Sri Lanka, the “Wonder of Asia”, formerly known as Ceylon, has long served as an important strategic destination in the Indian Ocean, catering to merchants and travellers from South-east Asia, India, the Middle East and East Africa. The island was visited and marvelled at by the likes of Marco Polo, who called it “the finest island of its size in the world”, long before the arrival of imperialist nations. A rich colonial history, including Portuguese, Dutch and British rule, is visible in Sri Lanka today, as are its Buddhist and Hindu traditions.
While much of the country’s recent history has been tainted by a decades-long civil war, post-conflict euphoria brought a sense of renewal and optimism to the island nation. A new administration, elected in 2015, has pledged its commitment to inclusive governance and economic reform, as well as rebalancing its foreign policy and reconciling with the country’s ethnic minorities.
Geography
Sri Lanka is a teardrop-shaped island in the Indian Ocean just south of the southernmost tip of the Indian subcontinent, comprising 65,610 sq km of land mass and 1340 km of coastline. Geologically, it is considered an extension of the Indian peninsula, sharing the same continental shelf. The majority of the island is made up of flat or rolling low-lying lands, gradually increasing in altitude from the coast, with periodic rocky buttes and mounds of up to 300 metres in height. A mountainous south-central interior is characterised by basins, valleys and escarpments, most spectacularly seen at World’s End, a 1200-metre outcrop and viewing point. The highest point in Sri Lanka is Pidurutalagala, reaching 2524 metres. Most of the country’s coastline is made up of sandy beaches and lagoons. Sri Lanka contains more than 100 rivers, most of which are small and only present during the wet season. Some 75% of annual water discharge is accounted for by 12 rivers. Sri Lanka is known for its enormous biodiversity spread across jungle, forest and a number of national parks.
Climate
Sri Lanka has two tropical Indian Ocean monsoons annually, a factor which heavily influences its climate. The Yala Monsoon between May and August brings rainfall to the south and west coasts, along with the hill country, while the Mala Monsoon, between October and January, affects the east and north coasts. Rainfall averages a minimum of 127 cm annually across the island, though the highlands can see as much as 380 cm a year. Temperatures vary between the country’s coastline and its mountainous interior, though the island is categorised as largely tropical. Monthly temperature averages in the lowlands fluctuate between 22°C and 33°C, while temperatures in the Central Highlands sit between 7°C and 21.6°C. Extensive droughts, floods and landslides are the most common natural disasters in the country.
Resources
Sri Lanka possesses quantities of graphite, limestone, mineral sands, phosphates and clay. Some 20.7% of the country’s land mass is arable, while 15.8% is set aside for permanent crops and 7% for permanent pasture. Sri Lanka is also home to over 70 of the world’s 200 varieties of coloured gemstones, making it one of the most important gem-bearing nations in the world. The country also hosts multiple blocks of natural gas deposits in the Mannar Basin, which lies off the west coast of the island, and generates hydropower from its network of rivers. Both regional plantation companies and smallholders grow tea, natural rubber, and, to a lesser extent, coconuts and oil palm.
Demographics
According to the last Census of Population and Housing, conducted in 2012, of Sri Lanka’s 20.3m people, the country’s ethnic majority are Sinhalese (74.9%) concentrated in the island’s south and interior. Tamils make up 15.4% of the population, split between Sri Lankan Tamils and Indian Origin Tamils. The remaining portion is made up of Sri Lankan Moors, Burghers (descendants of Dutch and Portuguese settlers), Malay, Sri Lankan Chetty, and Veddhas. Updated estimates from July 2015 place the current population at around 22m, growing at 0.84% annually. The capital city is Colombo, with a population of 2.3m, according to the last census. Other major population centres include Galle, Kandy, Jaffa and Trincomalee.
In 2012 the World Bank reported that, unlike the majority of nations in South Asia, the population of Sri Lanka is steadily ageing. The study estimated that by the year 2041, one in four Sri Lankans would be over the age of 60, doubling the figure of 12.5% in 2012. Official figures have put the rate of urbanisation at 18.4%, but this is considered an anomaly in the country’s classification system, with actual numbers sitting closer to 48%, according to Sri Lanka’s Urban Development Authority.
Language
Under the 1978 Sri Lankan Constitution, both Sinhala, of Indo-Aryan origin, and Tamil, of Dravidian origin, are cited as official national languages, though language itself has long been a divisive issue in the country, particularly in the lead up to the 25-year civil war. English was the official language for civil servants during the British era, and the language is currently spoken competently by an estimated 10% of the population. It is still commonly used in government and it is inscribed in the constitution as a “link language”.
Religion & Culture
According to the official 2012 census, 70.2% of Sri Lankans practice Buddhism, with the practising majority concentrated in the country’s Sinhalese population. The island is characterised by an orthodox school of Buddhism, called Theravada Buddhism, which has literary traditions in the Pali language, also prevalent in Myanmar and Thailand. An additional 12.6% of the population practices Hinduism and 9.7% practice Islam. The majority of the country’s Tamil population is Hindu, with a smaller concentration of Muslims, most of whom are descendants of Arab traders. A further 7.4% of the country is Christian, the majority of whom are Roman Catholic.
Sri Lankan culture is heavily influenced by its colonial history, as well as long-standing ties with the Indian subcontinent and Buddhist or Hindu religious origins. There are six UNESCO World Heritage Sites on the island, including the Ancient City of Sigiriya, the Old Town of Galle and its fortifications, and the Old Temple of Dambulla. The country is internationally associated with the sport of cricket, which is played at professional level.
Economy
Sri Lanka’s GDP reached $82.2bn in 2015, increasing at a rate of more than 6% per annum. This growth has been driven in large part by consumption, with a continued decline in exports as a percentage of GDP. The country’s GDP derives primarily from the services sector (61.7%), industry (30.1%) and agriculture (8.3%), according to information distributed by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.
Though lacking indigenous raw materials, quality garments have grown to become Sri Lanka’s most important export item, constituting 44.5% of total exports in 2015. These are followed by tea (13%), rubber-based products (7.7%), coconut-based products (5.1%), spices and allied products (3.6%), gems and jewellery (2.3%) and fish (1,5%). The country is also nurturing more technology-based services, attempting to boost IT exports and business process outsourcing, already a burgeoning industry (6.3%).
With diverse destination offerings, including beaches, mountain plateaus and ancient cities, the post-civil war era has brought about a surge in tourist numbers. Tourists typically come from Western markets, though there has been a recent increase in visitors from South-east Asia.
Sri Lanka’s public debt portfolio reached 74% of GDP in 2015, and debt-servicing payments coupled with an expansive public sector typically contribute to the budget deficit, which equalled 6% by end-2015. A low tax collection rate, currently at 12.2%, remains a concern, as do import volumes and a trade deficit, which amounted to $8.3bn in 2015. Around $7bn in inward remittances continue to help counter many of these challenges.
Government Structure
The Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka gained independence from the British government in 1948. It is governed by Sri Lanka’s constitution, ratified in 1978 and amended numerous times, most recently in 2015. Well-contested elections have resulted in several orderly changes of power since induction, largely considered to be free and fair.
The conservative United National Party and the more liberal Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) have been at the forefront of politics since independence. Each party in power has, at times, arranged coalitions with smaller parties, such as the SLFPled United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA). The Buddhist clergy and labour unions maintain heavy influence in political dialogue and decision-making.
The executive branch of the Sri Lankan government consists of a president, who functions as both head of state and head of government; a prime minister, appointed by the president; and a cabinet appointed by the president in consultation with the prime minister. The president is directly elected by popular vote through preferential majority to a maximum of two six-year terms. He concurrently serves as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, and retains the ability to dissolve parliament.
The legislative branch consists of a unicameral parliament of 225 seats serving six-year terms, 196 of which are directly elected into multi-seat constituencies, and 29 seats allocated to political parties as a share of the national vote. To qualify for a seat a party is required to secure 5% of the vote. Voting is carried out on a preferential basis, choosing from three suitable candidates.
The Courts
The Supreme Court of the Republic is the highest-ranking court, consisting of a chief justice appointed by the president, and a maximum of 10 other justices. Below it sits a court of appeals, high courts, municipal courts and primary courts, along with a number of tribunals. There are 54 judicial districts in Sri Lanka. Its legal system is a mix of Roman-Dutch civil law and a number of customary indigenous laws, including Kandyan Law and Theswalamai Law, which apply more to personal affairs. The executive and judicial capital of Sri Lanka is its main urban centre, Colombo, while a Colombo suburb, Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, is its legislative capital and the location of its parliament.
The country is further divided into second-tier provincial councils and third-tier local government. While the Ministry of Local Government and Provincial Councils is responsible for national policymaking, the provincial and local authorities are largely responsible for implementation. The 13th amendment to the constitution, the Provincial Councils Act of 1987, legislates this political devolution to nine provincial councils further broken down into 25 districts and 329 divisional secretariats. Their responsibilities include law and order, economic planning, education, housing, agriculture, land use, and cooperative development. The supervision of local government is devolved to provincial councils. Each province has a governor who is appointed by the president to a five-year term, and executes policies through a board of ministers.
In addition, there are 335 local government authorities, including 23 municipal councils covering cities and larger towns, 41 urban councils covering smaller towns and less urbanised areas, and 271 rural pradeshiya sabhas – the smallest representative body in Sri Lanka. Municipal councils are headed by a mayor serving four-year terms and nominated by the party in power, while urban councils are headed by a full-time chairperson serving four years, also nominated by the presiding party. Local authorities are tasked with public health, utility service, and roads, as well as collection of tax and property rates. The pradeshiya sabhas have additional development responsibilities.
Human Development
According to the UN, Sri Lanka’s Human Development Index (HDI) in 2014 was 0.757, positioning it 73rd out of 188 countries surveyed and well above the average of 0.607 for South Asia. This is a 32.5% jump from 1980, when its HDI stood at 0.571. HDI takes into account life expectancy, gross national income (GNI) per capita and education, the results of which are released annually. GNI per capita in Sri Lanka sits at $3440, which is below the World Bank threshold of $4125 that separates lower-middle income and upper-middle income countries. Its poverty ratio was 6.7% when last calculated in 2012, a welcome decrease from the 22.7% measured in 2002.
On income inequality, Sri Lanka’s Gini coefficient, a measure of the deviation of the distribution of income amongst individuals and households, is 36.4, ranked 73 in the world, well above neighbouring India at 135th and Pakistan at 142nd. In terms of gender, the UN’s Gender Inequality Index places Sri Lanka at 0.370, ranking it 72nd out of 155 countries surveyed in 2014. Female participation in the workforce was 35.1%, versus 76.3% for men in 2013.
Sri Lanka has fared very well on a number of its UN Millennium Development Goals. According to the UN Development Programme, in 2012 it reached a literacy rate of 97.8% among 18-24-year-olds, while its net enrolment rate for primary education topped 99.7%, with the help of an expansive universal education system established in 1945. Meanwhile, free universal health care and a broad network of health institutions have increased life expectancy to 74.3 years, reduced infant mortality figures to 9.9 per 1000 live births and helped to lessen the burden of communicable diseases.
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