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Compare Sri Lanka (2008) - Korea, North (2006)

Compare Sri Lanka (2008) z Korea, North (2006)

 Sri Lanka (2008)Korea, North (2006)
 Sri LankaKorea, North
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
9 provinces (do, singular and plural) and 4 municipalities (si, singular and plural)


provinces: Chagang-do (Chagang), Hamgyong-bukto (North Hamgyong), Hamgyong-namdo (South Hamgyong), Hwanghae-bukto (North Hwanghae), Hwanghae-namdo (South Hwanghae), Kangwon-do (Kangwon), P'yongan-bukto (North P'yongan), P'yongan-namdo (South P'yongan), Yanggang-do (Yanggang)


municipalites: Kaesong-si (Kaesong), Najin Sonbong-si (Najin), Namp'o-si (Namp'o), P'yongyang-si (Pyongyang)
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: 23.8% (male 2,788,944/female 2,708,331)


15-64 years: 68% (male 7,762,442/female 7,955,522)


65 years and over: 8.2% (male 667,792/female 1,229,988) (2006 est.)
Agriculture - products rice, sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseed, spices, tea, rubber, coconuts; milk, eggs, hides, beef; fish rice, corn, potatoes, soybeans, pulses; cattle, pigs, pork, eggs
Airports 18 (2007) 77 (2006)
Airports - with paved runways total: 14


over 3,047 m: 1


1,524 to 2,437 m: 6


914 to 1,523 m: 7 (2007)
total: 36


over 3,047 m: 2


2,438 to 3,047 m: 22


1,524 to 2,437 m: 8


914 to 1,523 m: 1


under 914 m: 3 (2006)
Airports - with unpaved runways total: 4


914 to 1,523 m: 1


under 914 m: 3 (2007)
total: 41


2,438 to 3,047 m: 1


1,524 to 2,437 m: 20


914 to 1,523 m: 13


under 914 m: 7 (2006)
Area total: 65,610 sq km


land: 64,740 sq km


water: 870 sq km
total: 120,540 sq km


land: 120,410 sq km


water: 130 sq km
Area - comparative slightly larger than West Virginia slightly smaller than Mississippi
Background The first Sinhalese arrived in Sri Lanka late in the 6th century B.C. probably from northern India. Buddhism was introduced 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 established a Tamil kingdom in northern Sri Lanka. The coastal areas of the island were controlled 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 and the government regained control of the Eastern Province in 2007. In January 2008, the government officially withdrew from the ceasefire, and has begun engaging the LTTE in the northern portion of the country. An independent kingdom for much of its long history, Korea was occupied by Japan in 1905 following the Russo-Japanese War. Five years later, Japan formally annexed the entire peninsula. Following World War II, Korea was split with the northern half coming under Soviet-sponsored Communist domination. After failing in the Korean War (1950-53) to conquer the US-backed Republic of Korea (ROK) in the southern portion by force, North Korea (DPRK), under its founder President KIM Il-so'ng, adopted a policy of ostensible diplomatic and economic "self-reliance" as a check against excessive Soviet or Communist Chinese influence. The DPRK demonized the US as the ultimate threat to its social system through state-funded propaganda, and molded political, economic, and military policies around the core ideological objective of eventual unification of Korea under Pyongyang's control. KIM's son, the current ruler KIM Jong Il, was officially designated as his father's successor in 1980, assuming a growing political and managerial role until the elder KIM's death in 1994. After decades of economic mismanagement and resource misallocation, the DPRK since the mid-1990s has relied heavily on international aid to feed its population while continuing to expend resources to maintain an army of 1 million. North Korea's long-range missile development, as well as its nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons programs and massive conventional armed forces, are of major concern to the international community. In December 2002, following revelations that the DPRK was pursuing a nuclear weapons program based on enriched uranium in violation of a 1994 agreement with the US to freeze and ultimately dismantle its existing plutonium-based program, North Korea expelled monitors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). In January 2003, it declared its withdrawal from the international Non-Proliferation Treaty. In mid-2003 Pyongyang announced it had completed the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel rods (to extract weapons-grade plutonium) and was developing a "nuclear deterrent." Since August 2003, North Korea has participated in the Six-Party Talks with China, Japan, Russia, South Korea, and the US designed to resolve the stalemate over its nuclear programs. The fourth round of Six-Party Talks were held in Beijing during July-September 2005. All parties agreed to a Joint Statement of Principles in which, among other things, the six parties unanimously reaffirmed the goal of verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in a peaceful manner. In the Joint Statement, the DPRK committed to "abandoning all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs and returning, at an early date, to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and to IAEA safeguards." The Joint Statement also commits the US and other parties to certain actions as the DPRK denuclearizes. The US offered a security assurance, specifying that it had no nuclear weapons on ROK territory and no intention to attack or invade the DPRK with nuclear or other weapons. The US and DPRK will take steps to normalize relations, subject to the DPRK's implementing its denuclearization pledge and resolving other longstanding concerns. While the Joint Statement provides a vision of the end-point of the Six-Party process, much work lies ahead to implement the elements of the agreement.
Birth rate 17 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) 15.54 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Budget revenues: $5.379 billion


expenditures: $7.611 billion (2007 est.)
revenues: $NA


expenditures: $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)
name: Pyongyang


geographic coordinates: 39 01 N, 125 45 E


time difference: UTC+9 (14 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Climate tropical monsoon; northeast monsoon (December to March); southwest monsoon (June to October) temperate with rainfall concentrated in summer
Coastline 1,340 km 2,495 km
Constitution adopted 16 August 1978, certified 31 August 1978 adopted 1948; completely revised 27 December 1972, revised again in April 1992, and September 1998
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: Democratic People's Republic of Korea


conventional short form: North Korea


local long form: Choson-minjujuui-inmin-konghwaguk


local short form: Choson


abbreviation: DPRK
Death rate 6.01 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) 7.13 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Debt - external $13.52 billion (31 December 2007 est.) $12 billion (1996 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
none; note - Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang represents the US as consular protecting power
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; North Korea has a Permanent Mission to the UN in New York
Disputes - international none China seeks to stem illegal migration of tens of thousands of North Koreans escaping famine, economic privation, and political oppression; North Korea and China dispute the sovereignty of certain islands in Yalu and Tumen rivers and a section of boundary around Paektu-san (mountain) is indefinite; Military Demarcation Line within the 4-km wide Demilitarized Zone has separated North from South Korea since 1953; periodic maritime disputes with South over the Northern Limit Line; North Korea supports South Korea in rejecting Japan's claim to Liancourt Rocks (Tok-do/Take-shima)
Economic aid - recipient $1.189 billion (2005) $NA; note - approximately 350,000 metric tons in food aid, worth approximately $118 million, through the World Food Program appeal in 2004, plus additional aid from bilateral donors and non-governmental organizations
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 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. Government spending and reconstruction drove growth to more than 7% in 2006 but reduced agriculture output probably slowed growth to about 6 percent in 2007. Government spending and lose monetary policy drove inflation to 16% in 2007. Sri Lanka's most dynamic sectors now are food processing, textiles and apparel, food and beverages, port construction, telecommunications, and insurance and banking. In 2006, 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% of them 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. North Korea, one of the world's most centrally planned and isolated economies, faces desperate economic conditions. Industrial capital stock is nearly beyond repair as a result of years of underinvestment and shortages of spare parts. Industrial and power output have declined in parallel. Despite an increased harvest in 2005 because of more stable weather conditions, fertilizer assistance from South Korea, and an extraordinary mobilization of the population to help with agricultural production, the nation has suffered its 11th year of food shortages because of on-going systemic problems, including a lack of arable land, collective farming practices, and chronic shortages of tractors and fuel. Massive international food aid deliveries have allowed the people of North Korea to escape mass starvation since famine threatened in 1995, but the population continues to suffer from prolonged malnutrition and poor living conditions. Large-scale military spending eats up resources needed for investment and civilian consumption. In 2004, the regime formalized an arrangement whereby private "farmers markets" were allowed to begin selling a wider range of goods. It also permitted some private farming on an experimental basis in an effort to boost agricultural output. In October 2005, the regime reversed some of these policies by forbidding private sales of grains and reinstituting a centralized food rationing system. In December 2005, the regime confirmed that it intended to carry out earlier threats to terminate all international humanitarian assistance operations in the DPRK (calling instead for developmental assistance only) and to restrict the activities of international and non-governmental aid organizations such as the World Food Program. Firm political control remains the Communist government's overriding concern, which will likely inhibit the loosening of economic regulations.
Electricity - consumption 7.072 billion kWh (2005) 17.43 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2005) 0 kWh (2003)
Electricity - imports 0 kWh (2005) 0 kWh (2003)
Electricity - production 8.411 billion kWh (2005) 18.75 billion kWh (2003)
Elevation extremes lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m


highest point: Pidurutalagala 2,524 m
lowest point: Sea of Japan 0 m


highest point: Paektu-san 2,744 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 water pollution; inadequate supplies of potable water; waterborne disease; deforestation; soil erosion and degradation
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: Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Environmental Modification, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution


signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea
Ethnic groups Sinhalese 73.8%, Sri Lankan Moors 7.2%, Indian Tamil 4.6%, Sri Lankan Tamil 3.9%, other 0.5%, unspecified 10% (2001 census provisional data) racially homogeneous; there is a small Chinese community and a few ethnic Japanese
Exchange rates Sri Lankan rupees per US dollar - 110.78 (2007), 103.99 (2006), 100.498 (2005), 101.194 (2004), 96.521 (2003) official: North Korean won per US dollar - 170 (December 2004), 150 (December 2002), 2.15 (December 2001); market: North Korean won per US dollar - 300-600 (December 2002)
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: KIM Jong Il (since July 1994); note - on 3 September 2003, rubberstamp Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) reelected KIM Jong Il chairman of the National Defense Commission, a position accorded nation's "highest administrative authority"; SPA reelected KIM Yong Nam president of its Presidium also with responsibility of representing state and receiving diplomatic credentials; SPA appointed PAK Pong Ju premier


head of government: Premier PAK Pong Ju (since 3 September 2003); Vice Premiers KWAK Pom Gi (since 5 September 1998), JON Sung Hun (since 3 September 2003), RO Tu Chol (since 3 September 2003)


cabinet: Naegak (cabinet) members, except for Minister of People's Armed Forces, are appointed by SPA


elections: last held in September 2003 (next to be held in September 2008)


election results: KIM Jong Il and KIM Yong Nam were only nominees for positions and ran unopposed
Exports 691.5 bbl/day (2004) NA bbl/day
Exports - commodities textiles and apparel, tea and spices; diamonds, emeralds, rubies; coconut products, rubber manufactures, fish minerals, metallurgical products, manufactures (including armaments), textiles, fishery products
Exports - partners US 27.6%, UK 11.3%, India 9.3%, Belgium 4.7%, Germany 4.3% (2006) China 45.6%, South Korea 20.2%, Japan 12.9% (2004)
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 horizontal bands of blue (top), red (triple width), and blue; the red band is edged in white; on the hoist side of the red band is a white disk with a red five-pointed star
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 16.3%


industry: 27%


services: 56.6% (2007 est.)
agriculture: 30%


industry: 34%


services: 36% (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 6% (2007 est.) 1% (2005 est.)
Geographic coordinates 7 00 N, 81 00 E 40 00 N, 127 00 E
Geography - note strategic location near major Indian Ocean sea lanes strategic location bordering China, South Korea, and Russia; mountainous interior is isolated and sparsely populated
Heliports - 22 (2006)
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 - for years, from the 1970s into the 2000s, citizens of the Democratic People's Republic of (North) Korea (DPRK), many of them diplomatic employees of the government, were apprehended abroad while trafficking in narcotics, including two in Turkey in December 2004; police investigations in Taiwan and Japan in recent years have linked North Korea to large illicit shipments of heroin and methamphetamine, including an attempt by the North Korean merchant ship Pong Su to deliver 150 kg of heroin to Australia in April 2003
Imports 82,390 bbl/day (2004) 22,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Imports - commodities textile fabrics, mineral products, petroleum, foodstuffs, machinery and transportation equipment petroleum, coking coal, machinery and equipment, textiles, grain
Imports - partners India 19.5%, China 10.4%, Singapore 8.7%, Iran 5.6%, Malaysia 5%, Hong Kong 4.2%, Japan 4% (2006) China 32.9%, Thailand 10.7%, Japan 4.8% (2004)
Independence 4 February 1948 (from UK) 15 August 1945 (from Japan)
Industrial production growth rate 6.4% (2007 est.) NA%
Industries processing of rubber, tea, coconuts, tobacco and other agricultural commodities; telecommunications, insurance, banking; clothing, textiles; cement, petroleum refining military products; machine building, electric power, chemicals; mining (coal, iron ore, magnesite, graphite, copper, zinc, lead, and precious metals), metallurgy; textiles, food processing; 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.)
total: 23.29 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 24.97 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 21.52 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 15.6% (2007 est.) NA%
International organization participation ADB, 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, NAM, OAS (observer), OPCW, PCA, SAARC, SACEP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIS, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO ARF, FAO, G-77, ICAO, ICRM, IFAD, IFRCS, IHO, IMO, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITU, NAM, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO
Irrigated land 7,430 sq km (2003) 14,600 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch Supreme Court; Court of Appeals; judges for both courts are appointed by the president Central Court (judges are elected by the Supreme People's Assembly)
Labor force 7.67 million (2007 est.) 9.6 million
Labor force - by occupation agriculture: 34.3%


industry: 25.3%


services: 40.4% (30 June 2006 est.)
agriculture: 36%


industry and services: 64%
Land boundaries 0 km total: 1,673 km


border countries: China 1,416 km, South Korea 238 km, Russia 19 km
Land use arable land: 13.96%


permanent crops: 15.24%


other: 70.8% (2005)
arable land: 22.4%


permanent crops: 1.66%


other: 75.94% (2005)
Languages Sinhala (official and national language) 74%, Tamil (national language) 18%, other 8%


note: English is commonly used in government and is spoken competently by about 10% of the population
Korean
Legal system a highly complex mixture of English common law, Roman-Dutch, Kandyan, and Jaffna Tamil law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction based on German civil law system with Japanese influences and Communist legal theory; no judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch unicameral Parliament (225 seats; members elected by popular vote on the basis of an open-list, proportional representation system by electoral 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 Supreme People's Assembly or Ch'oego Inmin Hoeui (687 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)


elections: last held 3 August 2003 (next to be held in August 2008)


election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; ruling party approves a list of candidates who are elected without opposition; some seats are held by minor parties
Life expectancy at birth total population: 74.8 years


male: 72.81 years


female: 76.88 years (2007 est.)
total population: 71.65 years


male: 68.92 years


female: 74.51 years (2006 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%
Location Southern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of India Eastern Asia, northern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Korea Bay and the Sea of Japan, between China and South Korea
Map references Asia Asia
Maritime claims territorial sea: 12 nm


contiguous zone: 24 nm


exclusive economic zone: 200 nm


continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
territorial sea: 12 nm


exclusive economic zone: 200 nm


note: military boundary line 50 nm in the Sea of Japan and the exclusive economic zone limit in the Yellow Sea where all foreign vessels and aircraft without permission are banned
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: 232 ships (1000 GRT or over) 983,182 GRT/1,370,104 DWT


by type: bulk carrier 14, cargo 176, chemical tanker 1, container 4, livestock carrier 3, passenger/cargo 5, petroleum tanker 17, refrigerated cargo 3, roll on/roll off 8, vehicle carrier 1


foreign-owned: 60 (British Virgin Islands 1, China 1, Denmark 1, Egypt 2, Greece 1, India 1, Lebanon 6, Lithuania 1, Marshall Islands 1, Pakistan 3, Romania 11, Russia 1, Singapore 1, Syria 14, Turkey 4, UAE 6, US 3, Yemen 2)


registered in other countries: 5 (Belize 2, Mongolia 3) (2006)
Military branches Sri Lankan Army, Sri Lankan Navy, Sri Lankan Air Force (2006) North Korean People's Army: Ground Force, Navy, Air Force; civil security forces (2005)
Military expenditures - dollar figure - $5,217.4 million (FY02)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 2.6% (2006) NA
National holiday Independence Day, 4 February (1948) Founding of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), 9 September (1948)
Nationality noun: Sri Lankan(s)


adjective: Sri Lankan
noun: Korean(s)


adjective: Korean
Natural hazards occasional cyclones and tornadoes late spring droughts often followed by severe flooding; occasional typhoons during the early fall
Natural resources limestone, graphite, mineral sands, gems, phosphates, clay, hydropower coal, lead, tungsten, zinc, graphite, magnesite, iron ore, copper, gold, pyrites, salt, fluorspar, hydropower
Net migration rate -1.16 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Pipelines - oil 154 km (2006)
Political parties and leaders All Ceylon Tamil Congress or ACTC [G.PONNAMBALAM]; Ceylon Workers Congress or CWC [Arumugam THONDAMAN]; Communist Party or CP [D. GUNASEKERA]; Eelam People's Democratic Party or EPDP [Douglas DEVANANDA]; Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front or EPRLF [Suresh PREMACHANDRAN]; Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna 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]; 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] major party - Korean Workers' Party or KWP [KIM Jong Il]; minor parties - Chondoist Chongu Party [RYU Mi Yong] (under KWP control), Social Democratic Party [KIM Yong Dae] (under KWP control)
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 Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP) or "Karuna group" [Vinayagamurthi MURALITHARAN] (paramilitary breakaway from LTTE and fighting LTTE) none
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.)
23,113,019 (July 2006 est.)
Population below poverty line 22% (2002 est.) NA%
Population growth rate 0.982% (2007 est.) 0.84% (2006 est.)
Radio broadcast stations AM 15, FM 52, shortwave 4 (2007) AM 17 (including 11 stations of Korean Central Broadcasting Station), FM 14, shortwave 14 (2003)
Railways total: 1,449 km


broad gauge: 1,449 km 1.676-m gauge (2006)
total: 5,214 km


standard gauge: 5,214 km 1.435-m gauge (3,500 km electrified) (2005)
Religions Buddhist 69.1%, Muslim 7.6%, Hindu 7.1%, Christian 6.2%, unspecified 10% (2001 census provisional data) traditionally Buddhist and Confucianist, some Christian and syncretic Chondogyo (Religion of the Heavenly Way)


note: autonomous religious activities now almost nonexistent; government-sponsored religious groups exist to provide illusion of religious freedom
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: 1.05 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.54 male(s)/female


total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2006 est.)
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal 17 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; combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular telephone density is about 50 per 100 inhabitants


international: country code - 94; the SEA-ME-WE-3 and SEA-ME-WE-4 submarine cables provide connectivity to Asia, Australia, Middle East, Europe, US; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)
general assessment: NA


domestic: NA


international: country code - 850; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Russian (Indian Ocean region); other international connections through Moscow and Beijing
Telephones - main lines in use 2.742 million (2007) 980,000 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular 7.983 million (2007) NA
Television broadcast stations 14 (2006) 4 (includes Korean Central Television, Mansudae Television, Korean Educational and Cultural Network, and Kaesong Television targeting South Korea) (2003)
Terrain mostly low, flat to rolling plain; mountains in south-central interior mostly hills and mountains separated by deep, narrow valleys; coastal plains wide in west, discontinuous in east
Total fertility rate 2.05 children born/woman (2007 est.) 2.1 children born/woman (2006 est.)
Unemployment rate 6.3% (2007 est.) NA%
Waterways 160 km (primarily on rivers in southwest) (2006) 2,250 km (most navigable only by small craft) (2006)
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