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Sri Lanka Geography 2018

SOURCE: 2018 CIA WORLD FACTBOOK AND OTHER SOURCES











Sri Lanka Geography 2018
SOURCE: 2018 CIA WORLD FACTBOOK AND OTHER SOURCES


Page last updated on February 28, 2018

Location:
Southern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of India

Geographic coordinates:
7 00 N, 81 00 E

Map references:
Asia

Area:
total: 65,610 sq km
[see also: Area - total country ranks ]
land: 64,630 sq km
[see also: Area - land country ranks ]
water: 980 sq km
[see also: Area - water country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 123

Area - comparative:
slightly larger than West Virginia
Area comparison map: slightly larger than West Virginia

Land boundaries:
0 km

Coastline:
1,340 km
[see also: Coastline country ranks ]

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
[see also: Maritime claims - territorial sea country ranks ]
contiguous zone: 24 nm
[see also: Maritime claims - contiguous zone country ranks ]
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
[see also: Maritime claims - exclusive economic zone country ranks ]
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
[see also: Maritime claims - continental shelf country ranks ]

Climate:
tropical monsoon; northeast monsoon (December to March); southwest monsoon (June to October)
More Climate Details

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

Elevation:
mean elevation: 228 m
[see also: Elevation - mean elevation country ranks ]
elevation extremes: lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Pidurutalagala 2,524 m

Natural resources:
limestone, graphite, mineral sands, gems, phosphates, clay, hydropower, arable land

Land use:
agricultural land: 43.5% arable land 20.7%; permanent crops 15.8%; permanent pasture 7%
[see also: Land use - agricultural land country ranks ]
forest: 29.4%
[see also: Land use - forest country ranks ]
other: 27.1% (2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - other country ranks ]

Irrigated land:
5,700 sq km (2012)
[see also: Irrigated land country ranks ]

Population - distribution:
the population is primarily concentrated within a broad wet zone in the southwest, urban centers along the eastern coast, and on the Jaffna Peninsula in the north

Natural hazards:
occasional cyclones and tornadoes

Environment - current issues:
deforestation; soil erosion; wildlife populations threatened by poaching and urbanization; coastal degradation from mining activities and increased pollution; freshwater resources being polluted by industrial wastes and sewage runoff; waste disposal; air pollution in Colombo

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation

Geography - note:
strategic location near major Indian Ocean sea lanes; Adam's Bridge is a chain of limestone shoals between the southeastern coast of India and the northwestern coast of Sri Lanka; geological evidence suggests that this 50-km long bridge once connected India and Sri Lanka; ancient records seem to indicate that a foot passage was possible between the two land masses until the 15th century when the land bridge broke up in a cyclone


NOTE: 1) The information regarding Sri Lanka on this page is re-published from the 2018 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Sri Lanka Geography 2018 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Sri Lanka Geography 2018 should be addressed to the CIA.
2) The rank that you see is the CIA reported rank, which may habe the following issues:
  a) The assign increasing rank number, alphabetically for countries with the same value of the ranked item, whereas we assign them the same rank.
  b) The CIA sometimes assignes counterintuitive ranks. For example, it assigns unemployment rates in increasing order, whereas we rank them in decreasing order






This page was last modified 28-Feb-18
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