Facts About Sri Lanka

Have you ever heard of Ceylon tea? That's tea from Sri Lanka, which used to be called Ceylon, and tea is one of this country's biggest industries. Sri Lanka is a small tropical island in the Indian Ocean, southeast of India. There is a lot of rainfall in Sri Lanka, especially during the monsoon seasons. Sri Lanka's rainforests are home to thousands of animals, including elephants, leopards, crocodiles, sloths, bears, jackals, peacocks and flying foxes. Elephants are an important part of Sri Lankan culture. They are decorated for religious processions called peraheras. Pictures of elephants appear in temples and palaces. Some elephants are used for work. Others are in danger of becoming extinct, or dying out.

The Flag: The lion symbolizes peace and the dark red color stands for national pride. The green represents the Muslims and the dark yellow represents the Tamils. The leaves in the corners represent the leaves of the fig tree under which Siddhartha Gautama sat when he received the enlightenment and became the Buddha. The four leaves stand for love, compassion, sympathy and equanimity, which are virtues valued by Buddhism. Yellow is the symbol of Buddhism.

Population: 20.2 million (slightly larger than Florida)
Ethnic groups: Sinhalese, Tamil, Moor, Burgher, Malay, and Vedda
Religions: Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, Islam
Languages: Sinhala, Tamil, English
Year of Independence: 1948
Year Girl Guiding Introduced: 1917

Source: Country Reports, Cultural Profiles Project and Trefoil Round the World, 2003