Sri Lanka (2007) | Yugoslavia (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 |
2 republics (republike, singular - republika); and 2 nominally autonomous provinces* (autonomn pokrajine, singular - autonomna pokrajina); Kosovo*, Montenegro, Serbia, Vojvodina* |
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:
19.8% (male 1,095,905; female 1,024,123) 15-64 years: 65.3% (male 3,415,728; female 3,553,343) 65 years and over: 14.9% (male 681,559; female 906,632) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseed, spices, tea, rubber, coconuts; milk, eggs, hides, beef; fish | cereals, fruits, vegetables, tobacco, olives; cattle, sheep, goats |
Airports | 18 (2007) | 47 (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:
19 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 4 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 4
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 3 (2007) |
total:
28 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 14 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 65,610 sq km
land: 64,740 sq km water: 870 sq km |
total:
102,350 sq km land: 102,136 sq km water: 214 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than West Virginia | slightly smaller than Kentucky |
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. | The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes was formed in 1918; its name was changed to Yugoslavia in 1929. Occupation by Nazi Germany in 1941 was resisted by various partisan bands that fought themselves as well as the invaders. The group headed by Marshal TITO took full control upon German expulsion in 1945. Although communist in name, his new government successfully steered its own path between the Warsaw Pact nations and the West for the next four and a half decades. In the early 1990s, post-TITO Yugoslavia began to unravel along ethnic lines: Slovenia, Croatia, and The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia all declared their independence in 1991; Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992. The remaining republics of Serbia and Montenegro declared a new "Federal Republic of Yugoslavia" in 1992 and, under President Slobodan MILOSEVIC, Serbia led various military intervention efforts to unite Serbs in neighboring republics into a "Greater Serbia." All of these efforts were ultimately unsuccessful. In 1999, massive expulsions by Serbs of ethnic Albanians living in the autonomous republic of Kosovo provoked an international response, including the NATO bombing of Serbia and the stationing of NATO and Russian peacekeepers in Kosovo. Blatant attempts to manipulate presidential balloting in October of 2000 were followed by massive nationwide demonstrations and strikes that saw the election winner, Vojislav KOSTUNICA, replace MILOSEVIC. |
Birth rate | 17 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 12.61 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $4.883 billion
expenditures: $6.827 billion (2006 est.) |
revenues:
$NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA |
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) |
Belgrade |
Climate | tropical monsoon; northeast monsoon (December to March); southwest monsoon (June to October) | in the north, continental climate (cold winters and hot, humid summers with well distributed rainfall); central portion, continental and Mediterranean climate; to the south, Adriatic climate along the coast, hot, dry summers and autumns and relatively cold winters with heavy snowfall inland |
Coastline | 1,340 km | 199 km |
Constitution | adopted 16 August 1978, certified 31 August 1978 | 27 April 1992 |
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:
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia conventional short form: Yugoslavia local long form: Savezna Republika Jugoslavija local short form: Jugoslavija |
Currency | - | new Yugoslav dinar (YUM); note - in Montenegro the German deutsche mark is legal tender (1999) |
Death rate | 6.01 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 10.54 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $12.16 billion (2006 est.) | $14.1 billion (1999 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 William MONTGOMERY embassy: Kneza Milosa 30, 11000 Belgrade note: the US reestablished relations with Yugoslavia 17 November 2000; the embassy is not scheduled to open for business until extensive renovations have been completed |
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 Milan PROTIC chancery: 2410 California St. NW, Washington, DC 20008 note: Yugoslavia restored its diplomatic mission in the US in November 2000 after temporarily ceasing its operations at the beginning of the March 1999 NATO bombing campaign |
Disputes - international | none | Albanian majority in Kosovo seeks independence from Yugoslavia; Croatia and Yugoslavia are negotiating the status of the strategically important Prevlaka Peninsula, which is currently under a UN military observer mission (UNMOP); the February 2001 agreement with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia settled alignment of boundary, stipulating implementation within two years |
Economic aid - recipient | $1.189 billion (2005) | $NA |
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 swift collapse of the Yugoslav federation in 1991 was followed by highly destructive warfare, the destabilization of republic boundaries, and the breakup of important interrepublic trade flows. Output in Yugoslavia dropped by half in 1992-93. Like the other former Yugoslav republics, it had depended on its sister republics for large amounts of energy and manufactures. Wide differences in climate, mineral resources, and levels of technology among the republics accentuated this interdependence, as did the communist practice of concentrating much industrial output in a small number of giant plants. The breakup of many of the trade links, the sharp drop in output as industrial plants lost suppliers and markets, and the destruction of physical assets in the fighting all have contributed to the economic difficulties of the republics. Hyperinflation ended with the establishment of a new currency unit in June 1993; prices were relatively stable from 1995 through 1997, but inflationary pressures resurged in 1998. Reliable statistics continue to be hard to come by, and the GDP estimate is extremely rough. The economic boom anticipated by the government after the suspension of UN sanctions in December 1995 has failed to materialize. Government mismanagement of the economy is largely to blame, but the damage to Yugoslavia's infrastructure and industry by the NATO bombing during the war in Kosovo have added to problems. All sanctions now have been lifted. Yugoslavia is in the first stage of economic reform. Severe electricity shortages are chronic, the result of lack of investment by former regimes, depleted hydropower reservoirs due to extended drought, and lack of funds. GDP growth in 2000 was perhaps 15%, which made up for a large part of the 20% decline of 1999. |
Electricity - consumption | 7.072 billion kWh (2005) | 33.006 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 960 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 1.923 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 8.411 billion kWh (2005) | 34.455 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
70% hydro: 30% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pidurutalagala 2,524 m |
lowest point:
Adriatic Sea 0 m highest point: Daravica 2,656 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 | pollution of coastal waters from sewage outlets, especially in tourist-related areas such as Kotor; air pollution around Belgrade and other industrial cities; water pollution from industrial wastes dumped into the Sava which flows into the Danube |
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:
Air Pollution, Climate Change, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Biodiversity |
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) | Serb 62.6%, Albanian 16.5%, Montenegrin 5%, Hungarian 3.3%, other 12.6% (1991) |
Exchange rates | Sri Lankan rupees per US dollar - 103.99 (2006), 100.498 (2005), 101.194 (2004), 96.521 (2003), 95.662 (2002) | new Yugoslav dinars per US dollar - official rate: 10.0 (December 1998), 5.85 (December 1997), 5.02 (September 1996), 1.5 (early 1995); black market rate: 14.5 (December 1998), 8.9 (December 1997), 2 to 3 (early 1995) |
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 Vojislav KOSTUNICA (since 7 October 2000) head of government: Prime Minister Dragisa PESIC (since 24 July 2001); Deputy Prime Minister Miroljub LABUS (since 25 January 2001) cabinet: Federal Executive Council elections: president elected by direct popular vote for up to two, four-year terms; election last held 24 September 2000 (next to be held NA 2004); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Vojislav KOSTUNICA elected president; percent of vote - Vojislav KOSTUNICA 55%, Slobodan MILOSEVIC 35% |
Exports | NA bbl/day | $1.5 billion (1999) |
Exports - commodities | textiles and apparel, tea and spices; diamonds, emeralds, rubies; coconut products, rubber manufactures, fish | manufactured goods, food and live animals, raw materials |
Exports - partners | US 27.6%, UK 11.3%, India 9.3%, Belgium 4.7% (2006) | Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Germany (1998) |
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 | three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and red |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $24.2 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 16.5%
industry: 27.1% services: 56.5% (2006 est.) |
agriculture:
20% industry: 50% services: 30% (1998 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $2,300 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 7.4% (2006 est.) | 15% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 7 00 N, 81 00 E | 44 00 N, 21 00 E |
Geography - note | strategic location near major Indian Ocean sea lanes | controls one of the major land routes from Western Europe to Turkey and the Near East; strategic location along the Adriatic coast |
Heliports | - | 2 (2000 est.) |
Highways | - | total:
48,603 km paved: 28,822 km (including 560 km of expressways) unpaved: 19,781 km (1998 est.) note: because of the 1999 Kosovo conflict, many road bridges were destroyed; since the end of the conflict in June 1999, there has been an intensive program to either rebuild bridges or build by-pass routes |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1.1%
highest 10%: 39.7% (FY03/04) |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin moving to Western Europe on the Balkan route |
Imports | NA bbl/day | $3.3 billion (1999) |
Imports - commodities | textile fabrics, mineral products, petroleum, foodstuffs, machinery and transportation equipment | machinery and transport equipment, fuels and lubricants, manufactured goods, chemicals, food and live animals, raw 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) | Germany, Italy, Russia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (1998) |
Independence | 4 February 1948 (from UK) | 27 April 1992 (Federal Republic of Yugoslavia or FRY formed as self-proclaimed successor to the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia or SFRY) |
Industrial production growth rate | 6.2% (2006 est.) | -22% (1999 est.) |
Industries | processing of rubber, tea, coconuts, tobacco and other agricultural commodities; telecommunications, insurance, banking; clothing, textiles; cement, petroleum refining | machine building (aircraft, trucks, and automobiles; tanks and weapons; electrical equipment; agricultural machinery); metallurgy (steel, aluminum, copper, lead, zinc, chromium, antimony, bismuth, cadmium); mining (coal, bauxite, nonferrous ore, iron ore, limestone); consumer goods (textiles, footwear, foodstuffs, appliances); electronics, petroleum products, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals |
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.) |
17.42 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 13.7% (2006 est.) | 42% (1999 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 | BIS, CE (guest), FAO (applicant), G- 9, G-15, G-24, G-77, IAEA, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM, OPCW, OSCE, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 9 (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 | Federal Court or Savezni Sud; Constitutional Court; judges for both courts are elected by the Federal Assembly for nine-year terms |
Labor force | 7.602 million (2006 est.) | 1.6 million (1999 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 34.3%
industry: 25.3% services: 40.4% (30 June 2006 est.) |
agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total:
2,246 km border countries: Albania 287 km, Bosnia and Herzegovina 527 km, Bulgaria 318 km, Croatia (north) 241 km, Croatia (south) 25 km, Hungary 151 km, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 221 km, Romania 476 km |
Land use | arable land: 13.96%
permanent crops: 15.24% other: 70.8% (2005) |
arable land:
40% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 20.7% forests and woodland: 17.3% other: 22% (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 |
Serbian 95%, Albanian 5% |
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 civil law system |
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 Federal Assembly or Savezna Skupstina consists of the Chamber of Republics or Vece Republika (40 seats - 20 Serbian, 20 Montenegrin; members distributed on the basis of party representation in the republican assemblies to serve four-year terms; note - the Assembly passed a new constitutional amendment calling for direct elections for the deputies to the upper chamber) and the Chamber of Citizens or Vece Gradjana (138 seats - 108 Serbian with half elected by constituency majorities and half by proportional representation, 30 Montenegrin with six elected by constituency and 24 proportionally; members serve four-year terms)
elections: Chamber of Republics - last held 24 September 2000 (next to be held NA 2004); Chamber of Citizens - last held 24 September 2000 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: Chamber of Republics - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - SNP 19, DOS 10, SPS/JUL 7, SRS 2, SPO 1, SNS 1; note - seats are filled on a proportional basis to reflect the composition of the legislatures of the republics of Montenegro and Serbia; since 1998 Serbia has effectively barred Montenegro from its constitutional right to delegate deputies to the Chamber of Republics; Chamber of Citizens - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - DOS 55, SPS/JUL 46, SNP 28, SRS 4, SNS 2, other 3 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 74.8 years
male: 72.81 years female: 76.88 years (2007 est.) |
total population:
73.5 years male: 70.57 years female: 76.67 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: 93% male: 97.2% female: 88.9% (1991) |
Location | Southern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of India | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea, between Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina |
Map references | Asia | Europe |
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 |
NA |
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) |
total:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,437 GRT/400 DWT ships by type: short-sea passenger 1 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Sri Lankan Army, Sri Lankan Navy, Sri Lankan Air Force (2006) | Army (including ground forces with border troops, naval forces, air and air defense forces) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $760 million (FY00) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.6% (2006) | NA% |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
2,600,362 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
2,088,595 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 19 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
82,542 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 4 February (1948) | Republic Day, 29 November |
Nationality | noun: Sri Lankan(s)
adjective: Sri Lankan |
noun:
Serb(s); Montenegrin(s) adjective: Serbian; Montenegrin |
Natural hazards | occasional cyclones and tornadoes | destructive earthquakes |
Natural resources | limestone, graphite, mineral sands, gems, phosphates, clay, hydropower | oil, gas, coal, antimony, copper, lead, zinc, nickel, gold, pyrite, chrome, hydropower, arable land |
Net migration rate | -1.16 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | -4.71 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 415 km; petroleum products 130 km; natural gas 2,110 km |
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 | Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians or SVM [Jozsef KASZA]; Civic Alliance of Serbia or GSS [Vesna PESIC]; Coalition Sandzak [Rasim JAJIC]; Coalition Sumadija [Branislav KOVACEVIC]; Democratic Alternative of DA [Nebojsa COVIC]; Democratic Center or DC [Dragoljub MICUNOVIC]; Democratic Christian Party of Serbia of DHSS [Vladan BATIC]; Democratic League of Kosovo or LDK [Dr. Ibrahim RUGOVA, president]; Democratic Opposition of Serbia or DOS [leader NA]; Democratic Party or DS [Zoran DJINDJIC]; Democratic Party of Serbia or DSS [Vojislav KOSTUNICA]; Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro or DPS [Milo DJUKANOVIC]; Movement for a Democratic Serbia or PDS [Momcilo PERISIC]; New Democracy or ND [Dusan MIHAJLOVIC]; New Serbia [Velimir ILIC and Milan St. PROTIC]; People's Party of Montenegro or NS [Dragan SOC]; Serb People's Party or SNS [leader NA]; Serbian Radical Party or SRS [Vojislav SESELJ]; Serbian Renewal Movement or SPO [Vuk DRASKOVIC, president]; Serbian Socialist Party or SPS (former Communist Party) [Slobodan MILOSEVIC]; Social Democracy or SD [Vuk OBRADOVIC]; Social Democratic Union or SDU [Zarko KORAC]; Socialist People's Party of Montenegro or SNP [Momir BULATOVIC]; Yugoslav United Left or JUL [Ljubisa RISTIC] |
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) | Alliance for the Future of Kosovo or AAK [leader RAMUSH]; Group of 17 Independent Economists or G-17 [leader NA]; National Movement for the Liberation of Kosovo or LKCK [Sabit GASHI]; Otpor Student Resistance Movement [leader NA]; Political Council for Presevo, Meveda and Bujanovac or PCPMB [leader NA]; The People's Movement for Kosovo or LPK [leader 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.) |
10,677,290
note: all data dealing with population is subject to considerable error because of the dislocations caused by military action and ethnic cleansing (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 22% (2002 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.982% (2007 est.) | -0.27% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Bar, Belgrade, Kotor, Novi Sad, Pancevo, Tivat, Zelenika |
Radio broadcast stations | 34 (station types NA) (2006) | AM 113, FM 194, shortwave 2 (1998) |
Radios | - | 3.15 million (1997) |
Railways | total: 1,449 km
broad gauge: 1,449 km 1.676-m gauge (2006) |
total:
4,095 km standard gauge: 4,095 km 1.435-m gauge (1,377 km partially electrified since 1992) note: during to the 1999 Kosovo conflict, the Serbian rail system suffered significant damage due to bridge destruction; many rail bridges have been rebuilt, but the bridge over the Danube at Novi Sad was still down in early 2000; however, a by-pass is available; Montenegrin rail lines remain intact |
Religions | Buddhist 69.1%, Muslim 7.6%, Hindu 7.1%, Christian 6.2%, unspecified 10% (2001 census provisional data) | Orthodox 65%, Muslim 19%, Roman Catholic 4%, Protestant 1%, other 11% |
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:
1.08 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.08 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 16 years of age, if employed; 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:
NA domestic: NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 2.087 million (2007) | 2.017 million (1995) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 5.959 million (2007) | 87,000 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 14 (2006) | more than 771 (including 86 strong stations and 685 low-power stations, plus 20 repeaters in the principal networks; also numerous local or private stations in Serbia and Vojvodina) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly low, flat to rolling plain; mountains in south-central interior | extremely varied; to the north, rich fertile plains; to the east, limestone ranges and basins; to the southeast, ancient mountains and hills; to the southwest, extremely high shoreline with no islands off the coast |
Total fertility rate | 2.05 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 1.75 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 7.6% (2006 est.) | 30% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | 160 km (primarily on rivers in southwest) (2006) | 587 km
note: The Danube River, which connects Europe with the Black Sea, runs through Serbia; since early 2000, a pontoon bridge, replacing a destroyed conventional bridge, has obstructed river traffic at Novi Sad; the obstruction can be bypassed by a canal system but inadequate lock size limits the size of vessels which may pass (2001) |