d economic zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: tropical; monsoonal; northeast monsoon (December to March);
southwest monsoon (June to October)

Terrain: mostly low, flat to rolling plain; mountains in
south-central interior

Natural resources: limestone, graphite, mineral sands, gems,
phosphates, clay

Land use: 16% arable land; 17% permanent crops; 7% meadows and pastures;
37% forest and woodland; 23% other; includes 8% irrigated

Environment: occasional cyclones, tornados; deforestation; soil erosion

Note: only 29 km from India across the Palk Strait; near major Indian
Ocean sea lanes

- People
Population: 17,196,436 (July 1990), growth rate 1.5% (1990)

Birth rate: 21 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 6 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: NEGL migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 31 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 68 years male, 72 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 2.3 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Sri Lankan(s); adjective--Sri Lankan

Ethnic divisions: 74% Sinhalese; 18% Tamil; 7% Moor; 1% Burgher, Malay,
and Veddha

Religion: 69% Buddhist, 15% Hindu, 8% Christian, 8% Muslim

Language: Sinhala (official); Sinhala and Tamil listed as national
languages; Sinhala spoken by about 74% of population, Tamil spoken by about 18%;
English commonly used in government and spoken by about 10% of the population

Literacy: 87%

Labor force: 6,600,000; 45.9% agriculture, 13.3% mining and manufacturing,
12.4% trade and transport, 28.4% services and other (1985 est.)

Organized labor: about 33% of labor force, over 50% of which are employed
on tea, rubber, and coconut estates

- Government
Long-form name: Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka

Type: republic

Capital: Colombo

Administrative divisions: 24 districts; Amparai, Anuradhapura,
Badulla, Batticaloa, Colombo, Galle, Gampaha, Hambantota, Jaffna,
Kalutara, Kandy, Kegalla, Kurunegala, Mannar, Matale, Matara, Moneragala,
Mullativu, Nuwara Eliya, Polonnaruwa, Puttalam, Ratnapura, Trincomalee,
Vavuniya; note--the administrative structure may now include 8 provinces
(Central, North Central, North Eastern, North Western, Sabaragamuwa,
Southern, Uva, and Western) and 25 districts (with Kilinochchi added to
the existing districts)

Independence: 4 February 1948 (from UK; formerly Ceylon)

Constitution: 31 August 1978

Legal system: