ABOUT SRI LANKA OVERVIEW ON SRI LANKAS DEMOGRAPHICS

ABOUT SRI LANKA

OVERVIEW ON SRI LANKA’S DEMOGRAPHICS §Sri Lanka is an island stretching about 28 kilometers off the south eastern cost of India surrounded by the Indian ocean on three sides. §According to the 2015 census, it has a population of about 20 million with a population growth rate of about 0. 9% annually. §The average life expectancy in the country is 75 years. §It is a diverse nation home to various ethnic groups with majority being the Sinhalese (75%) and minority being the Sri Lankan Tamil (11. 2%), Sri Lankan Moors (9. 2%), Indian Tamil (4. 2%) and the others (0. 5%). §In addition to this, Sri Lanka is also religiously diverse with people following Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism and Islam. §It is one of the major tourist attractions due to its welcoming and beautiful environment.

Tourism industry ECONOMIC FRONT • It has a GDP of about 82. 32 billion USD and a per capita GDP of 3926. 17 USD. • Main economic sectors of country are tourism, textile, tea, rice production, agriculture etc. • Contribution via import goods: Agriculture contributes to 7. 5% to GDP, industry 27. 1%, services 57% and tax less subsides 8. 4%. It makes around $35. 00 billion from the import goods. • 6. 7% of the population lives below the national poverty line. • GDP grew 5. 3% in the fourth quarter of 2016 but the annual rate slowed down to 4. 4% due to the inclement in weather in 2016. • The current exchange rate is about Rs. 153. 2 LKR equivalent to $1 USD. • The GDP is expected to edge up to 5. 0% in 2017 and 2018. • Sri lanka plans to create a knowledge based social market economy and also export oriented i. e. $30. 00

POLITICAL FRONT • As a result of the LTTE war in Sri Lanka, along with the other sectors of the nation, its political environment also got disturbed and unstable. • Post war, Sri Lanka though an underdeveloped nation has gone through some major changes over time. • Under the regime of President Maitripala Sirisena, Sri Lanka has grown towards good; 1. it is experiencing relatively small scale corruption 2. Ethnic tensions are much lower 3. Its foreign policy has been rebalanced with special friendship with China (port city) • But on the other hand, it is yet to reestablish its current monetary policy which

SRI LANKA AND ITS NEIGHBORING COUNTRIES • Sri Lanka participates in multilateral diplomacy, particularly at the United Nations, where it seeks to promote sovereignty, independence and development in the developing world.

By. Aashika Jain and Aayushi Mehta