Sri Lanka (2007) | Saint Pierre and Miquelon (2001) | |
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 (territorial collectivity of France); note - there are no first-order administrative divisions approved by the US Government, but there are two communes - Saint Pierre, Miquelon |
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:
25.85% (male 917; female 874) 15-64 years: 64.22% (male 2,273; female 2,176) 65 years and over: 9.93% (male 291; female 397) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseed, spices, tea, rubber, coconuts; milk, eggs, hides, beef; fish | vegetables; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish |
Airports | 18 (2007) | 2 (2000 est.) |
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:
2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 4
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 3 (2007) |
- |
Area | total: 65,610 sq km
land: 64,740 sq km water: 870 sq km |
total:
242 sq km land: 242 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes eight small islands in the Saint Pierre and the Miquelon groups |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than West Virginia | 1.5 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. | First settled by the French in the early 17th century, the islands represent the sole remaining vestige of France's once vast North American possessions. |
Birth rate | 17 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 15.88 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $4.883 billion
expenditures: $6.827 billion (2006 est.) |
revenues:
$70 million expenditures: $60 million, including capital expenditures of $24 million (1996 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) |
Saint-Pierre |
Climate | tropical monsoon; northeast monsoon (December to March); southwest monsoon (June to October) | cold and wet, with much mist and fog; spring and autumn are windy |
Coastline | 1,340 km | 120 km |
Constitution | adopted 16 August 1978, certified 31 August 1978 | 28 September 1958 (French Constitution) |
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:
Territorial Collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon conventional short form: Saint Pierre and Miquelon local long form: Departement de Saint-Pierre et Miquelon local short form: Saint-Pierre et Miquelon |
Currency | - | French franc (FRF); euro (EUR) |
Death rate | 6.01 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 6.64 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $12.16 billion (2006 est.) | $NA |
Dependency status | - | self-governing territorial collectivity of France |
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 (territorial collectivity of France) |
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 (territorial collectivity of France) |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $1.189 billion (2005) | approximately $65 million in annual grants from France |
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 inhabitants have traditionally earned their livelihood by fishing and by servicing fishing fleets operating off the coast of Newfoundland. The economy has been declining, however, because of disputes with Canada over fishing quotas and a steady decline in the number of ships stopping at Saint Pierre. In 1992, an arbitration panel awarded the islands an exclusive economic zone of 12,348 sq km to settle a longstanding territorial dispute with Canada, although it represents only 25% of what France had sought. The islands are heavily subsidized by France to the great betterment of living standards. The government hopes an expansion of tourism will boost economic prospects. |
Electricity - consumption | 7.072 billion kWh (2005) | 37.2 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 8.411 billion kWh (2005) | 40 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pidurutalagala 2,524 m |
lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Morne de la Grande Montagne 240 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 | NA |
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) | Basques and Bretons (French fishermen) |
Exchange rates | Sri Lankan rupees per US dollar - 103.99 (2006), 100.498 (2005), 101.194 (2004), 96.521 (2003), 95.662 (2002) | euros per US dollar - 1.06594 (January 2001), 1.08540 (2000), 0.93863 (1999); French francs per US dollar - 5.8995 (1998), 5.8367 (1997), 5.1155 (1996) |
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 Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Remi THUAU (since NA) head of government: President of the General Council Bernard LE SOAVEC (since NA 1996) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; election last held 7 May 1995 (next to be held NA May 2002); prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; president of the General Council is elected by the members of the council |
Exports | NA bbl/day | $12 million (f.o.b., 1999) |
Exports - commodities | textiles and apparel, tea and spices; diamonds, emeralds, rubies; coconut products, rubber manufactures, fish | fish and fish products, soybeans, animal feed, mollusks and crustaceans, fox and mink pelts |
Exports - partners | US 27.6%, UK 11.3%, India 9.3%, Belgium 4.7% (2006) | US 43%, Egypt 14%, Japan 11%, Colombia 8% (1999) |
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 | a yellow sailing ship facing the hoist side rides on a dark blue background with a black wave line under the ship; on the hoist side, a vertical band is divided into three parts: the top part is red with a green diagonal cross extending to the corners overlaid by a white cross dividing the square into four sections; the middle part has a white background with an ermine pattern; the third part has a red background with two stylized yellow lions outlined in black, one on top of the other; the flag of France is used for official occasions |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $74 million (1996 est.); supplemented by annual payments from France of about $60 million |
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 - $11,000 (1996 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 7.4% (2006 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 7 00 N, 81 00 E | 46 50 N, 56 20 W |
Geography - note | strategic location near major Indian Ocean sea lanes | vegetation scanty |
Highways | - | total:
114 km paved: 69 km unpaved: 45 km (1994 est.) |
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 | $55 million (f.o.b., 1999) |
Imports - commodities | textile fabrics, mineral products, petroleum, foodstuffs, machinery and transportation equipment | meat, clothing, fuel, electrical equipment, machinery, building materials |
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) | France 44%, Canada 40% (1999) |
Independence | 4 February 1948 (from UK) | none (territorial collectivity of France; has been under French control since 1763) |
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 | fish processing and supply base for fishing fleets; tourism |
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.) |
8.39 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 13.7% (2006 est.) | 2.1% (1991-96 average) |
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 | FZ, WFTU |
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 | Superior Tribunal of Appeals or Tribunal Superieur d'Appel |
Labor force | 7.602 million (2006 est.) | 3,000 (1997) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 34.3%
industry: 25.3% services: 40.4% (30 June 2006 est.) |
fishing 18%, industry (mainly fish-processing) 41%, services 41% (1996 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: 13.96%
permanent crops: 15.24% other: 70.8% (2005) |
arable land:
13% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 4% other: 83% (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 |
French |
Legal system | a highly complex mixture of English common law, Roman-Dutch, Islamic, Sinhalese, and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | French law with special adaptations for local conditions, such as housing 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 |
unicameral General Council or Conseil General (19 seats - 15 from Saint Pierre and 4 from Miquelon; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: elections last held NA April 2000 (next to be held NA April 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA note: Saint Pierre and Miquelon elect 1 seat to the French Senate; elections last held NA September 1995 (next to be held NA September 2004); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - RPR 1; Saint Pierre and Miquelon also elects 1 seat to the French National Assembly; elections last held 25 May-1 June 1997 (next to be held NA 2002); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UDF 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 74.8 years
male: 72.81 years female: 76.88 years (2007 est.) |
total population:
77.77 years male: 75.51 years female: 80.13 years (2001 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: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (1982 est.) |
Location | Southern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of India | Northern North America, islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, south of Newfoundland (Canada) |
Map references | Asia | North America |
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 (2000 est.) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of France |
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) | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
Nationality | noun: Sri Lankan(s)
adjective: Sri Lankan |
noun:
Frenchman(men), Frenchwoman(women) adjective: French |
Natural hazards | occasional cyclones and tornadoes | persistent fog throughout the year can be a maritime hazard |
Natural resources | limestone, graphite, mineral sands, gems, phosphates, clay, hydropower | fish, deepwater ports |
Net migration rate | -1.16 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | -4.91 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 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 | Rassemblement pour la Republique or RPR [leader NA]; Socialist Party or PS [leader NA]; Union pour la Democratie Francaise or UDF [leader NA] |
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.) |
6,928 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 22% (2002 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.982% (2007 est.) | 0.43% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Saint Pierre |
Radio broadcast stations | 34 (station types NA) (2006) | AM 1, FM 4, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | - | 4,000 (1997) |
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) | Roman Catholic 99% |
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: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
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:
adequate domestic: NA international: radiotelephone communication with most countries in the world; 1 earth station in French domestic satellite system |
Telephones - main lines in use | 2.087 million (2007) | 4,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 5.959 million (2007) | 0 (1994) |
Television broadcast stations | 14 (2006) | 0 (there are, however, two repeaters which rebroadcast programs from France, Canada, and the US) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly low, flat to rolling plain; mountains in south-central interior | mostly barren rock |
Total fertility rate | 2.05 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 2.12 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 7.6% (2006 est.) | 9.8% (1997) |
Waterways | 160 km (primarily on rivers in southwest) (2006) | none |