Sri Lanka at a Glance

Ancient Greek called it Taprobanē (Tambapanni), The Persians and Arabs referred to it as Sarandīb (Seiylan), The British called it as Ceylon later changed to Sri Lanka is a Beautiful Island Country in the Indian Ocean.

The Pre-history of Sri Lanka goes back 125,000 years and is rich with diversified cultures, religions, ethnicities & languages. Predominant Sinhalese ,Tamils,Muslims, Burgers & Malays coexist and live peacefully in the small island.

Sri Lanka is made up of about 100 “rivers,” most of which are mere wet-season rivulets. 208-mile-long Mahaweli River is the longest river in Sri Lanka. The general elevation of which ranges from sea level to about 1,000 feet (300 metres). Sri Lanka’s highest mountain—Pidurutalagala at 8,281 feet (2,524 metres).

Sri Lanka’s tropical location ensures perennially high temperatures, with monthly averages between 72 °F (22 °C) and 92 °F (33 °C) in the lowlands. In the Central Highlands, higher altitudes account for lower temperatures, with monthly averages between 44 °F (7 °C) and 71 °F (21.6 °C).

Tea is the main source of income to Sri Lanka. We are famous for spices of Curry Leaves (Karapincha) Turmeric (Kaha) Clove (Karambunatti) Cinnamon (Kurundu) Pepper (Gam Miris) Cardamom (Enasal) Lemongrass, Citronella (Sera) Ceylon Cinnamon exports represent 41.13% of world exports for this product, we rank number one (Trademap2013).

Facts of Sri Lanka

Official Name	Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
Government Type	Republic
Location	Latitude 5° 55. to 9° 50. north, Longitude 79° 42. to 81° 52., 650km north of theequator
Dimensions	430km North to South, 225km East to West
Coastline	1,340km
Area	65,525km
Currency (code)	Sri Lankan Rupee (LKR)
Independence	4 February 1948
Administrative Capital	Sri Jayewardenepura
Commercial Capital	Colombo
Administrative Divisions	Typically tropical, with a northeast monsoon (December to March)bringing unsettled weather to the north and east, and a southwest monsoon (June toOctober) bringing bad weather to the south and west
Terrain	Mostly low, flat to rolling plain; mountains in south-central interior
Highest Mountain	Pidurutalagala, 2,524m
Highest Waterfall	Bambarakanda, 263m
National Flower	The Blue Water Lily (Nymphaea stellata).
National Parks and Nature Reserves Area	8,000sq.km
Population	21,128,773
Population Growth Rate	1.3%
Gross Domestic Product (GDP)	Purchasing power parity: $81.29 billion (2007 est.). Official exchange rate: $30.01 billion (2007 est.) Real growth rate: 6.3% (2007 est.) Per capita: $4,100 (2007 est.) composition by sector: Agriculture: 16.5% Industry: 26.9%
Gross National Product (GNP)	Sri Lanka is placed in 76th place in GNP figures of the world.s nations with $22.8 billion (2005)
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

Population Density	309 people per sq km
Life Expectancy at Birth	74 female, 64 male
Literacy Rate	Female 87.9 Male 92.5
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)
Languages	Sinhala (official and national language) 74%, Tamil (national language) 18%, other 8% Note: English (a link language commonly) is used in government and spoken competently by about 10% of the population
Religion	Buddhist 69.1%, Muslim 7.6%, Hindu 7.1%, Christian 6.2%, unspecified 10% (2001 census)
Time Zone	Sri Lanka Standard Time is five and a half hours ahead of GMT. (Allowance should be made for summer-time changes in Europe.)
International Dialing	+94
Electricity	230 . 240 volts, 50 cycles AC. If you travel with a laptop computer bring a stabilizer
Economy	Sri Lanka's most dynamic sectors are food processing, textiles and apparel, food and beverages, port construction, telecommunications, insurance and banking. In 2006, plantation crops made up only 15% of exports (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 US$1 billion a year.
Labour Force	34.3% of the labour population is employed in agriculture, 25.3% in industry and 40.4% in services: 40.4% (30 June 2006 est.) The unemployment rate is 5.7% (2007 est.)
Agriculture & Products	Rice, Sugarcane, Grains, Pulses, Oilseed, Spices, Tea, Rubber, Coconuts, milk, Eggs, Hides, Beef, Fish
Industries	Processing of rubber, tea, coconuts, tobacco and other agricultural commodities, telecommunications, insurance, banking; clothing, textiles, cement, petroleum refining.
Exports	Textiles and apparel; tea and spices; diamonds, emeralds, rubies; coconut products, rubber manufactures, fish
Imports	Main import commodities are textile fabrics, mineral products, petroleum, foodstuffs, machinery and transportation equipment: $10.61 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.). Percentage of main commodities from main import partners: India 19.6%, China 10.5%, Singapore 8.8%, Iran 5.7%, Malaysia 5.1%, Hong Kong 4.2%, Japan 4.1% (2006)

Top Destinations

Sri Lanka is the most friendly and warm hearted people you will find in the world. Its rich in culture and accessible wildlife, its growing surf scene, its people who welcome you as your own kith & kin and beautiful friendly smiles makes the pearl of the Indian ocean your top destination.

About Sri Lanka