Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka Prajathanthrika Samajavadi Janarajaya

CAPITAL: Colombo

FLAG: The national flag contains, at the hoist, vertical stripes of green and saffron (orange-yellow) and, to the right, a maroon rectangle with yellow bo leaves in the corners and a yellow lion symbol in the center. The entire flag is bordered in yellow, and a narrow yellow vertical area separates the saffron stripe from the dark maroon rectangle.

ANTHEM: Sri Lanka Matha (Mother Sri Lanka).

MONETARY UNIT: The Sri Lanka rupee (R) of 100 cents is a paper currency with one official rate. There are coins of 1, 2, 5, 10, 25, and 50 cents and 1 and 2 rupees, and notes of 10, 20, 50, 100, 500, and 1,000 rupees. R1 = $0.0103 (or $1 = R96.34; as of April 2003).

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES: The metric system is the national standard, but British weights and measures and some local units also are used.

HOLIDAYS: Independence Commemoration Day, 4 February; May Day, 1 May...