |
noun: NA
adjective: NA |
Natural hazards | occasional cyclones and tornadoes | active volcanoes on Pagan and Agrihan; typhoons (especially August to November) |
Natural resources | limestone, graphite, mineral sands, gems, phosphates, clay, hydropower | arable land, fish |
Net migration rate | -1.16 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 16.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | All Ceylon Tamil Congress or ACTC [A. VINAYAKAMOORTHY]; Ceylon Workers Congress or CWC [Arumugam THONDAMAN]; Communist Party or CP [D. GUNASEKERA]; Democratic United National (Lalith) Front or DUNLF [T.N.S. NANAYAKKARA]; 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 [Tissa VITHARANA]; Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (People's United Front) or MEP [D. GUNAWARDENE]; National Heritage Party or JHU [Ellawala METHANANDA]; National Unity Alliance or NUA [Ferial ASHRAFF]; People's Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam or PLOTE [D. SIDHARTHAN]; Sri Lanka Freedom Party or SLFP [Mahinda RAJAPAKSA]; Sri Lanka Muslim Congress or SLMC [Rauff HAKEEM]; Sri Lanka Progressive Front or SLPF [P. Nelson PERERA]; Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization or TELO [Selvam ADAIKALANATHAN]; 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 | Democratic Party [Dr. Carlos S. CAMACHO]; Republican Party [Benigno R. FITIAL] |
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; Tamil Eela Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal, TMVP or "Karuna group" [Vinayagamurthi MURALITHARAN] (paramilitary breakaway from LTTE and fighting against LTTE) | NA |
Population | 20,926,315
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 2007 est.) |
80,006 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 22% (2002 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.982% (2007 est.) | 3.37% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Saipan, Tinian |
Radio broadcast stations | 34 (station types NA) (2006) | AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Railways | total: 1,449 km
broad gauge: 1,449 km 1.676-m gauge (2006) |
0 km |
Religions | Buddhist 69.1%, Muslim 7.6%, Hindu 7.1%, Christian 6.2%, unspecified 10% (2001 census provisional data) | Christian (Roman Catholic majority, although traditional beliefs and taboos may still be found) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.957 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.888 male(s)/female total population: 0.971 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.87 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.03 male(s)/female total population: 0.91 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal; indigenous inhabitants are US citizens but do not vote in US presidential elections |
Telephone system | general assessment: telephone services have improved significantly and are available in most parts of the country
domestic: national trunk network consists mostly of digital microwave radio relay; fiber-optic links now in use in Colombo area and 2 fixed wireless local loops have been installed; competition is strong in mobile cellular systems and mobile cellular subscribership is increasing; telephone density remains low international: country code - 94; submarine cables to Indonesia, Djibouti, India and Maldives; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 2.087 million (2007) | 21,000 (1996) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 5.959 million (2007) | 1,200 (1995) |
Television broadcast stations | 14 (2006) | 1 (on Saipan and one station planned for Rota; in addition, two cable services on Saipan provide varied programming from satellite networks) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly low, flat to rolling plain; mountains in south-central interior | southern islands are limestone with level terraces and fringing coral reefs; northern islands are volcanic |
Total fertility rate | 2.05 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 1.75 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 7.6% (2006 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | 160 km (primarily on rivers in southwest) (2006) | none |