ADMINISTRATIVE CAPITAL: Sri Jayawardenapura

COMMERCIAL CAPITAL: Colombo

GEOGRAPHY

It is an Island, situated at the tip of the Indian Sub Continent. You can see breathtaking sights of beaches, hills, lakes, wildlife etc, all in an island of approximately 66,000 km². Sri Lanka has a coast line of 1,341 km's.

DEMOGRAPHY

A population of close to 20 Million. Muslims account for about 8% of the population.

CLIMATE

Tropical and warm. In the low-altitute areas the temperature will range from 28 °C (82.4 °F) to nearly 31 °C (87.8 °F). The temperature in the Central highlands could go as low as 17 °C (62.6 °F).

LANGUAGES SPOKEN

Sinhalese and Tamil are the two official languages. English is widely used as well.

LOCAL TIME

GMT+5 1/2 hrs throughout the year

BUSINESS HOURS

Government: 9 AM to 4 PM
General: 9 AM to 5 PM

HOLIDAYS
Independence Day: February 4th
Milad-un-Nabi: March 9th
May Day: May 1st
Deepavali (Hindu Festival): October 26th
Christmas: December 25th

Based on the lunar calandar:
Sinhala & Tamil New Year
Tamil Thai Pongal
Id-ul-Fitr
Id-ul-Adha
Vesak (Buddhist Holiday)
Full Moons (Poya Days) are holidays. Most businesses are closed and meats are not sold.

CURRENCY

Sri Lankan Rupees

IMPORTANT PHONE NUMBERS

Police/ Emergencies: 119 or 118
Medical: 110
Fire: 111
Accident Service: 011 269 1111