| National Holidays | Economy | Travel | Diplomatic | Visa Location & Weather Sri Lanka, formerly known as Ceylon, is an island located just off the south-eastern coast of India. The country is strategically placed at the crossroads to the east and west and is often referred to as the ‘pearl’ of the Indian Ocean. Colombo is the country's commercial capital while Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is its administrative capital.The hill country situated in the center of Sri Lanka has a cooler climate with a temperature of about 20º C. The country generally experiences two monsoons - the South West monsoon from May to July and the North East monsoon between November and January. The days are hot and humid but the evenings are cool and pleasant.
Capital : Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte Temperature : 27-35 Celcius Local Time : GMT + 5.30 International Dialing Code : 94 Population : Exceeds 19 million Community : Sinhalese, Tamil, Moors, Malays, Burghers (of Portugese & Dutch descent) and others Language : Sinhala, Tamil & English Religion : Buddhist, Hindus, Christianity & Islam Majority Population : Sinhala - Buddhist Currency Rupees : 1SLR = 100 cents Major Exports : Commodities: garments and textiles, tea, diamonds, other gems, petroleum products, rubber products, other agricultural products, marine products, Major Imports : Commodities: textiles and textile materials, machinery and equipment, transport equipment, food, petroleum Total Export : $7.076 billion (As of 2006) Total Import : $9.655 billion (As of 2006) Gross Domestic Product : $27.4 billion ($95.55 billion PPP) (As of 2006) Per Capita Income : $4,600 (As of 2006) Literacy Rate : 90.70% (As of 2001) Population Growth Rate : 0.943% (2008 est.)