| Local name: Sri Lanka Prajatantrica Samajavadi Janarajava |
| Surface : 65,525
sq km (25,299 sq miles) Sri Lanka is an island off the southeast
coast of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu |
| Population :
19,007,000 inhabitants |
| Electricity: 230
volts AC, 50Hz. Round three-pin plugs are usual, with bayonet lamp
fittings |
| PASSPORTS:
Passport valid for at least six months from
date of entry required by all - VISAS:
Required by all except nationals of the following countries, who will
be issued with visas free of charge for a period of 30 days on arrival
at Colombo Airport (for touristic visits only): nationals of Malta and
the Slovak Republic who do require a visa); nationals of Albania,
Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Brunei,
Bulgaria, China (PR, including Hong Kong), Croatia, India, Indonesia,
Iran, Israel, Korea (Rep), Kuwait, Macedonia, Malaysia, Maldives,
Nepal, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, The Philippines, Qatar,
Romania, Saudi Arabia, Serbia & Montenegro, Seychelles, Singapore,
South Africa, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey and United Arab
Emirates; nationals of CIS countries. |
| Climate: Tropical
climate. Upland areas are cooler and more temperate, and coastal areas
are cooled by sea breezes. There are two monsoons, which occur May to
July and December to January |
| Capital :
Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte (official).
Population: 115,826. Colombo (commercial). Population: 642,020. Sri
Jayawardenepura Kotte is only 10km (6 miles) from Colombo. |
| System : Democratic
Socialist Republic since 1978. Gained independence from the UK in 1948
- Executive power and legislative power are vested in the president
and a single-chamber assembly respectively. The president is directly
elected for a 6-year term. The 255-member assembly is elected by
proportional representation |
| Languages : Sinhala,
Tamil and English |
| Religions : Buddhist
majority (70 per cent), with Hindu, Christian and Muslim minorities. |
| Money : Sri
Lanka Rupee (SLRe, singular; SLRs, plural) = 100 cents. Notes are in
denominations of SLRs1000, 500, 200, 100, 50, 20, 10 and 2. Coins are
in denominations of SLRs10, 5, 2 and 1, and 50, 25, 10, 5, 2 and 1
cents |
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+ 94 |
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+ 5:30 |
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