The Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a tropical island nation off the southeast coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known in ancient times as Taprobane and Serendip, the island was formerly known as Ceylon, a name still used on occasion, with the current name Sri Lanka meaning "Resplendent Land" in Sanskrit. Life on the island has been marred by nearly two decades of ethnic conflict, mainly between the national government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) insurgency; in early 2002 a ceasfire was declared.
The pear-shaped island consists mostly of flat to rolling coastal plains, with mountains rising only in the south central part of the island, amongst which are Adam's Peak and the Pidurutalagala[?], the highest point at 2,524 m.
The Sri Lankan climate is tropical and characterised by monsoons; the northeast monsoon which lasts from December to March and the southwest monsoon from June to October. The administrative and commercial capital is Colombo, but parliament is located in nearby Kotte[?]. Other major cities include Jaffna[?], Galle[?], and Kandy[?].
Famous historically for its cinnamon and tea and moderately socialist after independence, Sri Lanka has in the last 20 years increasingly engaged in privatisation and moved towards market-oriented policies and export-oriented trade. The most dynamic sectors now are food processing, textiles and apparel, food and beverages, telecommunications, and insurance and banking. By 1996 plantation crops made up only 20% of exports (compared with 93% in 1970), while textiles and garments accounted for 63%.
GDP grew at an average annual rate of 5.5% throughout the 1990s until a drought and a deteriorating security situation lowered growth to 3.8% in 1996. The economy rebounded in 1997-2000 with average growth of 5.3%. But 2001 saw the first contraction in the country's history, due to a combination of power shortages, severe budgetary problems, the global slowdown, and continuing civil strife.
Around 75% of the Sri Lankan population belongs to the Sinhalese majority, which is predominantly Buddhist and in particular of the Theravada tradition. The other major group on the island are the Tamils which constitute some 18% of the population. They are predominantly Hindu and live mostly in the north and east of the country. The national Sinhala language is the only official state language, though the Tamil language also enjoys national status. English is spoken by roughly 10% of the population, and is used in many governmental and educational institutions.
Other smaller minorities include the MuslimMoors[?] (7%), the Burghers[?] of mixed European descent (1%) and the Wanniyala-Aetto or Veddahs, the few remaining descendants of earlier cultures. Buddhism (70%) and Hinduism (15%) are the dominant religion, with Christianity (8%) and Islam (7%) forming sizable religious minorities.
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