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GeographyLocation: Southern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of India
Area: Land boundaries: 0 km Coastline: 1,340 km
PeoplePopulation: 18,342,660 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure:
Population growth rate: 1.15% (1995 est.) Birth rate: 18.13 births/1,000 population Death rate: 5.78 deaths/1,000 population Net migration rate: -0.84 migrant(s)/1,000 population Infant mortality rate: 21.3 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth:
Total fertility rate: 2.08 children born/woman Ethnic divisions: Sinhalese 74%, Tamil 18%, Moor 7%, Burgher, Malay, and Vedda 1% Religions: Buddhist 69%, Hindu 15%, Christian 8%, Muslim 8% Languages: Sinhala (official and national language) 74%, Tamil (national language)18%
Literacy:
age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
Government
Names:
Type: republic Capital: Colombo Independence: 4 February 1948 (from UK) Constitution: adopted 16 August 1978
EconomyNational product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $57.6 billion National product real growth rate: 5% National product per capita: $3,190 Inflation rate (consumer prices): 12% Unemployment rate: 13.6%
Electricity:
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| Pin trading was one of the most popular Olympic sports, with more than 1.2 million pins changing hands during the Games in the Coca Cola Pin Trading Center at Centennial Olympic Park. |