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

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

_#_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: 17,423,736 (July 1991), growth rate 1.2% (1991)

_#_Birth rate: 20 births/1,000 population (1991)

_#_Death rate: 6 deaths/1,000 population (1991)

_#_Net migration rate: - 2 migrants/1,000 population (1991)

_#_Infant mortality rate: 21 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)

_#_Life expectancy at birth: 69 years male, 74 years female (1991)

_#_Total fertility rate: 2.3 children born/woman (1991)

_#_Nationality: noun--Sri Lankan(s); adjective--Sri Lankan

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

_#_Religion: Buddhist 69%, Hindu 15%, Christian 8%, Muslim 8%

_#_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: 86% (male 91%, female 81%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1981)

_#_Labor force: 6,600,000; agriculture 45.9%, mining and
manufacturing 13.3%, trade and transport 12.4%, services and other 28.4%
(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,
Mullaittivu, 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: a highly complex mixture of English common law,
Roman-Dutch,