The Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is an island in the Indian Ocean, slightly larger than West Virginia, approximately 64,740 square kilometers. It is divided into 9 provinces and 25 districts with a population of 20,926,315. The capital is Colombo. The climate is tropical and very hot.
The Sinhalese peoples arrived in the late 6th century B.C. In the 14th century a south Indian dynasty seized power and established a Tamil kingdom. The island was occupied by the Portuguese in the 16th century and by the Dutch in the 17th century and then ceded to the British in 1796. In 1948 Ceylon became an independent republic. In 1972 the name was changed to Sri Lanka.
The government is a mix of presidential and parliamentary. The President is popularly elected for a six-year term. His cabinet is chosen from the 225 member legislature.
For most of the 19th and 20th centuries, Sri Lanka was a plantation economy. They were famous for the production and export of cinnamon, rubber and Ceylon tea. Today they are engaged in food processing, textiles, telecommunications and insurance and banking. The currency is the Sri Lankan rupee.
Tensions between the Sinhalese majority and Tamil separatists erupted into war in 1983. Although there have been negotiated cease fires, two decades of fighting has cast a shadow over the economy.
A major tsunami took approximately 31,000 lives in December 2004.
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