SRILANKA

The arrival of British in 1796 resulted in expelling Dutch. Kandy was then established as a capital of British Rule and the unified administration for the island was set up in 1818. Independence: 4 February 1948 English became national language which leaded to the enhancement of education system.

 Area: 65,610 sq. km. (25,332 sq. mi.) Cities: Capital--Colombo Kotte is the officially designated capital and is the site of Parliament. Other cities--Kandy, Galle , Jaffna . Climate: Tropical. Rainy seasons--light in northeast, heavy in southwest.

Ethnic groups
Sinhalese
Nationality: Sri Lankan(s). Population: 2,13,00,000 Annual population growth rate: 0.9%. Ethnic groups : Sinhalese (74%), Tamils (18%),

Tamils
7% 1%

Muslims

Others

18%

Muslims (7%), others (1%).

Religions: Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity. Languages: Sinhala and Tamil (official), English.

74%

Literacy--91%.
Life expectancy--73 yrs. (male); 77 yrs. (female).

GDP: $5900 crores.(2011)

Annual growth rate: 8.2%(2011)

GDP CONTRIBUTION

Natural resources: Limestone, graphite, mineral sands, gems, and phosphate.

29%

11%
Agriculture
Services Industry

Agriculture (11% of GDP): Major products--rice, tea, rubber, coconut, and spices.

Services (60% of GDP): Major types--tourism, wholesale and retail trade, transport, telecom, financial services.

60%

Industry (29% of GDP): Major types--garments and leather goods, rubber products, food processing, chemicals, refined petroleum, gems and jewelry, non-metallic mineral-based products, and construction.

Currency- Sri Lankan rupee (LKR) Unemployment- 4.3% (2011) The Central Bank of Sri Lanka is the monetary authority of Sri Lanka and was established in 1950. Colombo Stock Exchange(CSE) is the main stock exchange in Sri Lanka.

Exports--$275 crore: garments, tea, rubber products, jewellery and gems,

refined petroleum, and coconuts.

Major markets--U.S., U.K., India.

Imports--$ 440 crore . Major suppliers--India, Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Iran, Malaysia, Japan, U.K., U.A.E., Belgium, Indonesia,

South Korea, U.S.

Major Industries
Tourism Major tourist attractions are focused around the islands famous beaches and ancient heritages Tea industry The industry was introduced to the country in 1867 by James Taylor, a British planter Recently, Sri Lanka has become one of the countries exporting fair trade tea to the UK and other countries. It is believed that such projects could reduce rural poverty Apparel and textile industry The apparel industry of the Sri Lanka mainly exports to the United States and Europe. Europe increasingly relies on Sri Lankan textiles due to the high cost of labor in Europe. There are about 900 factories throughout country serving companies such as Victoria's Secret, Liz Claiborne and Tommy Hilfiger.

TEAS FROM THE ISLAND OF SRI LANKA

Festivals
Wesak : Wesak for the Buddhists , the birth of Prince Siddhartha, who eventually attained Buddhahood as Gauthama Buddha

Candle lanterns are lightened made of wooden frames and transparent paper to celebrate this festival

Kandy Perahera : It is one of the biggest Buddhist celebrations of the year. The festival is held every July/August in Kandy This Festival is to honour the sacred tooth relic of the Buddha said to have been brought to the island 2000 years ago. The relic is kept in the Temple of the Tooth and a replica is displayed in a Golden Casket on top of a brightly decorated elephant at the front of the evening parade around the streets. Following this, dancers, fire-breathers and jugglers mill amongst the crowd and there are lots of lively celebrations.

New Year : Although Sri Lanka celebrates January 1st as a New Year from a western or international perspective the proper Sinhalese and Tamil New Year , is celebrated about the 13th - 14th of April.

Devil Dancing : It is a form of exorcism . The colourful and sometimes frightening masks worn by the performers, represent the good and evil spirits. These masks are all hand crafted by traditional craftsmen out of local soft woods.

 Balloon Festival

Tourist Places
Beaches
Negombo Beach
A characteristic fishing town 37km. north of Colombo. Negombo is a gourmet's paradise with sea food in plenty

Bentota Beach It is a romantic view of river and sea with several hotels, railway station, post office, shopping arcade, cafeteria .

Hikkaduwa Beach : Hikkaduwa is the place for underwater delight.

Kalkudah Beach : Kalkudah, is ideal for bathing. It has a fine bay with clear waters. A popular tourist centre with a modern hotel and other facilities.

The Parakrama Samudra is a statue of a man holding a book in his hands (Written on palm Leaves)

The statues of Lord Buddha, rank among the finest in Sri Lanka.

Isurumuniya Lovers The best known among these is the "Lovers". It is believed that the carving may represent Saliya, and the low-caste maiden whom he loved. Saliya was the son of the great king Dutugamunu

Sigiriya-The Lion Rock

Sports
National sport in Sri Lanka is volleyball The most popular sport in the country is cricket. Rugby union also enjoys extensive popularity, as do aquatic sports, athletics, football (soccer) and tennis. Winner of 1996 cricket World cup Sri Lanka has won the Asia Cup in 1986, 1997, 2004 and 2008

National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries

Sri Lanka has a rich and exotic variety of wildlife . The following are the most important sanctuaries in terms of attractions, accessibility and availability of facilities.

Yala (Ruhuna) National Park The large no. of elephants are undoubtedly the best known attraction Deer are seen all over the Park The Peacock is easily the most famous of the birds at Yala. Yala is approximately 1,259 sq.km

Wilpattu National Park Wilpattu is approximately 1,908 sq.km. in extent. The leopard and sloth bear are the speciality rather than elephants.

Elephant Orphanage An orphanage for elephants has been set up by the department of National Zoological Gardens, at Pinnawela,

National Zoological Gardens The Zoo has a fine collection of animals, birds, reptiles and fish from all over the world. The aquarium is the only one of its kind in Asia and displays over 500 varieties of aquatic life. There are daily elephant performance

Cuisine
Fish Curry and Mixed Rice

Egg Hoppers (Appa)

Pittu Flour and Coconut Funnel Cakes

Ulundhu Vadai