Sri Lanka
Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka

Occupied by the Portuguese in the 16th century and the Dutch in the 17th century, the island was ceded to the British in 1802. As Ceylon it became independent in 1948; its name was changed in 1972.
Map of Sri Lanka
Population: 19,408,635 (July 2001 est.)
Capital: Colombo; Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte is the legislative capital
Area: total: 65,610 sq km; land: 64,740 sq km; water: 870 sq km (slightly larger than West Virginia)
Government: republic; parliamentary democracy; led by [chief of state and head of government] President Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA (since 12 November 1994); Ratnasiri WICKRAMANAYAKE (since 10 August 2000) is the prime minister; in Sri Lanka the president is considered to be both the chief of state and the head of the government, this situation is in contrast to the more common practice of dividing the roles between the president and the prime minister when both offices exist. 
Languages: Sinhala (official and national language) 74%, Tamil (national language) 18%, other 8%; English is commonly used in government and is spoken competently by about 10% of the population
Ethnic groups: Sinhalese 74%, Tamil 18%, Moor 7%, Burgher, Malay, and Vedda 1%
Religions: Buddhist 70%, Hindu 15%, Christian 8%, Muslim 7% (1999)
Economy: GDP - purchasing power parity US$62.7 billion (2000 est.); GDP (real growth rate) 5.6% (2000 est.); GDP per capita - purchasing power parity US$3,250 (2000 est.)
Import partners: Japan 10%, India 9%, Hong Kong 8%, Singapore 8%, South Korea 6% (1999)
Export partners: US 39%, UK 13%, Middle East 8%, Germany 5%, Japan 4% (1999)

Source: CIA World Factbook (2001)