Sri Lanka

Photograph by Priit Vesilind
Polonnaruwais an ancient city of Buddhist ruins—many of which date from the 12thcentury. The monuments include Kiri Vihara—Sri Lanka‘s best-preserveddogoba (stupa).
Sri Lanka Information and History
SriLanka (formerly known as Ceylon) is a tropical island lying close tothe southern tip of India and near the Equator. From the coast, theland rises to a central plateau, where tea plantations are found.Sinhalese form the country‘s major ethnic group (74 percent) and Tamilsare the largest minority, at 18 percent. Population density is highestin the island‘s southwest corner—where Colombo, the capital, islocated. The Tamil minority tends to be geographically concentratedalong the eastern and northern coastal areas.
Under Europeancontrol for some 450 years, Ceylon won independence from the UnitedKingdom in 1948 and changed its name in 1972. Since then a segment ofthe Tamil Hindu minority has pressured the Sinhalese Buddhist majorityfor a separate state. Conflict broke out in 1983 and escalated to civilwar. Violence continued after the assassination of President Premadasain 1993 by Tamil separatists. Thousands of lives have been lost.Hundreds of thousands of Tamil civilians have fled Sri Lanka. The civilwar has had a negative impact on economic growth, which is basedlargely on tea and garment manufacture. A cease-fire and politicalagreement between the government and Tamil rebels in 2002, raised hopesfor a lasting peace.
ECONOMY
Industry: rubber processing, tea, coconuts, other agricultural commodities; clothing, cement.
Agriculture: rice, sugarcane, grains, pulses; milk.
Exports: textiles and apparel, tea, diamonds, coconut products, petroleum products.
Text source: National Geographic Atlas of the World, Eighth Edition, 2004