Sri Lanka

Introduction & Quick Facts
Land
- Relief
- Drainage
- Soils
- Climate
- Plant and animal life
People
- Ethnic composition
- Language and religion
- Ethnic relations
- Settlement patterns
- Demographic trends
Economy
- Resources
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing
- Industry
- Finance
- Trade
- Transportation
Government and society
- Constitutional framework
- Justice
- Political process
- Education
- Health and welfare
Cultural life
- The arts
- Cultural institutions
- Recreation
- Press and broadcasting
History
- Prehistoric record
- Early settlement and the spread of Buddhism
  - Legendary origins
  - Indo-Aryan settlement
  - Conversion to Buddhism
- Early growth and political centralization, c. 200 bce–1255 ce
  - The Anuradhapura period
  - The Polonnaruwa period
  - Government and society
  - The advent and impact of irrigation
  - The fall of Polonnaruwa
- Drift to the southwest (1255–1505)
  - Political changes
  - Social and economic changes
    - Collapse of the Dry Zone civilization
    - New cultivation techniques
    - Foreign trade
    - Land control
    - Cities
  - Religious and ethnolinguistic changes
- The Portuguese in Sri Lanka (1505–1658)
  - The expansion of Portuguese control
  - Kandy and its struggle with European powers
- Dutch rule in Sri Lanka (1658–1796)
  - Government
  - Economy
  - Law
  - Religion
- British Ceylon (1796–1900)
  - Control of Kandy
  - Social and administrative reforms
  - Emergence of capitalist agriculture
- Constitutionalism and nationalism (c. 1900–48)
  - Constitutional reforms
  - Growth of nationalist power
  - Social and cultural changes
  - Dominion status
- Independent Ceylon (1948–71)
- The Republic of Sri Lanka
  - Civil war
    - Peace accord and discord
    - End of the war
  - Aftermath and recovery
    - Reconstruction
    - Growing debt and instability
    - Ascent of the Rajapaksas and brewing crisis
    - 2022 economic collapse
    - Dissanayake presidency and the JVP’s resurgence

References & Edit History Facts & Stats

Images, Videos & Interactives

Political map of Sri Lanka showing provincial boundaries, major cities, and surrounding bodies of water including the Laccadive Sea and Indian Ocean. The map includes a locator inset highlighting Sri Lanka's position just southeast of India.

Map highlighting Sri Lanka in orange, showing its location just southeast of India in the Indian Ocean. Surrounding countries include India to the north, Maldives to the southwest, and Bangladesh, Myanmar, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, and China further north and west. A small inset globe at the top right provides global context for Sri Lanka's location.

Kandy, Sri Lanka: Dalada Maligava

The white neoclassical Town Hall building of Colombo, Sri Lanka, features tall columns and a central dome, with cars parked in front and trees framing the scene.

Adam's Peak, a steep, conical mountain covered in dense forest, rises prominently against a blue sky near Ratnapura, Sri Lanka.

Four Asian elephants stand in a shallow river surrounded by rocks, with palm trees and green hills in the background in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka: Religious affiliation

At a Glance

default image

Sri Lanka summary

Sri Lanka: Media

country, Asia

Videos

Learn about the production of Ceylon cinnamon from bark peeling to the powdered spice

Learn about the production of Ceylon cinnamon from bark peeling to the powdered spice

Overview of cinnamon, with a focus on its production in Sri Lanka.

Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz

Images

Sri Lanka

Flag of Sri Lanka

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Political map of Sri Lanka showing provincial boundaries, major cities, and surrounding bodies of water including the Laccadive Sea and Indian Ocean. The map includes a locator inset highlighting Sri Lanka's position just southeast of India.

Sri Lanka

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Nuwara Eliya

Nuwara Eliya

Tea plantation in Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka.

© Thilina Kaluthotage—NurPhoto/Getty Images

Map highlighting Sri Lanka in orange, showing its location just southeast of India in the Indian Ocean. Surrounding countries include India to the north, Maldives to the southwest, and Bangladesh, Myanmar, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, and China further north and west. A small inset globe at the top right provides global context for Sri Lanka's location.

Sri Lanka

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Kandy, Sri Lanka: Dalada Maligava

Kandy, Sri Lanka: Dalada Maligava

Dalada Maligava (“Temple of the Tooth”), where a tooth of the Buddha is believed...

© Dmitry Rukhlenko/Fotolia

The white neoclassical Town Hall building of Colombo, Sri Lanka, features tall columns and a central dome, with cars parked in front and trees framing the scene.

Colombo

Town hall in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

© Milosk50/Dreamstime.com

Adam's Peak, a steep, conical mountain covered in dense forest, rises prominently against a blue sky near Ratnapura, Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka: Adam's Peak

Adam's Peak, southwestern Sri Lanka.

© eranda/stock.adobe.com

Four Asian elephants stand in a shallow river surrounded by rocks, with palm trees and green hills in the background in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka: elephants

Elephants in Sri Lanka.

© Vladyslav Danilin/Dreamstime.com

Kandy

Kandy

Kandy, Sri Lanka.

Bernard Gagnon

Tea plantation, Sri Lanka

Tea plantation, Sri Lanka

Colby Otero

Two fishermen sit on wooden stilts above the waves, fishing at sunset near Galle, Sri Lanka, with the sun low on the horizon and the sky glowing orange.

Sri Lanka: stilt fishing

Sri Lankans using stilts to practice a traditional form of fishing.

© Jaromír Chalabala/Dreamstime.com

Large stone dome of the Kiri Vihara Stupa rises above sandy ground, with small ruined entrances at its base and trees surrounding the site in Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka.

Kiri Vihara Stupa

Kiri Vihara Stupa, Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka.

© Dmitry Rukhlenko/Shutterstock.com

Sri Lanka: ancient city of Sigiriya

Sri Lanka: ancient city of Sigiriya

The rock pillar upon which are the ruins of an ancient stronghold, Sigiriya, central...

© E.O./Fotolia

Stone Buddha statue seated in meditation posture at the vatadage in Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka, with ancient brick ruins and blue sky in the background.

Buddha statue in Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka

A 12th-century Buddha statue in Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka.

© Glen Allison/Getty Images

Abhayagiri stupa, Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka

Abhayagiri stupa, Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka

Ancient Abhayagiri stupa (shrine) in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka, c. 4th century

ZEFA

Sigiriya, Sri Lanka: apsara

Sigiriya, Sri Lanka: apsara

Painted figure of a celestial dancer (apsara), Sigiriya, Sri Lanka, 6th...

P. Chandra

Ancient stone vatadage in Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka, with a central seated Buddha statue, surrounded by stone pillars and staircases, under a partly cloudy sky.

Vatadage in Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka

The vatadage, a structure to house a relic of the Buddha, in Polonnaruwa,...

© Wirestock/stock.adobe.com

S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike seated at a desk reading a document, wearing glasses and traditional attire, with bookshelves in the background.

S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike

S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike.

© Bettmann/Getty Images

The world's first woman prime minister

The world's first woman prime minister

Sirimavo Bandaranaike, 1960.

Keystone/FPG

Maithripala Sirisena, wearing glasses and a cream-colored vest, smiles and waves with his right hand while standing among supporters in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Maithripala Sirisena

Maithripala Sirisena in Colombo, Sri Lanka, shortly after his victory in the January...

© Chamila Karunarathne—Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Anura Kumara Dissanayake

Anura Kumara Dissanayake

The leader of the leftist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna party, outsider candidate Anura...

© Chamila Karunarathne—EPA-EFE/Shutterstock.com

Map showing the geographic distribution of Indo-Iranian languages across Southwest, Central, and South Asia. Areas shaded orange represent regions where Iranian languages such as Persian, Pashto, Kurdish, and Balochi are spoken, primarily in Iran, Afghanistan, and parts of Pakistan and Central Asia. Areas shaded green indicate regions where Indo-Aryan languages like Hindi, Bengali, Punjabi, Marathi, and Gujarati are spoken, covering most of northern and central India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal

Indo-Iranian languages

Distribution of Indo-Iranian languages.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Audio

National anthem of Sri Lanka

The instrumental version of the national anthem of Sri Lanka.

Interactives

Sri Lanka: Religious affiliation

Sri Lanka: Religious affiliation

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Sri Lanka: Urban-rural

Sri Lanka: Urban-rural

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Sri Lanka: Age breakdown

Sri Lanka: Age breakdown

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Sri Lanka: Major import sources

Sri Lanka: Major import sources

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Sri Lanka: Major export destinations

Sri Lanka: Major export destinations

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

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