Country Name |
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Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
(Short Form: Sri Lanka ) |
Location |
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An island off the southeastern cost shores of India , 880 kilometers north of the equator, in the Indian Ocean. |
Time Zone |
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Sri Lanka is 6 hours ahead of GMT, 11 hours ahead of American EST and 4 hours behind Australian EST |
Size |
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65,525 square kilometers. |
Capital |
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Colombo |
Government |
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Sri Lanka is a free, independent and sovereign nation. Legislative power is exercised by a Parliament, elected by universal franchise on proportional representation basis. A President, who is also elected by the people, exercises executive power inclusive of defense. Sri Lanka enjoys a multi party system, and the people vote to elect a new government every six years. |
Languages |
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Sinhala & Tamil English is widely spoken throughout Sri Lanka , with the exception of remote villages. |
Ethnic Groups |
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Sihalese- 74 percent; Tamil- 18 percent; Muslim -7 percent; Burgher, and others- 1 per cent. |
Religion |
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Buddhism- 70 percent; Hinduism- 16 percent; Christianity- 7 percent; Islam-7 percent. |
Climate |
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Low Lands – tropical, average 27degree centigrade
Central Hills – cooler, with temperatures dropping to 14 degree centigrade. The southwest monsoon brings rain to the western, southern and central regions from May to July, while the northeastern monsoon occurs in the north and east in December and January. Sri Lanka has a good climate for holidaymakers throughout the year. |
Currency |
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Sri Lanka follows decimal currency system in Rupees and cents with 100 cents equal to a rupee. Currency notes are available in the denominations of Rupees 2,10,20,50,100,200, 500 and 1000. Coins are issued in values of Cents1, 2, 5, 10, 25 and 50 and Rs.1, 2, 5 and 10. The intervention currency continuously will be the US Dollar. |
Business Hours |
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Government offices 9.00 am to 5.00 pm Monday to Friday. |
