What Is Ceylon?
Ceylon, the former name of Sri Lanka, is a small island nation off the southeast coast of India. The country gained independence from British rule in 1948 under the name Ceylon but changed its name to Sri Lanka in 1972.
Other People Are Reading
-
Size and Demographics
-
Sri Lanka is 65,610 square miles, with a population of 21,324,791. The major ethnic group is the Sinhalese, making up 73.8 percent of the population. Sinhalese is the official national language, and 69.1 percent of the population practices Buddhism.
Government
-
The governmental structure of The Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, which is its full name, is most similar to British Common Law and consists of a president and 222-seat parliament. There are also eight provincial governments within the national government.
-
Tsunami
-
A devastating tsunami hit the shores of Sri Lanka in December 2004, taking 31,000 lives, causing $1.7 billion in property damage and destroying the homes of 443,000 residents.
Ethnic Conflict
-
From 1983 to 2009, a bloody ethnic conflict between Sinhalese majority government forces and Tamil separatists, known as The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, has raged. Post-war reconstruction efforts from allies are underway.
Economy
-
Sri Lanka has a gross domestic product per capita of $4,400 U.S. dollars, with 22 percent of the population below the poverty line. Agricultural commodities include rubber, tea, tobacco and coconuts. Industrial commodities include insurance, banking, textiles and oil refinery.
-
