MY Motherland Slideshow: SADUNI’s trip from Colombo, Sri Lanka to 5 cities Kandy, Anuradhapura, Sigiriya, Kochchikade (near Waikkal) and Ambalaveli (near Anamaduwa) was created by TripAdvisor. See another Sri Lanka slideshow. Create your own stunning slideshow with our free photo slideshow maker.

Sunday, December 12, 2010

people

Nationality: Noun and adjective--Sri Lankan(s).
Population: 21.3 million.
Annual growth rate: 0.9%.
Ethnic groups (2002): Sinhalese (74%), Tamils (18%), Muslims (7%), others (1%).
Religions: Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity.
Languages: Sinhala and Tamil (official), English.
Education: Years compulsory--to age 14. Primary school attendance--96.5%. Literacy--91%.
Health: Infant mortality rate--18.57/1,000. Life expectancy--73 yrs. (male); 77 yrs. (female).
Work force: 8.1 million (excluding northern provinces).

Geography

Area: 65,610 sq. km. (25,332 sq. mi.); about the size of West Virginia.
Cities: Capital--Colombo (pop. est. 1.3 million--urban area). Sri Jayewardenepura-Kotte is the officially designated capital and is the site of Parliament. Other cities--Kandy (150,000), Galle (110,000), Jaffna (100,000).
Terrain: Coastal plains in the northern third of country; hills and mountains in south-central Sri Lanka rise to more than 2,133 meters (7,000 ft.).
Climate: Tropical. Rainy seasons--light in northeast, fall and winter, with average rainfall of 50 in.; heavy in southwest, summer and fall, with average rainfall of 200 in.