Ceylon" redirects here. For the time period of 1948–1972, see Dominion of Ceylon. For other uses, see Ceylon (disambiguation).
| Democratic Socialist Republic ofSri Lanka
ශ්රී ලංකා ප්රජාතාන්ත්රික සමාජවාදී ජනරජය
இலங்கை ஜனநாயக சோசலிசக் குடியரசு | ||||||
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| Anthem: Sri Lanka Matha Mother Sri Lanka | ||||||
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_-_LKA_-_UNOCHA.svg) | ||||||
| Capital | Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte (Administrative)  Colombo (Commercial)6°56′N 79°50′E | |||||
| Largest city | Colombo | |||||
| Official languages | ||||||
| Recognized | English | |||||
| Demonym | Sri Lankan | |||||
| Government | Unitary semi-presidentialconstitutional republic | |||||
| - | President | Mahinda Rajapaksa | ||||
| - | Prime Minister | D. M. Jayaratne | ||||
| - | Speaker of the Parliament | Chamal Rajapaksa | ||||
| - | Chief Justice | Mohan Peiris[1] | ||||
| Legislature | Parliament | |||||
| Independence from the United Kingdom | ||||||
| - | Dominion | 4 February 1948 | ||||
| - | Republic | 22 May 1972 | ||||
| - | Current constitution | 7 September 1978 | ||||
| Area | ||||||
| - | Total | 65,610 km2 (122nd) 25,332 sq mi | ||||
| - | Water (%) | 4.4 | ||||
| Population | ||||||
| - | 2012 census | 20,277,597[2] (57th) | ||||
| - | Density | 323/km2 (40th) 836.6/sq mi | ||||
| GDP (PPP) | 2014 estimate | |||||
| - | Total | $142.719 billion[3] (64th) | ||||
| - | Per capita | $7,046[3] (99th) | ||||
| GDP (nominal) | 2014 estimate | |||||
| - | Total | $70.966 billion[3] (68th) | ||||
| - | Per capita | $3,385[3] (122nd) | ||||
| Gini (2010) | 36.4[4] medium | |||||
| HDI (2013) |  0.750[5]high · 73rd | |||||
| Currency | Sri Lankan rupee (LKR) | |||||
| Time zone | SLST (UTC+5:30) | |||||
| Date format | dd/mm/yyyy (AD) | |||||
| Drives on the | left | |||||
| Calling code | +94 | |||||
| ISO 3166 code | LK | |||||
| Internet TLD | ||||||
Sri Lanka (/sriːˈlɑːŋkə, -ˈlæŋkə/ or 
i/ʃriː-/;[6][7] śrī laṃkāva, ilaṅkai), officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an island country in the northern Indian Ocean off the coast of South India in South Asia. Known until 1972 as Ceylon(/sɨˈlɒnˌ seɪ-ˌ siː-/), Sri Lanka has maritime borders with India to the northwest and the Maldives to the southwest.
i/ʃriː-/;[6][7] śrī laṃkāva, ilaṅkai), officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an island country in the northern Indian Ocean off the coast of South India in South Asia. Known until 1972 as Ceylon(/sɨˈlɒnˌ seɪ-ˌ siː-/), Sri Lanka has maritime borders with India to the northwest and the Maldives to the southwest.
Sri Lanka has a documented history that spans over 3,000 years, but there are theories to suggest that Sri Lanka had pre-historic human settlements dating back to at least 125,000 years.[8] Its geographic location and deep harbours made it of great strategic importance from the time of the ancient Silk Road[9] through to World War II.[10] Sri Lanka is a diverse country, home to many religions, ethnicities and languages.[11] It is the land of the Sinhalese, Sri Lankan Tamils, Moors, Indian Tamils, Burghers,Malays, Kaffirs and the aboriginal Vedda.[12] Sri Lanka has a rich Buddhist heritage, and the first known Buddhist writings of Sri Lanka, the Pāli Canon, dates back to the Fourth Buddhist Council in 29 BCE.[13][14] The country's recent history has been marred by a thirty-year civil war which decisively ended when Sri Lankan military defeated Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in 2009.[15]
Sri Lanka is a republic and a unitary state governed by a presidential system. The capital, Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, is a suburb of the largest city, Colombo. It is also an important producer of tea, coffee, gemstones, coconuts, rubber, and the nativecinnamon,[16] the island contains tropical forests and diverse landscapes with a high amount of biodiversity.
The country has had a long history of international engagement, as a founding member of SAARC and a member of the United Nations, the Commonwealth of Nations, the G77, and the Non-Aligned Movement. It is the only country in South Asia that is currently rated "high" on the Human Development Index.[5]
