:Sri Lanka Government
Long-form name:
Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
Type:
republic
Capital:
Colombo
Administrative divisions:
the administrative structure now includes 9 provinces - Central, Eastern,
North, North Central, North Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Uva, and
Western and 24 districts - Amparai, Anuradhapura, Badulla, Batticaloa,
Colombo, Galle, Gampaha, Hambantota, Jaffna, Kalutara, Kandy, Kegalla,
Kurunegala, Mannar, Matale, Matara, Moneragala, Mullaittivu, Nuwara Eliya,
Polonnaruwa, Puttalam, Ratnapura, Trincomalee, Vavuniya; note - in the
future there may be only 8 provinces (combining the two provinces of North
and Eastern into one province of North Eastern) and 25 districts (adding
Kilinochchi to the existing districts)
Independence:
4 February 1948 (from UK; formerly Ceylon)
Constitution:
31 August 1978
Legal system:
a highly complex mixture of English common law, Roman-Dutch, Muslim,
Sinhalese, and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday:
Independence and National Day, 4 February (1948)
Executive branch:
president, prime minister, Cabinet
Legislative branch:
unicameral Parliament
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court
Leaders:
Chief of State:
President Ranasinghe PREMADASA (since 2 January 1989)
Head of Government:
Prime Minister Dingiri Banda WIJETUNGE (since 6 March 1989)
Political parties and leaders:
United National Party (UNP), Ranasinghe PREMADASA; Sri Lanka Freedom Party
(SLFP), Sirimavo BANDARANAIKE; Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC), M. H. M.
ASHRAFF; All Ceylon Tamil Congress (ACTC), Kumar PONNAMBALAM; People's
United Front (MEP, or Mahajana Eksath Peramuna), Dinesh GUNAWARDENE; Eelam
Democratic Front (EDF), Edward Sebastian PILLAI; Tamil United Liberation
Front (TULF), leader (vacant); Eelam Revolutionary Organization of Students
(EROS), Velupillai BALAKUMARAN; New Socialist Party (NSSP, or Nava Sama
Samaja Party), Vasudeva NANAYAKKARA; Lanka Socialist Party/Trotskyite (LSSP,
or Lanka Sama Samaja Party), Colin R. de SILVA; Sri Lanka People's Party
(SLMP, or Sri Lanka Mahajana Party), Ossie ABEYGUNASEKERA; Communist Party,
K. P. SILVA; Communist Party/Beijing (CP/B), N. SHANMUGATHASAN; note - the
United Socialist Alliance (USA) includes the NSSP, LSSP, SLMP, CP/M, and
CP/B
Suffrage:
universal at age 18
Elections:
President:
last held 19 December 1988 (next to be held NA December 1994); results -
Ranasinghe PREMADASA (UNP) 50%, Sirimavo BANDARANAIKE (SLFP) 45%, other 5%
:Sri Lanka Government
Parliament:
last held 15 February 1989 (next to be held by NA February 1995); results -
UNP 51%, SLFP 32%, SLMC 4%, TULF 3%, USA 3%, EROS 3%, MEP 1%, other 3%;
seats - (225 total) UNP 125, SLFP 67, other 33
Other political or pressure groups:
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and other smaller Tamil separatist
groups; Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP or People's Liberation Front);
Buddhist clergy; Sinhalese Buddhist lay groups; labor unions
Member of:
AsDB, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-24, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC,
ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC,
ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM, PCA, SAARC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU,
WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation:
Ambassador W. Susanta De ALWIS; Chancery at 2148 Wyoming Avenue NW,
Washington, DC 20008; telephone (202) 483-4025 through 4028; there is a Sri
Lankan Consulate in New York
US:
Ambassador Marion V. CREEKMORE, Jr.; Embassy at 210 Galle Road, Colombo 3
(mailing address is P. O. Box 106, Colombo); telephone [94] (1) 44180107,
FAX [94] (1) 43-73-45
Flag:
yellow with two panels; the smaller hoist-side panel has two equal vertical
bands of green (hoist side) and orange; the other panel is a large dark red
rectangle with a yellow lion holding a sword, and there is a yellow bo leaf
in each corner; the yellow field appears as a border that goes around the
entire flag and extends between the two panels
:Sri Lanka Economy
Overview:
Agriculture, forestry, and fishing dominate the economy, employing half of
the labor force and accounting for one quarter of GDP. The plantation crops
of tea, rubber, and coconuts provide about one-third of export earnings. The
economy has been plagued by high rates of unemployment since the late 1970s.
Economic growth, which has been depressed by ethnic unrest, accelerated in
1991 as domestic conditions began to improve.
GDP:
exchange rate conversion - $7.2 billion, per capita $410; real growth rate
5.0% (1991 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
10% (1991)
Unemployment rate:
14% (1991 est.)
Budget:
revenues $2.0 billion; expenditures $3.7 billion, including capital
expenditures of $500 million (1992)
Exports:
$2.3 billion (f.o.b., 1991)
commodities:
textiles and garment, teas, petroleum products, coconut, rubber,
agricultural products, gems and jewelry, marine products
partners:
US 25%, FRG, Japan, UK, Belgium, Taiwan, Hong Kong, China
Imports:
$3.0 billion (c.i.f., 1991)
commodities:
food and beverages, textiles and textile materials, petroleum, machinery and
equipment
partners:
Japan, Iran, US 7.7%, India, Taiwan, Singapore, FRG, UK
External debt:
$5.8 billion (1990)
Industrial production:
growth rate 8% (1991 est.); accounts for 20% of GDP
Electricity:
1,300,000 kW capacity; 4,200 million kWh produced, 240 kWh per capita (1990)
Industries:
processing of rubber, tea, coconuts, and other agricultural commodities;
cement, petroleum refining, textiles, tobacco, clothing
Agriculture:
accounts for 26% of GDP and nearly half of labor force; most important
staple crop is paddy rice; other field crops - sugarcane, grains, pulses,
oilseeds, roots, spices; cash crops - tea, rubber, coconuts; animal products
- milk, eggs, hides, meat; not self-sufficient in rice production
Economic aid:
US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $1.0 billion; Western (non-US)
countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1980-89), $5.1 billion; OPEC
bilateral aid (1979-89), $169 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $369
million
Currency:
Sri Lankan rupee (plural - rupees); 1 Sri Lankan rupee (SLRe) = 100 cents
Exchange rates:
Sri Lankan rupees (SLRes) per US$1 - 43.112 (March 1992), 41.372 (1991),
40.063 (1990), 36.047 (1989), 31.807 (1988), 29.445 (1987)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
:Sri Lanka Communications
Railroads:
1,948 km total (1990); all 1.868-meter broad gauge; 102 km double track; no
electrification; government owned
Highways:
75,749 km total (1990); 27,637 km paved (mostly bituminous treated), 32,887
km crushed stone or gravel, 14,739 km improved earth or unimproved earth;
several thousand km of mostly unmotorable tracks (1988 est.)
Inland waterways:
430 km; navigable by shallow-draft craft
Pipelines:
crude oil and petroleum products 62 km (1987)
Ports:
Colombo, Trincomalee
Merchant marine:
30 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 310,173 GRT/489,378 DWT; includes 13
cargo, 6 refrigerated cargo, 5 container, 3 petroleum tanker, 3 bulk
Civil air:
8 major transport (including 1 leased)
Airports:
14 total, 13 usable; 12 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways
over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 7 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications:
good international service; 114,000 telephones (1982); broadcast stations -
12 AM, 5 FM, 5 TV; submarine cables extend to Indonesia and Djibouti; 2
Indian Ocean INTELSAT earth stations
:Sri Lanka Defense Forces
Branches:
Army, Navy, Air Force, Police Force
Manpower availability:
males 15-49, 4,709,203; 3,678,952 fit for military service; 177,554 reach
military age (18) annually
Defense expenditures:
exchange rate conversion - $432 million, 6% of GDP (1991)
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