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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.
•
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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