Overview

The Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, formerly Ceylon, is an island in the Indian Ocean approximately 20 miles off the southeastern tip of India. It occupies an area of 25,332 square miles, which is about the size of West Virginia, and has a population of 8.8 million. Sri Lanka means the "resplendent land." Sri Lanka has an equatorial climate, with little seasonal temperature variation. An agricultural country whose chief crop is rice, Sri Lanka is known for spices such as cinnamon, cardamon, nutmeg, pepper, and cloves. Tea, rubber, and coconuts are also important exports. Sri Lanka is also a major exporter of precious and semi-precious stones. The capital city is Colombo.

Seventy-four percent of Sri Lanka's citizens are of Sinhalese origin, while the rest of the population belongs to various ethnic minorities, including Sri Lankan Tamils (12.7 percent), Indian Tamils (5.5 percent), Muslims (7 percent), Burghers, Malays, Parsis...