Sri Lanka or officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a Southern Asian island in the Indian Ocean. Sri Lanka situated about 31 km (19.3 miles) off the southern coast of India, and is separated from India by the Palk Strait.
- Official Name : Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
- President : Mahinda Rajapaksa (2005, 2010)
- Prime Minister : D. M. Jayaratne (2010)
- Location : Southern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of India
- Geographic coordinates:
- Latitude: 5o 55” to 9o 50’N
- Longitude: 79o 42’ to 81o 52’E
- Total Area : 25,332 sq. mi (65,610 sq. km)
- Land Area : 24,996 sq. mi (64,740 sq. km)
- Length :
- North to South – 434 km
- East to West – 227 km
- Coastline : 1,340 km
- Elevation extremes/ Highest point : Pidurutalagala (2,524 m)
- Land use :
- Arable land: 13.96%
- Permanent crops: 15.24%
- Other: 70.8% (2005)
- Population : 20.9 million (CIA estimate 2007)
- Population Density : 319 per sq. km
- Capital :
- Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte (official). Population: 115,826 (census 2001).
- Colombo (commercial). Population: 2.4 million (official estimate 2006).
- Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte is located within the Colombo district and its only 10km(6 miles) from Colombo.
- Largest city : Colombo
- Other Larger cities : Dehiwela, Moratuwa, Galle, Kandy
- Natural Hazards : Occasional cyclones and tornadoes.
- International Dialling Code : +94
- Time : +5.5 hours GMT
- Climate :Tropical monsoon;
- northeast monsoon (December to March)
- southwest monsoon (June to October)
- Population : 21,324,791(2009 est.)