Climate: tropical monsoon; northeast monsoon (December to March); southwest monsoon (June to October)
Terrain: mostly low, flat to rolling plain; mountains in south-central interior lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Pidurutalagala 2,524 m
Natural resources: limestone, graphite, mineral sands, gems,
phosphates, clay
Land use:
arable land: 16%
permanent crops: 17%
meadows and pastures: 7%
forest and woodland: 37%
other: 23%
Irrigated land: 5,600 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment:
current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; wildlife populations
threatened by poaching; coastal degradation from mining activities
and increased pollution; freshwater resources being polluted by
industrial wastes and sewage runoff
natural hazards: occasional cyclones and tornadoes
international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes,
Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands,
Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Marine Life Conservation
Geographic note: strategic location near major Indian Ocean sea
lanes
People ———
Population: 18,553,074 (July 1996 est.) note: since the outbreak of hostilities between the government and armed Tamil separatists in the mid-1980s, several hundred thousand Tamil civilians have fled the island; as of late 1992, nearly 115,000 were housed in refugee camps in south India, another 95,000 lived outside the Indian camps, and more than 200,000 Tamils have sought political asylum in the West
Age structure:
0-14 years: 28% (male 2,673,943; female 2,559,569)
15-64 years: 66% (male 6,023,759; female 6,171,964)
65 years and over: 6% (male 553,940; female 569,899) (July 1996 est.)