Exact population: 20,222,240 note: since the outbreak of hostilities between the government and armed Tamil separatists in the mid-1980s, several hundred thousand Tamil civilians have fled the island and more than 200,000 Tamils have sought refuge in the West (July 2006 est.)

Literacy: Total population: 92.3%; male: 94.8%; female: 90%

Ethnicities: Sinhalese 73.8%, Sri Lankan Moors 7.2%, Indian Tamil 4.6%, Sri Lankan Tamil 3.9%, other 0.5%, unspecified 10% (2001 census provisional data)

Area: Total: 65,610 sq km; land: 64,740 sq km; water: 870 sq km

Land boundaries: 0 km

Terrain: Mostly low, flat to rolling plain; mountains in south-central interior

Extremes: Lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m; highest point: Pidurutalagala 2,524 m

Imports: India 18%, Singapore 8.7%, Hong Kong 7.7%, China 5.7%, Iran 5.2%, Japan 5.1%, Malaysia 4.1% (2004)

Exports: US 32.4%, UK 13.5%, India 6.8%, Germany 4.8% (2004)

Industries: Rubber processing, tea, coconuts, and other agricultural commodities; telecommunications, insurance, and banking; clothing, cement, petroleum refining, textiles, tobacco

Source: CIA World Factbook