Indicators	Sri Lanka	UK
(area km2)	65,610	244,100
People
Human Development Index (HDI)	90 (of 174)	10th
Population (millions)	19	58.5
Population density (per km2)	275.0	244.0
Urban population (%)	22.6	89.3
Life expectancy (years)	73.1	77.2
Infant mortality (per 1000)	17	6.0
Growth rate (%)	1.4	0.1
Education
Adult literacy (%)	90.7	99.0
In primary education (%)	99.9	99.9
Economic, Health & Social
GNP (US$ per capita)	800	20,870
TV's (per 1000 people)	82	612
Radios (per 1000 people)	201	1,433
Daily calorie intake	2,263	3,237
Doctors (per 1000 people)	23	164

Main imports:

textiles and materials, petroleum, machinery, vehicles, building materials

Main exports:

textiles/clothing, tea, diamonds, rubber, general agricultural products

Main industries:

processing agricultural products (tea, rubber, coconuts), tobacco, textiles/clothing, cement, tourism.

Introduction The Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka was born in 1972. The country, formerly called Ceylon, became independent from the UK in 1948 and is a member of the Commonwealth. An island country to the south east of India, it covers an area of 65,610 km2 (just under a quarter the size of the UK), 400 kms in length and 200 kms at its widest in the south. The island's distinctive pear shape is sometimes referred to as the 'Teardrop of India' or the 'Pearl of the Orient'. A flat plain stretches from the hill country northwards to the coast, covering about half of Sri Lanka. The south is mainly hilly, rising up to over 1500 metres to the highest point, Mt. Pidurutalagala (2524m), between the two plateau regions of Nuwaru Eliya and Horton Plains. Sri Lanka's famous tea plantations are found here, where the hot and humid climate experienced by the rest of the island gives way to cooler, less humid conditions. Brightly dressed baby elephant, Perahera festival in Kandy The original people of the island, the Veddas, almost certainly came via southern India, just 30 kms away. In turn the Sinhalese, the Tamils, peoples from Arab countries and then Europeans, notably the Portuguese, Dutch and British, arrived. Today the Sinhalese make up 83% of the population. Sadly, tensions between the majority Sinhalese and the minority Tamils (9%) have resulted in an ongoing civil war since 1983. Sri Lanka's largest city is Colombo, the administrative capital, but over 75% of the population live in rural settlements. Traditionally the economy has been based on agriculture, employing almost 50% of the workforce. Many people are subsistence farmers, growing rice on small areas of land. Others work on plantations, concentrating on cash crops for export, especially tea, rubber and coconuts. Textiles and clothing are now the most important industries, especially in terms of export earnings. Buddhist nuns in traditional orange robes Statue, Polonnaruwa (Ancient Buddhist City). Almost 70% of Sri Lankans are Buddhists

Sri Lanka - general web sites: Commonwealth Institute Brief country information in the Schools Programme section Lonely Planet guide CIA world fact book general information and detailed statistics/data Official Tourist Board Site (PROFILE section is probably of most general geographical use) Daily News (in English) Spotlight on Sri Lanka Infoscope newsclippings service using worldwide newspaper sources; excellent for current news/information For up to date information a search of some of the main newspapers or news sites is recommended e.g. http://news.bbc.co.uk Go to this, the first page of the BBC's news service, and search for Sri Lanka. For more information about the tea industry in general look at the Tea Council web site. The most useful sections to build on the Hapugastenne case study are 'Plantation to Cup' (in the 'Tea Information' section) and a short section on tea in Sri Lanka (search via 'Sri Lanka').