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Country name:
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Sri Lanka
Conventional long form: Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
Conventional short form: Sri Lanka
Former: Serendib, Ceylon
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Government type:
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Republic
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Capital:
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Colombo; note - Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte is the legislative capital
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Administrative divisions:
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8 provinces; Central, North Central, North Eastern, North Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Uva, Western; note - North Eastern province may have been divided in two - Northern and Eastern
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Independence:
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4 February 1948 (from UK)
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National holiday:
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Independence Day, 4 February (1948)
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Constitution:
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Adopted 16 August 1978
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Population:
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19,576,783
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; as of mid-1999, approximately 66,000 were housed in 133 refugee camps in south India, another 40,000 lived outside the Indian camps, and more than 200,000 Tamils have sought refuge in the West (July 2002 est.)
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Age structure:
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0-14 years: 25.6% (male 2,559,246; female 2,446,393)
15-64 years: 67.7% (male 6,446,320; female 6,802,515)
65 years and over: 6.7% (male 628,398; female 693,911) (2002 est.)
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Location:
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Southern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of India
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Geographic coordinates:
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7 00 N, 81 00 E
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Asian Melting Pot
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Area:
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Total: 65,610 sq km
Water: 870 sq km
Land: 64,740 sq km
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Area - comparative:
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Slightly larger than West Virginia
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Land boundaries:
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0 km
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Coastline:
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1,340 km
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Climate:
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Tropical monsoon; northeast monsoon
(December to March); southwest monsoon (June to October)
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Terrain:
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Mostly low, flat to rolling plain;
mountains in south-central interior
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Elevation extremes:
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Lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
Highest point: Pidurutalagala 2,524 m
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Natural resources:
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Limestone, Graphite, Mineral sands,
Gems, Phosphates, Clay, Hydropower
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Land use:
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Arable land: 13.43%
Permanent crops: 15.78%
Other: 70.79% (1998 est.)
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Irrigated land:
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6,510 sq km (1998 est.)
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Natural hazards:
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Occasional cyclones and tornadoes
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Environment - current issues:
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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
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Environment - international agreements:
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Party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
Signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation
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Geography - note:
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Strategic location near major Indian
Ocean sea lanes
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