 Country Profile: |
| Country Name: |
Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka |
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Location: |
South Asia - an island in the Indian Ocean
5°55’ - 9°50’ North Latitude and
79°42’ -81 52’ East Longitude
432 km North to South
224 km West to East |
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| Area: |
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| Total Area: |
65,610 sq. km |
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| Land Area: |
62,705 sq. km |
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| Inland Waters: |
2,905 sq. km |
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Capital: |
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| Administrative Capital: |
Sri Jayewardenepura |
| Commercial Capital: |
Colombo |
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| Composition of Population: |
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By Ethincity: |
Sinhalese |
74.0% |
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Tamils |
18.1% |
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Moors |
7.1% |
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Others |
0.8% |
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By Religion: |
Buddhists |
69.3% |
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Hindus |
15.5% |
Christians |
7.6% |
Muslims |
7.5% |
Others |
0.1% |
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| Languages: |
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| Official Languages: |
Sinhala and Tamil |
| Link Language: |
English |
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| Life Expectancy: |
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| Male: |
72 Yrs |
| Female: |
77 Yrs |
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Literacy Rate: |
94% |
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| Per Capital GDP: |
US $ 1,617 (2007) |
Composition of GDP (2006): |
Agricultural 11.9%
Industry 28.5%
Services 59.6% |
| Exports: |
US$ 7.7 billion (2007) |
Imports: |
US$ 11.3 billion (2007) |
| International Airport: |
Bandaranaike International Airport in Katunayake |
| National Airline: |
Sri Lankan Airlines |
Climate: |
Tropical-average 28°C
Central hills-cooler 14°C
North-east monsoon: Nov-Jan
South-west monsoon : May-July |
| Time: |
GMT + 6 hours |
Currency: |
Sri Lanka Rupee (I US $ = 110.62 SL Rs. in 2007) |
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| Sri Lanka's Map: |
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| National Flag: |
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The National Flag of Sri Lanka represents the country and her heritage as rallying device that integrates the minorities with the majority race.
Sri Lanka National Flag is an improvisation of the civil standard of the last king of Sri Lanka, Sri Wickrama Rajasingha. The civil standard had a passant royal lion with a sword in it's right fore paw at the center, and a bo-leaf on each of the four corners on a plain border.
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When Sri Lanka gained her independence from Great Britain on February 04, 1948, it was the lion flag of the last king of Sri Lanka was hoisted once again.
The first Prime Minister of independent Sri Lanka, D.S.Senanayake, appointed a committee to advice the government on the design of a new national flag. The design approved by the committee in February 1950 retained the symbol of the lion with the sword and the bo-leaves from the civil standard of the last king of Sri Lanka, with the inclusion of two verticle stripes green and orange in color. the significance of each symbol of the national flag is as follows:
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The lion in the flag represents the Sinhala race.
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The sword of the lion represents the sovereignty of the country.
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Curly hair on the lion's head indicates religious observance, wisdom and meditation.
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The beard denotes purity of words.
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The handle of the sword highlights the elements of water, fire, air and earth.
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The nose indicates intelligence.
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The two front paws purport to purity in handling wealth.
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The verticle stripe of orange represent the minority Tamil race and the green verticle stripe the minority Muslim race.
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The four virtues of kindness: KINDNESS, FRIENDLINESS, HAPPINESS, EQUANIMITY are also represented in the flag.
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The border round the flag, which is yellow in color, represents other minor races.
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The bo-leaves at the four corners of the flag represent Buddhism and it's influence on the nation. They also stand for the four virtues - Kindness, Friendliness, Happiness and Equanimity.
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The maroon colored portion of the flag manifests the other minor religions.
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| The national flag was hoisted for the first time on March 3, 1950. |
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| National Emblem: |
Sri Lanka used the British emblem when it was a British Crown Colony . We continued to use it even after gaining independence in 1948 . According to the recommendation of a select committee appointed to devise a state emblem more suitable for Sri Lanka (Ceylon) we opted for a new emblem . It had lion with a ‘Palapethi’ design atop . Below there was a strip carrying the country’s name in Sinhala ,Tamil and English . A new republican emblem was chosen after the country was declared a Republic on May 22nd ,1972 . In addition to the lion with sword and the ‘Palapethi ‘design it portrays the punkalasa , dhamachakka , sun , moon and two sheaves of paddy. |
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| National Tree: |
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A proposal made to declare the Na Tree as the National Tree was adopted by the Cabinet on February 26th ,1986 , Socially and culturally we have been closely associated with the Na Tree for centuries. It was chosen as the National Tree for 7 reasons.
(1) It is a tree which originated in Sri Lanka;
(2) Its utility
(3) Historical and Cultural importance;
(4) Exteror posture;
(5) Wide distribution;
(6) Color and Nature;
(7) Ability to draw and sketch it easy ; |
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| National Bird: |
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Jungle fowl the National Bird of Sri Lanka is commonest in the National Parks and forests . |
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| National Flower: |
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This , the “ Nil Mahanel ” botanical name “Nympheae Stelleta” has been the national flower of Sri Lanka from 1986.The Nil Mahanel plant grows in shallow , warm water , and is found in all parts of the country. |
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Ayurveda in Sri Lanka:
Ayurveda is not only a form of medication it is a total way of life knows to generations of Sri Lankans for over 3000 years. It is a gentle method of treating the root causes of illness in both mind and body. The health conscious today are searching for effective alternatives to the spiraling costs and side effects that at times result from the use of modern medicine. Sri Lanka's culture is so closely connected to dance and drama that no function will be complete without displaying a dance or even a drama. As a multi ethnic land, it boasts of a rich infusion of dance and drama. The two main ethnic groups share two spectacular dance and drama traditions which enrich the fame Sri Lanka has gained in this sphere |
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Ceylon Tea:
The tea sector in Sri Lanka has always been a vital component of her economy. It is also the country's largest employer providing employment both directly and indirectly to over one million people. It also contributes a significant amount to government revenue and to the gross domestic product. |
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Beaches of Sri Lanka:
The sun shining beaches of Sri Lanka are around the island as seen from the map. The seas are warm. The west coast and southern beaches are best from October to March. The East coast beaches are best during March and October. |
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Elephants in Sri Lanka:
Elephant is the star of Sri Lanka's wild life and the largest land animal in the island. Among the two verities of African elephants (elephas coxenda) and Indian elephants (elephas maximize maximize), in Sri Lanka you find Indian elephants and considered to be intelligent than their African counterparts hence domesticated. Although there have been about 36000 elephants with the start of this century it has reduced up to about 2000 due to pouching. According to the recent records about 2000 of them scattered all over the country in small pockets and about 500 of them are domesticated. |
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