King: Albert II Prime Minister-designate: Elio di Rupo
Population
21,481,334
10,438,353
Life Expectancy
75.940 years
79.650 years
Capital City
Colombo
Brussels
Largest city
Colombo (population: 648,034)
Brussels (population: 1,019,020)
Human Development Index
0.742
0.948
GDP per capita
$5,700 US
$38,200 US
Literacy Rate
90.7%
99%
Corruption Perception Index
3.2
7.3
Percentage of Women in Parliament
5.8%
36.2%
Wealthiest Citizens
NA
Albert Frere ($2.4bn US)
Unemployment Rate
4.200%
7.700%
Death Penalty
Abolished in practice
Abolished
Political System
republic
federal parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy
Independence date
4 February 1948 (from UK)
4 October 1830 (a provisional government declared independence from the Netherlands); 21 July 1831 (King LEOPOLD I ascended to the throne)
Religions
Buddhist 69.1%, Muslim 7.6%, Hindu 7.1%, Christian 6.2%, unspecified 10% (2001 census provisional data)
Roman Catholic 75%, other (includes Protestant) 25%
Languages
Sinhala (official and national language) 74%, Tamil (national language) 18%, other 8% note: English is commonly used in government and is spoken competently by about 10% of the population
Dutch (official) 60%, French (official) 40%, German (official) less than 1%, legally bilingual (Dutch and French)
Exports
textiles and apparel, tea and spices; diamonds, emeralds, rubies; coconut products, rubber manufactures, fish
machinery and equipment, chemicals, diamonds, metals and metal products, foodstuffs
External Debt
$22,810,000,000 $
$1,399,000,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
Sri Lankan rupees (LKR) per US dollar - 108.33 (2008), 110.78 (2007), 103.99 (2006), 100.498 (2005), 101.194 (2004)
euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.6802 (2008), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
2.600%
1.300%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
0
2
Location
Southern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of India
Western Europe, bordering the North Sea, between France and the Netherlands
Area
65,610 km sq
30,528 km sq
Coastline
1,340 km
67 km
Climate
tropical monsoon; northeast monsoon (December to March); southwest monsoon (June to October)
