| Location: | Southern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of India |
| Population: | 19,742,439 (2003 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 yearend 2000, approximately 65,000 were housed in 131 refugee camps in south India, another 40,000 lived outside the Indian camps, and more than 200,000 Tamils have sought refuge in the West (July 2003 est.) |
| Capital: | Colombo; note - Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte is the legislative capital |
| GDP per capita: | purchasing power parity - $3,700 (2002 est.) |
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