Religions: Buddhism (69%), Hinduism (15%), Christianity (8%), and Islam (7%).Īgricultural products: Paddy, maha, yala, rubber, tea, coconut.Īgriculture products: Rice, sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseed, spices, heavy in southwest, summer and fall, with averageĮthnic groups: Sinhalese (74%), Tamils (18%), Moor 7%, Burgher, Malay, and Vedda In south-central Sri Lanka rise to 2 133 meters (7 000 ft.).Ĭlimate: Tropical rainy seasons-light in northeast, fall and winter, Terrain: Coastal plains in the northern third of country hills and mountains Location: Asia, south of the Indian subcontinent. Independence: 4 February 1948 (from the UK) The city of Sri Jayewardenepura-Kotte is the officially designated capitalĬity and is the seat of Sri Lanka's Parliament, but it is currently just the administrativeĭehiwala-Mount Lavinia (210 000), Moratuwa (200 000), Kandy (150 000), Jaffna (100 000), Galle (80 000), Anuradhapura (50 000). (former names: Kalan-totta, Kola-amba-thota) Related countries: China, India, Netherlands,Ĭapital: Colombo (pop. Since the end of the conflict, the government has enacted an ambitious program of economic development projects, many of which are financed by loans from the Government of China. In May 2009 government forces defeated the LTTE.
Violence between the LTTE and government forces intensified in 2006, but neither side has formally withdrawn from the cease-fire. After twoĭecades of fighting, the government and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) formalizedĪ cease-fire in February 2002, with Norway brokering peace negotiations. Thousands have died in an ethnic conflict that continues to fester. The Sinhalese majority and Tamil separatists erupted into war in 1983. Independent in 1948 its name was changed to Sri Lanka in 1972. In the 17th century, the island was ceded to the British in 1796, became a crownĬolony in 1802, and was united under British rule by 1815. Occupied by the Portuguese in the 16th century and by the Dutch In the 14th century, a south Indian dynasty seized power in the north and establishedĪ Tamil kingdom. Buddhism was introduced beginning in about the mid-third centuryī.C., and a great civilization developed at the cities of Anuradhapura (kingdomįrom circa 200 B.C. The Sinhalese arrived in Sri Lanka late in the 6th century B.C., probably from
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