![cover image](https://wikiwandv2-19431.kxcdn.com/_next/image?url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/11/Flag_of_Sri_Lanka.svg/langsimple-640px-Flag_of_Sri_Lanka.svg.png&w=640&q=50)
Sri Lanka
island country in South Asia / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (ශ්රී ලංකා in Sinhala, இலங்கை in Tamil) is a tropical island nation off the southeast coast of the Indian subcontinent. The capital of the country is Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte while the largest city is Colombo. Sri Lanka shares a sea boundary with the Maldives in the south-west part and India in the north-west.
Quick Facts Sinhala:, Tamil: ...
Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka | |
---|---|
Anthem: "Sri Lanka Matha" (English: "Mother Sri Lanka") | |
![]() | |
Capital | Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte (legislative)[1] Colombo (executive and judicial)[2] 6°56′N 79°52′E |
Largest city | Colombo |
Official languages | Sinhala Tamil[3] |
Recognised languages | English |
Ethnic groups (2012[4]) | 74.9% Sinhalese 11.2% Sri Lankan Tamils 9.2% Sri Lankan Moors 4.2% Indian Tamils 0.5% Others (incl. Burghers, Malays, Veddas, Chinese, |
Religion (2012) | 70.2% Buddhism (official)[5] 12.6% Hinduism 9.7% Islam 7.4% Christianity 0.1% Other/None |
Demonym(s) | Sri Lankan |
Government | Unitary parliamentary constitutional republic |
Ranil Wickremesinghe | |
Dinesh Gunawardena | |
Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena[6] | |
Jayantha Jayasuriya | |
Legislature | Parliament |
Independence from the United Kingdom | |
• Dominion | 4 February 1948 |
• Republic | 22 May 1972 |
7 September 1978 | |
Area | |
• Total | 65,610 km2 (25,330 sq mi) (120th) |
• Water (%) | 4.4 |
Population | |
• 2019 estimate | ![]() |
• 2012 census | 20,277,597[8] |
• Density | 327/km2 (846.9/sq mi) (43rd) |
GDP (PPP) | 2020 estimate |
• Total | ![]() |
• Per capita | ![]() |
GDP (nominal) | 2020 estimate |
• Total | ![]() |
• Per capita | ![]() |
Gini (2016) | 39.8[10] medium |
HDI (2019) | ![]() high · 72nd |
Currency | Sri Lankan rupee (Rs) (LKR) |
Time zone | UTC+5:30 (SLST) |
Date format |
|
Driving side | left |
Calling code | +94 |
ISO 3166 code | LK |
Internet TLD |
|
Website www |
Close
It was known as Ceylon before 1972, and Serendib and Sinhale, among other names, before that. It was South Asia's oldest democracy.