Ayubowan ! "May you be blessed with long life"

Name	Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
Conventional short form	Sri Lanka
Former Names	Teprobane, Serendib, Ceylon
Time Difference	Sri Lanka's standard time is 6 hours ahead of Greenwich. (GMT +05:30) Colombo.
Legislative Capital	Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte
Commercial Capital	Colombo
Independence	4 February 1948 (from UK)

Geography

Sri Lanka, an island in the Indian Ocean is located to the south of the Indian subcontinent. It lies between 50 55' and 90 55' north of the equator and between the eastern longitudes 790 42' and 810 53'. The total land area is 65,610 sq.km, encompass beautiful tropical beaches, verdant vegetation, ancient monuments and a thousand delights to please all tastes. The relief features of the island consist of a mountainous mass somewhat south of the center, with height exceeding 2,500 metres, surrounded by broad plains. Palm fringed beaches surround the island and the sea temperature rarely falls below 27oC. Highest Water fall Bambarakanda – 241 meters Highest Peak Pidurutalagala – 2524 meters Longest River Mahaweli River – 335 km

CLIMATE Average Temperature 27 C in the lowland 15 C at Nuwara Eliya (altitude 1800 m). Rainy Seasons South west Monsoon - (May to August)North East Monsoon - (November to February)Climatically, Sri Lanka has no off-season. Bright sunny warm days are the rule and are common even during the wet season. Natural resources limestone, graphite, mineral sands, gems, phosphates, clay, hydropower Natural hazards occasional cyclones and tornadoes

Population

Sri Lanka has a population of 20.0 million of whom the majority are Sinhalese (74%). Other ethnic groups are made up of Sri Lankan Tamils (12.6%), Indian Tamils (5.5), Moors, Malays, Burghers (of Portuguese & Dutch descent) and others (7.9%).

Religion

Although Sri Lanka is a multi-religious country, Buddhists constitute the majority with 69.3%. Other religious groups are Hindus 15.5%, Muslims 7.6% and Christians 7.5%. Sri Lanka's literacy rate of 90.1% is one of the highest in Asia. Sri Lnaka is a land of religious freedom and tolerance. Wherever you travel you will come across a Buddhist Temple or Dagoba, a Hindu Kovil, a Christian Church or a Mosque, each with its own distinctive architecture. When you are visiting holy places, please conform to the requirements as regards dress in order not to show disrespect.

Language

Sinhala and Tamil are official languages in Sri Lanka. Sinhala, a language of Indo-Aryan origin is the language of the majority. English is widely spoken and understood. Place names and sign-boards on buses and trains are usually in all three languages.

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