•3:06 AM
About Srilanka
Sri Lanka is a teardrop-shaped island in the Indian Ocean just below the Southern tip of India, and lying North of the equator.
Because of her position at the southern tip of the Indian Sub-Continent Sri Lanka is often referred to as the Pearl of the Indian Ocean. In recorded history for over a thousand years travellers from all over the world came upon Sri Lanka or made the happy discovery by accident. Thus, this Isalnd Paradise was also called SERENDIP giving rise to the word 'serendipity' meaning 'making happy discoveries by accident'.
Climate & Seasons
Sri Lanka is a teardrop-shaped island in the Indian Ocean just below the Southern tip of India, and lying North of the equator.
Because of her position at the southern tip of the Indian Sub-Continent Sri Lanka is often referred to as the Pearl of the Indian Ocean. In recorded history for over a thousand years travellers from all over the world came upon Sri Lanka or made the happy discovery by accident. Thus, this Isalnd Paradise was also called SERENDIP giving rise to the word 'serendipity' meaning 'making happy discoveries by accident'.
Climate & Seasons
Sri Lanka enjoys a tropical climate. There are no seasonal variations. The bi-annual monsoon rains provide the only seasons. Colombo and the South West experience rain from April to May and September to October. The East coast gets its share of rainfall from November to January. Being closer to the equator, the temperature is high throughout the year. The average temperature in Colombo is 27 degrees centigrade (80 degrees Fahrenheit). This is accompanied by high levels of humidity. However, in the different parts of the island, the temperature and the climate vary according to the terrain. The higher you go, the cooler it gets. In the mountainous regions of Nuwara Eliya, the temperature averages 16 degrees centigrade (61 degrees Fahrenheit).
Sri Lanka Lies between 6 - 10 of North Latitude and Between 80 - 82 of East Longitude. It has a Maximum Length of 432 km (Devundara to Point Peduru) and Maximum Breadth 224 km (Colombo - Sangamankanda) . The Land Area is 65,525 Sq. km. The Area Excluding the Inland Water 62,336 Sq. km. The hills appear in the center and the south of Center. Sri Lanka is generally a warm country.
Area Jan-April May-August Sept-Dec
Sri Lanka Lies between 6 - 10 of North Latitude and Between 80 - 82 of East Longitude. It has a Maximum Length of 432 km (Devundara to Point Peduru) and Maximum Breadth 224 km (Colombo - Sangamankanda) . The Land Area is 65,525 Sq. km. The Area Excluding the Inland Water 62,336 Sq. km. The hills appear in the center and the south of Center. Sri Lanka is generally a warm country.
Area Jan-April May-August Sept-Dec
Max. Min. Max. Min. Max. Min.
Colombo 30ºC 22ºC 30ºC 24ºC 29ºC 22ºC
Kandy 31ºC 17ºC 29ºC 21ºC 28ºC 18ºC
Nuwara Eliya 21ºC 14ºC 18ºC 16ºC 18ºC 15ºC
Trincomalee 32ºC 24ºC 33ºC 25ºC 33ºC 23ºC
Sri Lanka has no marked seasons. A special feature is that the hot and humid lowlands and the salubrious hill country are separated by a few hours motoring.
Average mean temperature along the coast is 26.7 C (80 F) and 19.7 C (66.50 F) in the hill country. In Colombo, the commercial capital, situated on the west coast, the temperature varies from 26.4 C (79.5 F) to 27.8 C (82.12 F). Relative Humidity varies from 70% during the day to 90% at night. In the lowlands the climate is typically tropical with an average temperature of 27ºC in Colombo. In the higher elevations it can be quite cool with temperatures going down to 16ºC at an altitude of nearly 2,000 meters. Bright, sunny warm days are the rule and are common even during the height of the monsoon - climatically Sri Lanka has no off season. The south west monsoon brings rain mainly from May to July to the western, southern and central regions of the island, while the north-east monsoon rains occur in the northern and eastern regions in December and January.
Capital Sri Jayewardenepura- kottte
Largest city Colombo
Official languages Sinhala,Tamil
Government Democratic Socialist Republic
President Mahinda Rjapaksha
Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayke
Independence from United Kingdom
Declared February 4,1948
Republic 22-May-72
Aria
Total 65,610 km2
Water (%) 4.4
Population 2005 estimate 9,668,000
July 2008 census 21,128,773
Currency Sri Lankan Rupee (LKR)
Time Zone (UTC + 5:30)
Drivers on the Left
Internet TLD .lk
Calling code 94
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (Sinhalese: ශ්රී ලංකාව, Tamil: இலங்கை; known as Ceylon before 1972 and as Taprobane in ancient times) is an island country in South Asia, located about 31 kilometres (19.3 mi) off the southern coast of India. It is home to around twenty million people.
Because of its location in the path of major sea routes, Sri Lanka is a strategic naval link between West Asia and South East Asia, and has been a center of Buddhist religion and culture from ancient times. Today, the country is a multi-religious and multi-ethnic nation, with more than a quarter of the population following faiths other than Buddhism, notably Hinduism, Christianity and Islam. The Sinhalese community forms the majority of the population, with Tamils, who are concentrated in the north and east of the island, forming the largest ethnic minority. Other communities include the Muslim Moors and Malays and the Burghers.
Famous for the production and export of tea, coffee, coconuts and rubber, Sri Lanka boasts a progressive and modern industrial economy and the highest per capita income in South Asia. The natural beauty of Sri Lanka's tropical forests, beaches and landscape, as well as its rich cultural heritage, make it a world famous tourist destination.
Government and politics
The Constitution of Sri Lanka establishes a democratic, socialist republic in Sri Lanka, which is also a unitary state. The government is a mixture of the presidential system and the parliamentary system. The President of Sri Lanka is the head of state, the commander in chief of the armed forces, as well as head of government, and is popularly elected for a six-year term. In the exercise of duties, the President is responsible to the Parliament of Sri Lanka, which is a unicameral 225-member legislature. The President appoints and heads a cabinet of ministers composed of elected members of parliament. The President's deputy is the Prime Minister, who leads the ruling party in parliament and shares many executive responsibilities, mainly in domestic affairs.
Members of parliament are elected by universal (adult) suffrage based on a modified proportional representation system by district to a six-year term. The primary modification is that, the party that receives the largest number of valid votes in each constituency gains a unique "bonus seat." The president may summon, suspend, or end a legislative session and dissolve Parliament any time after it has served for one year. The parliament reserves the power to make all laws. On July 1, 1960 the people of Sri Lanka elected the first-ever female head of government in Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike. Her daughter Chandrika Kumaratunga served multiple terms as prime minister and as president from 1999 to 2005. The current president and prime minister, both of whom took office on November 21, 2005, are Mahinda Rajapaksa and Ratnasiri Wickremanayake respectively.
Sri Lanka has enjoyed democracy with universal suffrage since 1931. Politics in Sri Lanka are controlled by rival coalitions led by the left-wing Sri Lanka Freedom Party, headed by President Rajapaksa, the comparatively right-wing United National Party led by former prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and Marxist-Nationalist JVP. There are also many smaller Buddhist, socialist and Tamil nationalist political parties that oppose the separatism of the LTTE but demand regional autonomy and increased civil rights. Since 1948, Sri Lanka has been a member of the Commonwealth of Nations and the United Nations. It is also a member of the Non-Aligned Movement, the Colombo Plan, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation. Through the Cold War-era, Sri Lanka followed a foreign policy of non-alignment but has remained closer to the United States and Western Europe. The military of Sri Lanka comprises the Sri Lankan Army, the Sri Lankan Navy and the Sri Lankan Air Force. These are administered by the Ministry of Defence. Since the 1980s, the army has led the government response against the Marxist militants of the JVP and now the LTTE militant forces. Sri Lanka receives considerable military assistance from Pakistan and China.
Sri Lanka was considered one of the "world's most politically unstable countries" by the World Bank and Asian Development Bank in 2004. The Economist labels Sri Lanka a "flawed democracy" in its 2006 rankings (ranking 57 and positioned among 54 other flawed ranked ones) and Foreign Policy ranks Sri Lanka 25th (Alert Category) in its Failed States Index for 2007. However, Sri Lanka, according to the US State Department in 2005, was classified a "stable democracy" amidst a ceasefire period of the long running civil war.
Military
Sri Lankan soldiers have taken part in many wars throughout its history, including the Boer War and both World Wars (under the command of the British at the time). In the course of the civil war, the military has been transformed from a ceremonial force to a modern army. Since 2004, Sri Lankan troops have been a part of the UN peacekeeping force in Haiti, which is the country's first major overseas mission.
The military of Sri Lanka is organized into three branches: Army, Navy, and Air Force. Since independence, its primary mission has been the targeting of armed groups within the country, most notably engaging in a 25 year long war with the LTTE. The LTTE is proscribed as a terrorist organisation by 32 countries.
Media
The national radio station, Radio Ceylon is the oldest-running radio station in Asia. It was established in 1923 by Edward Harper just three years after broadcasting was launched in Europe. It remains one of the most popular stations in Asia, with its programming reaching neighboring Asian nations. The station is managed by the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation and broadcasts services in Sinhalese, Tamil, English and Hindi. Since the 1980s, a large number of private radio stations have also being introduced, and they have gained commercial popularity and success. Broadcast television was introduced to the country in 1979 when the Independent Television Network was launched. Initially all Television stations were state controlled, but private television networks began broadcasts in 1992. Global television networks from India, Southeast Asia, Europe and the United States are also widely popular, and cable and satellite television is gaining in popularity with Sri Lanka's middle-class. Popular publications include the English language Daily Mirror and The Sunday Observer and The Sunday Times, Divayina, Lankadeepa and Lakbima in Sinhalese and the Tamil publications Dinakaran and Uthayan.
Colombo 30ºC 22ºC 30ºC 24ºC 29ºC 22ºC
Kandy 31ºC 17ºC 29ºC 21ºC 28ºC 18ºC
Nuwara Eliya 21ºC 14ºC 18ºC 16ºC 18ºC 15ºC
Trincomalee 32ºC 24ºC 33ºC 25ºC 33ºC 23ºC
Sri Lanka has no marked seasons. A special feature is that the hot and humid lowlands and the salubrious hill country are separated by a few hours motoring.
Average mean temperature along the coast is 26.7 C (80 F) and 19.7 C (66.50 F) in the hill country. In Colombo, the commercial capital, situated on the west coast, the temperature varies from 26.4 C (79.5 F) to 27.8 C (82.12 F). Relative Humidity varies from 70% during the day to 90% at night. In the lowlands the climate is typically tropical with an average temperature of 27ºC in Colombo. In the higher elevations it can be quite cool with temperatures going down to 16ºC at an altitude of nearly 2,000 meters. Bright, sunny warm days are the rule and are common even during the height of the monsoon - climatically Sri Lanka has no off season. The south west monsoon brings rain mainly from May to July to the western, southern and central regions of the island, while the north-east monsoon rains occur in the northern and eastern regions in December and January.
Capital Sri Jayewardenepura- kottte
Largest city Colombo
Official languages Sinhala,Tamil
Government Democratic Socialist Republic
President Mahinda Rjapaksha
Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayke
Independence from United Kingdom
Declared February 4,1948
Republic 22-May-72
Aria
Total 65,610 km2
Water (%) 4.4
Population 2005 estimate 9,668,000
July 2008 census 21,128,773
Currency Sri Lankan Rupee (LKR)
Time Zone (UTC + 5:30)
Drivers on the Left
Internet TLD .lk
Calling code 94
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (Sinhalese: ශ්රී ලංකාව, Tamil: இலங்கை; known as Ceylon before 1972 and as Taprobane in ancient times) is an island country in South Asia, located about 31 kilometres (19.3 mi) off the southern coast of India. It is home to around twenty million people.
Because of its location in the path of major sea routes, Sri Lanka is a strategic naval link between West Asia and South East Asia, and has been a center of Buddhist religion and culture from ancient times. Today, the country is a multi-religious and multi-ethnic nation, with more than a quarter of the population following faiths other than Buddhism, notably Hinduism, Christianity and Islam. The Sinhalese community forms the majority of the population, with Tamils, who are concentrated in the north and east of the island, forming the largest ethnic minority. Other communities include the Muslim Moors and Malays and the Burghers.
Famous for the production and export of tea, coffee, coconuts and rubber, Sri Lanka boasts a progressive and modern industrial economy and the highest per capita income in South Asia. The natural beauty of Sri Lanka's tropical forests, beaches and landscape, as well as its rich cultural heritage, make it a world famous tourist destination.
Government and politics
The Constitution of Sri Lanka establishes a democratic, socialist republic in Sri Lanka, which is also a unitary state. The government is a mixture of the presidential system and the parliamentary system. The President of Sri Lanka is the head of state, the commander in chief of the armed forces, as well as head of government, and is popularly elected for a six-year term. In the exercise of duties, the President is responsible to the Parliament of Sri Lanka, which is a unicameral 225-member legislature. The President appoints and heads a cabinet of ministers composed of elected members of parliament. The President's deputy is the Prime Minister, who leads the ruling party in parliament and shares many executive responsibilities, mainly in domestic affairs.
Members of parliament are elected by universal (adult) suffrage based on a modified proportional representation system by district to a six-year term. The primary modification is that, the party that receives the largest number of valid votes in each constituency gains a unique "bonus seat." The president may summon, suspend, or end a legislative session and dissolve Parliament any time after it has served for one year. The parliament reserves the power to make all laws. On July 1, 1960 the people of Sri Lanka elected the first-ever female head of government in Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike. Her daughter Chandrika Kumaratunga served multiple terms as prime minister and as president from 1999 to 2005. The current president and prime minister, both of whom took office on November 21, 2005, are Mahinda Rajapaksa and Ratnasiri Wickremanayake respectively.
Sri Lanka has enjoyed democracy with universal suffrage since 1931. Politics in Sri Lanka are controlled by rival coalitions led by the left-wing Sri Lanka Freedom Party, headed by President Rajapaksa, the comparatively right-wing United National Party led by former prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and Marxist-Nationalist JVP. There are also many smaller Buddhist, socialist and Tamil nationalist political parties that oppose the separatism of the LTTE but demand regional autonomy and increased civil rights. Since 1948, Sri Lanka has been a member of the Commonwealth of Nations and the United Nations. It is also a member of the Non-Aligned Movement, the Colombo Plan, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation. Through the Cold War-era, Sri Lanka followed a foreign policy of non-alignment but has remained closer to the United States and Western Europe. The military of Sri Lanka comprises the Sri Lankan Army, the Sri Lankan Navy and the Sri Lankan Air Force. These are administered by the Ministry of Defence. Since the 1980s, the army has led the government response against the Marxist militants of the JVP and now the LTTE militant forces. Sri Lanka receives considerable military assistance from Pakistan and China.
Sri Lanka was considered one of the "world's most politically unstable countries" by the World Bank and Asian Development Bank in 2004. The Economist labels Sri Lanka a "flawed democracy" in its 2006 rankings (ranking 57 and positioned among 54 other flawed ranked ones) and Foreign Policy ranks Sri Lanka 25th (Alert Category) in its Failed States Index for 2007. However, Sri Lanka, according to the US State Department in 2005, was classified a "stable democracy" amidst a ceasefire period of the long running civil war.
Military
Sri Lankan soldiers have taken part in many wars throughout its history, including the Boer War and both World Wars (under the command of the British at the time). In the course of the civil war, the military has been transformed from a ceremonial force to a modern army. Since 2004, Sri Lankan troops have been a part of the UN peacekeeping force in Haiti, which is the country's first major overseas mission.
The military of Sri Lanka is organized into three branches: Army, Navy, and Air Force. Since independence, its primary mission has been the targeting of armed groups within the country, most notably engaging in a 25 year long war with the LTTE. The LTTE is proscribed as a terrorist organisation by 32 countries.
Media
The national radio station, Radio Ceylon is the oldest-running radio station in Asia. It was established in 1923 by Edward Harper just three years after broadcasting was launched in Europe. It remains one of the most popular stations in Asia, with its programming reaching neighboring Asian nations. The station is managed by the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation and broadcasts services in Sinhalese, Tamil, English and Hindi. Since the 1980s, a large number of private radio stations have also being introduced, and they have gained commercial popularity and success. Broadcast television was introduced to the country in 1979 when the Independent Television Network was launched. Initially all Television stations were state controlled, but private television networks began broadcasts in 1992. Global television networks from India, Southeast Asia, Europe and the United States are also widely popular, and cable and satellite television is gaining in popularity with Sri Lanka's middle-class. Popular publications include the English language Daily Mirror and The Sunday Observer and The Sunday Times, Divayina, Lankadeepa and Lakbima in Sinhalese and the Tamil publications Dinakaran and Uthayan.
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