About Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is an extremely diverse country in terms of its history and culture. In an effort to help you better understand the island we have provided some general information. Please be advised that the information contained herein is liable to change without notice and as such you should consult a professional for more in depth data.

Official Name: Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. Also Known as Sri Lanka, Lanka/Ilankai, or Ceylon/Serendib.

Capital: The Capital of Sri Lanka is Colombo, a major city located in the country's south.

Location: The island of Sri Lanka is located in Southern Asia directly below India. The country has no land borders but is located between the Indian Ocean, Gulf of Mannar, and Bay of Bengal.

Size: Occupying a total area of 65,610 Sq Km, Sri Lanka is slightly larger than the American state of West Virginia.

Climate: Sri Lanka typically experiences two distinct seasons; the wet and the dry. The northeast monsoon season runs from December to March and the Southwest from June to October. It can be extremely wet in Sri Lanka during the monsoon season and flash floods are common.

Population: Sri Lanka has a total estimated population of approximately 20.9 million people. It is important to note however that since the 1980's several hundred thousand people have fled the island making an official tally hard to estimate.

Life expectancy at birth: The population of Sri Lanka has an average life expectancy at birth of 74.8 years old.

Prevalence of HIV/AIDS: There are approximately 3,500 people in Sri Lanka living with HIV/Aids. This is the equivalent of less than 0.1% of the total Sri Lankan population.

Major illnesses: There are a number of major illnesses endemic to Sri Lanka. Major health risks include Malaria, Multiple Drug Resistant Tuberculosis, Hepatitis A, B, and C, Dengue Fever, Avian Flu, Polio, Cholera and Typhoid.

Ethnic Groups: Sri Lanka, because of its diverse history, has a number of ethnic groups these include, Sinhalese 73.8%, Sri Lankan Moors 7.2%, Indian Tamil 4.6%, Sri Lankan Tamil 3.9%, other 0.5%, Unspecified Ethnicity 10%.

Languages: The official language of Sri Lanka is Sinhalese with 74% speaking it as their first language. 18% of the total population speaks Tamil and English is widely spoken (over 10% of the population are fluent) and is used extensively by the government.

Religion: The religion that is most prominently observed by the Sri Lankan population is Buddhism (69.1%) with Islam (7.6%) and Hindu (7.1%) lagging behind. 6.2% of the total population are practicing Christians or identify as such with 10% of the total population having no preference.

Government: Sri Lanka is a Republic; this means that the government is allowed to rule as long as it has consent from the people, with rule of law playing an important role in this. The “idea” of a republic can change dramatically between nations but typically countries that identify themselves as republics will rely on the consent of the people being governed for the current political administration.

Head of State: President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The president is also the head of the government, although this role is usually occupied by a ceremonial prime minister.

Head of Government: Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake is the ceremonial head of the Sri Lankan government. The Prime Minister has no official power.

Economy: Since the late 1970's Sri Lanka has been moving away from a socialist “state owned” economy and has been rapidly privatizing its major industries. This has been slowed by recent governments and the level of social investment, particularly in respect to social improvement schemes (such as education and social welfare) has increased. The Sri Lankan economy has shown incredible tenacity, and despite constant violence and social insurgency since the early 1980's has grown approximately 4.5% each year. This has lead many foreign owned and international corporations to reconsider their Sri Lankan investment strategies. Sri Lanka is a major exporter of food (especially teas), textiles, insurance and banking. The recent conflict between the official government and the LTTE however, continues giving rise to doubts about Sri Lanka's economic future success.

GDP: Sri Lanka has a purchasing power GDP of US$ 95.55 Billion with an official exchange rate of US$ 27.4 billion.

We can offer quality international health insurance products and services to expatriates and families in Sri Lanka and throughout the South East Asian Region. For more information about the quality international health insurance plans that we can provide for you, or to receive a free comprehensive quote, please contact us today.

 

For more information about Sri Lanka expat insurance, the international health insurance plans that we can offer, or to receive a free quote, please contact one of our expert advisers today.

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