SRI LANKA
(formerly Ceylon)
_Sri_Lanka.jpg)
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| (See reference map VIII) |
LAND
65,500 km2; 25% cultivated; 44% forested; 31% waste, urban, and other
WATER
Limits of territorial waters (claimed): 12 nm (fishing 200 nm, plus pearling in the Gulf of Mannar; 200 nm exclusive economic zone)
Coastline: 1,340 km
PEOPLE
Population: 15,398,000 (July 1982), average annual growth rate 1.8%
Nationality: noun—Sri Lankan(s); adjective—Sri Lankan
Ethnic divisions: 74% Sinhalese, 18% Tamil, 7% Moor, 1% other
Religion: 69% Buddhist, 15% Hindu, 8% Christian, 8% Muslim, 0.1% other
Language: Sinhala official, Sinhala and Tamil listed as national languages, Sinhala spoken by about 74% of population; Tamil spoken by about 18%; English commonly used in government and spoken by about 10% of the population
Literacy: 82% (1970 est.)
Labor force: 4 million; 17% unemployed; employed persons—53.4% agriculture, 14.8% mining and manufacturing, 12.4% trade and transport, 19.4% services and other; extensive underemployment
Organized labor: 43% of labor force, over 50% of which employed on tea, rubber, and coconut estates
GOVERNMENT
Official name: Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
Type: independent state since 1948
Capital: Colombo
Political subdivisions: 9 provinces, 24 administrative districts, and four categories of semiautonomous elected local governments
Legal system: a highly complex mixture of English common law, Roman-Dutch, Muslim and customary law; new constitution 7 September 1978 reinstituted a strong, independent judiciary; legal education at Sri Lanka Law College and University of Sri Lanka, Peradeniya; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday: Independence Day, 22 May
Branches: the 1978 constitution established a strong presidential form of government under J. R. Jayewardene, who had been Prime Minister since his party's election victory in July 1977; Jayewardene will remain President until 1984, regardless of whether Parliament is dissolved and subsequent parliamentary elections are held; when Jayewardene's term in office expires, a new President will be chosen by a direct national election for a six-year term
Government leader: President J. R. JAYEWARDENE
Suffrage: universal over age 18
Elections: national elections, ordinarily held every six years; must be held more frequently if government loses confidence vote; last election held July 1977
Political parties and leaders: Sri Lanka Freedom Party—Sirimavo, Sirimavo Ratwatte Dias Bandaranaike, president, and Sri Lanka Freedom Party—Maitwripala, Maitwripala Senanayake, president (this split in the SLFP may eventually be resolved; both sides allege to be the "official" SLFP; Lanka Sama Samaja Party (Trotskyite), C. R. de Silva, president; Naya Sama Samaja Party, V. Nanayakkara, leader; Tamil United Liberation Front, A. Amirthalingam, leader; United National Party, J. R. Jayewardene; Communist Party/Moscow, K. P. Silva, general secretary; Communist Party/Peking, N. Shanmugathasan, general secretary; Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (People's United Front), M. B. Ratnayaka, president; Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (People's Liberation Front), Rohana Wijeweera, leader
Voting strength (1977 election): 30% Sri Lanka Freedom Party, 51% United National Party, 3.9% Lanka Sama Samaja Party, 1.8% Communist Party/Moscow, 6.5% TULF minor parties and independents accounted for remainder
Communists: approximately 107,000 voted for the Communist Party in the July 1977 general election; Communist Party/Moscow approximately 5,000 members (1975), Communist Party/Peking 1,000 members (1970 est.)
Other political or pressure groups: Buddhist clergy, Sinhalese Buddhist lay groups; far-left violent revolutionary groups; labor unions
Member of: ADB, ANRPC, Colombo Plan, Commonwealth, FAO, G-77, GATT (de facto), IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMCO, IMF, IPU, ITU, NAM, UN,
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