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Country Facts

Population: 23 million inhabitants (2021)

Capital city: Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, referred to as Kotte, with about 100,000 inhabitants and Colombo

Name: Sri Lanka, previously called Ceylon or Serendip, nickname: "Pearl of the Indian Ocean"

Government: Presidential republic

Languages: Sinhala and Tamil

Religion: mainly Buddhists (70%), Hindus (12%), Muslims (9%) Catholics (6%)

Currency: 1 Sri Lankan rupee = 100 cents

History: The island was first settled in the 6th century BC, most probably by people from India. Various kingdoms ruled on the island from about 200 BC. Portuguese and Dutch settlers arrived here in the 16th and 17th century before the British arrived on the island. In 1802 Sri Lanka became a British crown colony. Sri Lanka was granted independece on 4 February 1948.

National Day: 4 February (Independence Day)

National Symbols: Ceylon junglefowl (national bird), Ceylon iron wood tree (national tree), blue water lily (national flower), jackfruit (national fruit)

National Anthem: Sri Lanka Matha (Mother Sri Lanka)

Sri Lanka is an island country located on the Asian continent, more exactly in Southern Asia, south of India. A land bridge between the island and India existed until the 15th century when a cyclone broke the land bridge apart.

The island is mostly flat with some mountains in the central-southern parts. The island of Sri Lanka is surrounded by the Indian Ocean.

Sri Lanka is slightly larger than the state of West Virginia/USA or about double the size of Belgium or slightly larger than Lithuania.

It takes a 10.5-hour flight from London/UK to reach Colombo/Sri Lanka, 17 hours from New York/USA and 14.5 hours from Sydney/Australia.

Sri Lanka Geography Superlatives

The largest city of Sri Lanka is Colombo with about 600,000 inhabitants. Colombo is the main business centre of the country.

The Lotus Tower in Colombo is the highest tower in Sri Lanka with 350 m/ 1,148 ft. Lotus Tower is among the 50 tallest skyscrapers in Asia.

Sri Lanka's highest mountain peak is the Piduruthalagala with 2,524 m/ 8,281 ft.

The longest river of Sri Lanka is the Mahaweli River with 335 km/ 208 miles.

Sri Lanka's does not have any natural lakes, but there are several dams, water reservoirs and water tanks in the country. The largest reservoir is called Kala Wewa and is almost 7 km/ 22,000 ft long.

The Kandy to Ella train journey is often named among the most scenic train rides in the world.