OFFICIAL NAME
Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
NATIONAL DAY
February 4th
LOCATION
The island of Sri Lanka lies in the Indian Ocean, to the southwest of the Bay of Bengal. It is separated from the Indian subcontinent by the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait and is located about 31 Kilometers off the southern coast of India.
Latitude – 5° 55’ to 9° 50’ north
Longitude – 79° 42’ to 81° 52’ east
650km north of the equator
DIMENSIONS
North to South – 430 km
East to West – 225 km
COASTLINE
1,340km
TOPOGRAPHY
The coastal areas and northern half are flat, the central and south central areas are hilly and mountainous.
AREA
Total area : 65,610 sq.km.
Land area : 62,705 sq.km.
Inland waters : 2,905 sq.km.
CURRENCY (CODE)
Sri Lankan Rupee (LKR)
ADMINISTRATIVE CAPITAL
Sri Jayewardenepura
COMMERCIAL CAPITAL
Colombo
BUSINESS HOURS
Government : 8.30 am – 4.30 pm
Private Sector : 8.00 am – 5.00 pm
Banks : 9.00 am – 3.30 pm (Customer hours)
LANGUAGE
Sinhala is the language spoken by the majority of the population. The Constitution designates Sinhala and Tamil as the official languages and English as the ‘link’ language. English is widely spoken, particularly in the mercantile sector.