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| About
Sri Lanka - "A
land like no other" |
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| Sri Lanka was called
by earlier writers the Pearl of the Indian Ocean - a land
like no other when it comes to tropical beaches, lush
greenery, variety of climate, rich cultural heritage and
above all friendly people. |
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| The
following table summarizes vital information on
Sri Lanka. |
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| Location |
880 kms north of the
Equator, adjacent to the southern tip of India. |
| Area |
65,610 sq km |
| Population |
18.2 million in 1996 |
| Commercial
Capital |
Colombo |
| Administrative
Capital |
Sri Jayawardenapura |
| Time
Zone |
UTC + 6 hours |
| Principal
Languages |
Sinhala, Tamil. English
is widely understood & spoken throughout the
Island. |
| Principal
Religions |
Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity,
Islam |
| Principle
Ethnic Groups |
Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims,
Burghers (Eurasians), and Malays |
| Education
& Literacy |
Sri Lanka's literacy
rate stands at 90%, one of the highest in the region.
Education is divided into Primary, Secondary, and
Tertiary (University) education. Sri Lankan students
spend twelve years in college, which encompasses
the Primary and Secondary divisions. |
| Currency |
Sri Lankan Rupee Denomination:
Rs.10, Rs.20, Rs.50, Rs.100, Rs.200, Rs.500, Rs.1000.
One hundred cents make a Rupee. |
| Exchange
Rate |
1 US$ = 91 |
| Business
Hours |
Sri Lanka adopts a five
day week from Monday through Friday. Hours of business
are usually as follows: |
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Government Offices
Private Enterprises
Banks
Post Offices |
9:00 AM - 4:30PM
8:30 AM - 5:00PM
9:00 AM - 3:00PM
8:30 AM - 5:00 PM |
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The General Post Office
in Colombo, Fort is open 24 hours a day. |
| Holidays |
Sri Lanka has 3
categories of holidays: Public, Mercantile,
& Bank. Apart from the weekend holidays
(Saturday & Sunday), the Public &
Mercantile holidays above are linked to religious
festivals of the main ethnic groups and vary
from year to year. The Bank holidays are specific
to banks. |
| Economy |
Sri Lanka is primarily an agricultural
country. The chief crop is rice, which is
the staple diet of the people. Tea, Rubber,
Coconut and Spices are important agricultural
crops. Other growing area of importance are
the light manufacturing industries, such as
Apparel, and the Banking and Financial Services
sector. |
| Per
Capita (1997) |
US$ 804 |
| GDP
(1998) |
Rs. 567,742 million (upto 30/09/1998)
- GDP Growth: 4.8% |
| GNP
(1998) |
Rs. 560,142 million (upto 30/09/1998)
- GNP Growth: 4.7% |
| Hotels |
The Hilton, Intercontinental,
Oberoi, Taj, Holiday Inn, Galadari & Trans
Asia Hotel chains have 5 star representation
in Sri Lanka. Other high quality accommodation
is also available. |
| Telecommunications |
Telephone, Fax, Cellular, Satellite,
E-mail & Internet. Typical line speed
for data transmission averages 33.6kbps. Cellular
systems offer AMPS, ETACS & GSM Networks. |
| Credit
Cards |
VISA, MasterCard, American
Express, Diners |
| Banks |
Hong Kong Bank, ANZ Grindlays,
ABN Amro, Standard Chartered, Deutsche Bank,
Mashreq, Malaysia Public Bank, American Express
and Societe Generale, among other international
banks, are represented in Sri Lanka. |
| Airports |
The Bandaranaike International
Airport is situated in Katunayake, an hour's
drive from Colombo. |
| Airlines |
All international airlines
are represented in Sri Lanka. |
| Shipping |
The Port of Colombo is South
Asia's shipping hub and offers state of the
art trans-shipment facilities and computerized
customs and warehousing. Other ports in Galle
and Trincomalee are currently being upgraded
to support the Port of Colombo. |
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