Sri Lanka is situated below the south cost of the Indian Ocean. Sri Lanka is titled as The Pearl of Indian Ocean

Because it’s a very small Island. It lies between 50 5 and 90 55 north of the equator and between the eastern longitudes 790 42 and 810 52. The total land area of Sri Lanka is 65,610sq.km.Sri lanka is a beautiful country with tropical beaches, verdant vegetation, ancient monuments and a thousand delights to please all tastes.

Bright, Sunny warm days are the rule and are common even during the height of the monsoon. Climatically Sri Lanka has no off-season. The southwest monsoon brings rain mainly from May to July to the western, southern and central regions of the Island, while the northeast monsoon rains occur in the northern and eastern regions in December and January. Sri lanka is mainly an agricultural country. The Chief crop is rice, which the country is all most self-sufficient. Tea rubber and coconut are also important agricultural crops, with tea being a major foreign exchange earner.

In addition, other crops of importance are cocoa and spices such as cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg pepper and cloves. Fruits and vegetables are native to both tropical and temperate regions. They grow well in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka is also a major exporter of precious and semi-precious stones. Within the last few years foreign employment has contributed a large share towards foreign exchange.

The last three decades tourism has emerged as an important industry. There has been a rapid growth in the manufacturing industries, which offer a wide range of export goods such as petroleum products, leather goods, ready-made garments and electronic equipment.

Sri Lanka has a population of 18.5 million of whom the majority is Sinhala (74%). Other ethnic groups are Sri Lanka Tamils (12.6%), Indian Tamils (5.5%), Moors, Malays, Burgers (of Portuguese Dutch descent) and others (7.9%). Although Sri Lanka is a multi religious country, Buddhist constitutes the majority with 69.3%. Other religious groups are Hindus 15.5%, Muslims 7.6% and Christians 7.5%. Sri Lankas literacy rate of 88.6 % is one of the highest in Asia. Sinhala and Tamil are the official languages in Sri Lanka. Sinhala a language of indo-Aryan origin is the language of majority. English is widely spoken and understood. Names of places and signboards on buses and trains are usually in all three languages.

Sri Lanka is a land of religious freedom and tolerance. Wherever you travel you will come a cross a Buddhist temple or dagaba, a Hindu kovil, a Christian church or a mosque, each with its own distinctive architecture. When visiting holy places please conform the requirements as do not dress in order to show disrespect. Buddhism is the main religion of Sri Lanka where it was officially introduced in the third century B.C. during the reign of king Devanam Piyatissa by Venerable Mahind Who was the son of emperor Asoka of India. No sooner than it was introduced here the new teaching caught up with the inhabitants of the country so rapidly that within a few months the entire county became Buddhist. In Sri Lanka it has found its most congenial permanent home.