Learn About Sri Lanka
A quick history lesson to catch you up
Sri Lanka is an island nation located in the Indian Ocean, just off the southeastern coast of India. Despite its modest size—slightly larger than the state of West Virginia—Sri Lanka has a population of about 20 million people, almost equal to the population of Texas. The island is rich in natural resources, and has a diverse economy based on agriculture, mining, fishing, manufacturing, and tourism. It is divided into nine provinces and 25 districts, with Sri Jayewardenepura-Kotte as the capital city and Colombo being the largest city. The official languages of Sri Lanka are Sinhala and Tamil, and the currency is the Sri Lankan rupee (LKR).
The island was named Sri Lanka in 1972 after it attained republic status. Sri Lanka is an indigenous name meaning the ‘resplendent island’. Sri Lanka has been known from ancient times to several civilizations of the world by a variety of names. The etymology of Sri Lanka stretches back to historical times. The Greeks called her ‘Taprobane‘, the Arabs named her ‘Serendib‘, and the old colonial powers of Portugal, Dutch, and Britain called her ‘Ceilão‘, ‘Zeylan‘, and ‘Ceylon‘ respectively.
History of Sri Lanka
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Ancient Kingdoms
Early Migration: The Ancient Period About 2600 years ago, migrants from northern India, the ancestors of today’s Sinhalese people, arrived in Sri Lanka. The Sinhalese were among the earliest people outside northern India to adopt the Buddhist religion, which they did
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The Colonial Era
Long-distance ocean trade in the Indian Ocean region has existed since ancient times. The Roman Empire imported luxury goods from Sri Lanka, including gemstones and cinnamon. Sri Lankan ships sailed as far west as Arabia, and as far east as
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Post Independence
The foundation of a strong democracy was laid in the 1930s. Sri Lanka achieved independence from the British in 1948. From the status of a dominion, she became a republic in 1972, opting to stay within the Commonwealth. During the post-independence
Geography
Shaped like a teardrop, the island of Sri Lanka measures about 255 miles (415 km.) from north to south, and about 135 miles (220 km.) from east to west, with a total land area of about 25,300 square miles (65,600 square km.). It has more than 830 miles (1340 km.) of coastline. The island is ringed by a broad coastal plain, rising to an inland terrain of gently rolling hills. A range of mountains dominates the south-central interior, with the highest peak, Mt. Piduruthalagala, reaching more than 8200 feet (2524 meters) in height.
Located between 5 and 10 degrees latitude north of the equator, Sri Lanka has a tropical climate dominated by two monsoon seasons. The summer monsoon lasts from mid-May to October, when winds from the southwest bring rain from the Indian Ocean to the southern and western parts of the island. During the winter monsoon, from December through March, winds from the northeast bring rain from the Bay of Bengal to northern and eastern regions. Monsoon rains are constant and heavy, with up to 100 inches of rain per month falling during the summer monsoon in the southwest. October-November and mid-March to mid-May are intermonsoon seasons, with less rainfall. The climate is hot and humid for much of the year, but is cooler in the highlands.
Biodiversity
Sri Lanka, with the Western Ghats of India, is endowed with a rich biodiversity and considered, one of the 25 biodiversity hotspots in the world. Sri Lanka has over 4000 species diverse species of flowering plants, 107 species of freshwater fish, 59 species of amphibians, 174 species of reptiles, 435 species of birds, 140 species of mammals and several thousand invertebrates. Within the Asian region Sri Lanka has the highest species density for flowering plants, amphibians, reptiles and mammals. The following are the percentage of species that iare endemic to the island. Fish – 41%, Amphibians – 65%, Reptiles – 52%, Birds – 10%, Mammals – 5%, Land Snails – 80%, Freshwater crabs – 100%, Flowering plants 28%.
Languages
Several languages are spoken in Sri Lanka within the Indo-Aryan, Austronesian, and Dravidian families. Sri Lanka accords official status to Sinhala and Tamil, and English as a recognized language. Sinhala language is spoken by approximately 74.9% of the national population and total about 16.6 million. The Tamil language is spoken by Sri Lankan Tamils, as well as by Tamil migrants from the neighboring Indian state of Tamil Nadu and by most Sri Lankan Moors. English in Sri Lanka is fluently spoken by approximately 23.8% of the population, and widely used for official and commercial purposes. It is the native language of approximately 74,000 people, mainly in urban areas.
Religion
While Sri Lanka is officially a Buddhist country, Sri Lankan’s practice a variety of religions. As of the 2012 census, 70.2% of Sri Lankans were Buddhists, 12.6% were Hindus, 9.7% were Muslims (mainly Sunni), 7.4% were Christians (mostly Catholics). Buddhism is declared as the State religion of Sri Lanka and has been given special privileges in the Sri Lankan constitution such as the government is bound for protection and fostering of Buddhist Dharma throughout the nation. However, the constitution also provides for freedom of religion and right to equality among all its citizens. In 2008 Sri Lanka was the third most religious country in the world, with 99% of Sri Lankans saying religion is an important part of their daily life.
Tourism
The government decided to develop the tourism sector by establishing the Ceylon Tourist Bureau in 1966 – at the time there were 18,969 foreign tourist arrivals in Sri Lanka. By 1982, there was a remarkable growth in the number of tourists, with 407,230 arrivals. However, with the beginning of the civil war in 1983, the growth of tourist arrivals declined and stagnated. After the civil war ended in 2009, tourism resurged reaching 1,798,380 visitors by 2015, showing over 300 percent growth in six years. The tourist industry makes a significant contribution to the national economy by directly contributing to the government budget, foreign-exchange earnings and employment generation.
Sri Lanka was named best country in the world to visit in 2019 by Lonely Planet, driving further growth in the tourism industry. However, going into 2022, foreign visitors fell by 70.8% amid the COVID-19 crisis as the government locked most of the country down. Sri Lanka reopened for tourism in January 2021 under strict health protocols.
Tourism in Sri Lanka, despite its benefits for the local economy (it is one of the main foreign income sources of the country), has its critics. Some studies indicate that quick modern tourism development would not cater to the specific needs of the local people. Also, the high biodiversity of Sri Lanka is threatened by the development of mass tourism which has already affected several natural reserves.
