republic; authoritarian presidential rule, with little power outside the executive branch
republic
Independence date
1 September 1991 (from Soviet Union)
4 February 1948 (from UK)
Religions
Muslim 88% (mostly Sunnis), Eastern Orthodox 9%, other 3%
Buddhist 69.1%, Muslim 7.6%, Hindu 7.1%, Christian 6.2%, unspecified 10% (2001 census provisional data)
Languages
Uzbek 74.3%, Russian 14.2%, Tajik 4.4%, other 7.1%
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
Exports
cotton, gold, energy products, mineral fertilizers, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, textiles, food products, machinery, automobiles
textiles and apparel, tea and spices; diamonds, emeralds, rubies; coconut products, rubber manufactures, fish
External Debt
$8,570,000,000 $
$22,810,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
Uzbekistani soum (UZS) per US dollar - 1,317 (2008 est.), 1,263.8 (2007), 1,219.8 (2006), 1,020 (2005), 971.265 (2004)
Sri Lankan rupees (LKR) per US dollar - 108.33 (2008), 110.78 (2007), 103.99 (2006), 100.498 (2005), 101.194 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
3.500%
2.600%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
6
0
Location
Central Asia, north of Afghanistan
Southern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of India
Area
447,400 km sq
65,610 km sq
Coastline
0 km
1,340 km
Climate
mostly midlatitude desert, long, hot summers, mild winters; semiarid grassland in east
tropical monsoon; northeast monsoon (December to March); southwest monsoon (June to October)
