reatened by poaching; coastal degradation from mining activities
and increased pollution; freshwater resources being polluted by
industrial wastes and sewage runoff
natural hazards: occasional cyclones and tornadoes
international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes,
Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands,
Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Marine Life Conservation

Geographic note: strategic location near major Indian Ocean sea
lanes

People
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Population: 18,553,074 (July 1996 est.)
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 late 1992, nearly
115,000 were housed in refugee camps in south India, another 95,000
lived outside the Indian camps, and more than 200,000 Tamils have
sought political asylum in the West

Age structure:
0-14 years: 28% (male 2,673,943; female 2,559,569)
15-64 years: 66% (male 6,023,759; female 6,171,964)
65 years and over: 6% (male 553,940; female 569,899) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.13% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 17.89 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 5.8 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.78 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.97 male(s)/female
all ages: 1 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 20.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 72.35 years
male: 69.77 years
female: 75.06 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.05 children born/woman (1996 est.)

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

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

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

Languages: Sinhala (official and national language) 74%, Tamil
(national language) 18%
note: English is commonly used in government and is spoken by about
10% of the population

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
total population: 90.2%
male: 93.4%
female: 87.2%

Government
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Name of country:
conventional lon