Fast Fact about Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka is an island country located to the south of the Indian Peninsula in the Indian Ocean and has an area of 65,610 sq. km. Most of Sri Lanka is low-lying and is ringed by sandy beaches and small, irregular lagoons.
The coastal areas merge into a flat coastal plain, one that gently rises into the foothills of a mountainous region, central and south. Intermixed throughout those mountains are numerous deep valleys and gorges. About 40% of the landmass is heavily forested.
Overview
| Geography | |
|---|---|
 Country Name: |
Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, formerly Cylon |
 Government type: |
The Government of Sri Lanka is a semi-presidential system determined by the Sri Lankan Constitution. It administers the island from both its commercial capital of Colombo and the administrative capital of Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte. |
 Capital name: |
Colombo (commercial capital); Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte (legislative capital) |
 Geographic coordinates: |
6 55 N, 79 50 E |
 Area: |
65.610 sq. km. |
 Provinces: |
Central, Eastern, North Central, Northern, North Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Uva and Western. These provinces are further subdivided into 25 districts and other smaller subdivisions. |
| People | |
|---|---|
 Population: |
over 21 million |
 Nationality: |
Sri Lankan |
 Ethnic groups: |
Sinhalese 73.8%; Sri Lankan Tamil 11.15%; Sri Lankan Moors 7.2%; Indian Tamil 4.6%; other 0.5%; unspecified 2.75% |
 Religions: |
Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity |
| Essential Information | |
|---|---|
 Local time: |
UTC+ 5:30 (plus 5 1/2 hours) / 7 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT+7) |
 Currency of Thailand: |
Sri Lankan Rupee (LKR) |
 Exchange rates: |
LKR per US dollar - 197.00 (2021) |
 Local Current: |
230 volts AC - 50 cycles; adaptors available in most hotels and resorts all over the country. |
 Date Format |
dd-mm-yyyy |
 Drives on the |
left |
 Internet TLD: |
.lk |
 Calling Code: |
+94 |
Languages
The two official languages in Sri Lanka are Sinhala and Tamil. Sinhala is the language of the Sinhalese people who are an ethnic group of natives residing within Sri Lanka. The Sinhalese people have their identity attached to literature, historical heritage and region and are primarily Theravada Buddhists. The Tamilian script is quite varied and distinctive and is considered to be one of the most long-lasting classical languages. The Tamil language has a recorded Tamil Literature of over 200 years to back up its significance.
Climate / Weather
The climate is tropical and warm, because of the moderating effects of the prevailing ocean winds.
Climate change, global warming and
THE GREENHOUSE effect refer to the same global environmental climate changes
Mean temperatures range from 17 °C (62.6 °F) in the Central highlands (here frost may occur for several days in the winter), to a maximum of 33 °C (91.4 °F) in other low-altitude areas.
Average yearly temperatures range from 28 °C (82.4 °F) to nearly 31 °C (87.8 °F). Day and night temperatures may vary by 14 °C (25.2 °F) to 18 °C (32.4 °F).
The rainfall pattern is influenced by monsoon winds from the Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal. The "wet zone" and some of the windward slopes of the Central highlands receive up to 2,500 millimetres (98.4 in) of rain each year, but the leeward slopes in the east and northeast receive little rain. Most of the east, southeast, and northern parts of Sri Lanka comprise the "dry zone", which receive between 1,200 and 1,900 mm (47 and 75 in) of rain annually.