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Location |
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Sri Lanka is a Mango fruit shaped island in the Indian
Ocean just below the Southern-most tip of India ,
Exactly situated between northern latitude 05.55 and
09.54 and eastern longitude 79.42 and 81. 52 , this ever
green Island is called as Pearle of the Indian Ocean..
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Climate |
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Sri Lanka is a tropical Island. There are no seasonal
variations. The bi-annual monsoon rains provide the
seasons. Colombo and the South West get rains from May
to September by south west monsoon.. The East coast gets
its share of rainfall from November to January by north
east monsoon. The vegetation is very green throughout
the year being closer to the equator, the temperature
too is high throughout the year. This depends on the
climatically zone . The average temperature in Colombo
is 27 degrees centigrade (80 degrees in Fahrenheit) and
in Kandy 23 degrees centigrade This is accompanied by
high levels of humidity. However in the different parts
of the island the temperature and the climate vary
according to the terrain. The higher you go, the cooler
it gets normally for each 90 meters climb one degree in
Fahrenheit goes down. In the mountainous regions of
Nuwara Eliya, the temperature averages is 16 degrees in
centigrade (61 degrees in Fahrenheit).
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History |
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The documented history of Sri Lanka dates back to over
2,500 years and it is be lived that there is a history
of 2000 years not documented. It had established trade
and cultural links with many ancient civilizations.
Throughout history, it is popular for spices , precious
stones. pearls .This country was a colony of Portuguese
in 16th century Ad , of Dutch in 17th century finally of
English in 18th century . it has been known by different
names. To the Greeks it was Taprobane, to the Arabs it
was Serendib, to the Portuguese it was Ceilao, to the
Dutch it was Zeylan, and to the British it was Ceylon.
Sri Lanka was the ancient name meaning "The Resplendent
Isle".
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People |
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The population number approximately 18 million. This
multi-ethnic population consists.
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Singhalese - 71%
• Tamils - 19%
• Muslims - 9%
• Burghers (descendants of Dutch and Portuguese) - 1%
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Religion |
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The
four major religions are:
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Buddhism - followed by 68% of the population
• Hinduism - followed by 13% of the population
• Islam - followed by 9% of the population
• Christianity - followed by 7% of the population
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| 1. Buddhism |
| 2. Hinduism |
| 3. Islam |
| 4. Christianity |
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Languages |
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The most commonly-spoken languages in Sri Lanka are
Sinhala, Tamil and English.
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Currency |
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The Sri Lankan Rupee (Rs.) is divided into 100 cents.
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