n
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm

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

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

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pidurutalagala 2,524 m

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

Land use:
arable land: 14%
permanent crops: 15%
permanent pastures: 7%
forests and woodland: 32%
other: 32% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 5,500 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: occasional cyclones and tornadoes

Environment - current issues: 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

Environment - international agreements:
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

Geography - note: strategic location near major Indian Ocean sea lanes

@Sri Lanka:People

Population: 19,238,575
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 2000 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 26% (male 2,605,251; female 2,490,416)
15-64 years: 67% (male 6,285,118; female 6,606,196)
65 years and over: 7% (male 602,470; female 649,124) (2000 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.89% (2000 est.)

Birth rate: 16.78 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Death rate: 6.43 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Net migration rate: -1.47 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.93 male(s)/female
total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2000 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 16.51 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)

Life expectancy a