Sri Lanka is located 7
degrees north of the equator, off the southern tip
of India. It has an area of 65,610 square kilometers
- slightly larger than the west Virginia.
Climate
The southern and western regions have only two
seasons, wet and wetter. Despite being a tropical
island some parts of the country can almost be
mistaken for deserts. Other regions rainy and dry
seasons.
Population
The population of Sri Lanka is almost 19 million.
The major ethnic groups are Singhalese 74%, Tamils
18%, Muslims 7% and others 1%.
Religion
Buddhist, Hindus, Christians and Islamic.
Languages
The official languages are Sinhala, Tamil and
English. English is widely spoken throughout Sri
Lanka except, in remote villages.
Economy
Sri Lanka's Economy has depended on agriculture and
plantation crops since its pre independence era. The
major export crops continue to be Tea, Rubber and
Coconut. However the economy has diversified and the
Garment sector is the top earner, followed by
fisheries and Tourism have become major foreign
exchange earners for the country.
Currency
The rupee is the official currency of Sri Lanka,
divided into 100 cents. The currency code is LKR. It
is issued by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.
In December 2005, a new set of coins with
denominations 5 rupee, 2 rupee, 1 rupee, 50 cents
and 25 cents have been released, for circulation
among side the older coins.
Credit Cards
Major Credit cards such as Visa, MasterCard and
American Express are accepted.
International Airport
Colombo Airport, Katunayake. (AKA Bandaranaike
International Airport)
Holidays
Every Full moon day is " Poya day". On these days no
alcohol is sold. However some hotels make special
exceptions for hotel guests.
