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Separated from India by the Palk Strait, Sri Lanka (officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka) comprises one large island and several coral islets to the northwest known as Adam's Bridge. The main island is dominated by rugged central uplands. The fertile plains to the north are criss-crossed by rivers and bordered to the southeast by the Mahaweli River.

Ethnic tensions between the minority Tamils and majority Sinhalese erupted into civil war in 1983. The Tamils were the minority group favored by the British colonists. When the British left, laws were passed to redress the balance by favoring the Sinhalese. The effect was to make Tamils feel sidelined, and support for secession grew. The conflict also has a religious dimension. Most Sinhalese are Buddhist, while Tamils are mostly Muslim or Hindu.

In 1977, Colombo abandoned statist economic policies and its import substitution trade policy for market-oriented policies and export-oriented trade. Sri Lanka's most dynamic sectors now are food processing, textiles and apparel, food and beverages, telecommunications, and insurance and banking.

By 1996 plantation crops made up only 20% of exports (compared with 93% in 1970), while textiles and garments accounted for 63%. GDP grew at an annual average rate of 5.5% throughout the 1990s until a drought and a deteriorating security situation lowered growth to 3.8% in 1996. The economy rebounded in 1997-98 with growth of 6.4% and 4.7% - but slowed to 4.3% in 1999. Growth increased to 5.6% in 2000, with growth in tourism and exports leading the way.

For the next round of reforms, the central bank of Sri Lanka recommends that Colombo expand market mechanisms in nonplantation agriculture, dismantle the government's monopoly on wheat imports, and promote more competition in the financial sector.

In late March 2002, Thailand announced that it will host the first face-to-face peace talks in seven years between the Sri Lankan government and Tamil Tiger rebels in a bid to end nearly two decades of bloody conflict.

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Women in politics
Although there are no legal impediments to the participation of women in politics or government, the social mores in some communities limit women's activities outside the home, and the percentage of women in government and politics does not correspond to their percentage of the population.

In November 1994, a woman was elected President for the first time; she was reelected in December 1999 for a second term. Eleven women held seats in the Parliament that completed its term in August 2000. In addition to the Prime Minister, the Minister for Women's Affairs, and the Minister of Social Services, a number of women held posts as deputy ministers in the last parliament. Of the 5,000 candidates for the October 2000 parliamentary elections, 116 were women and 7 of them won seats in the October elections. Only one woman (Minister of Women's Affairs) was appointed to the new cabinet formed after the December 5 elections.

At present there are only 4.8% women in parliament and according to 1997 statistics, there were a mere 3.4%, 2.6% and 1.7% women representatives respectively in Municipal Councils, Urban Councils and Pradeshiya Sabhas.

The quota system can be used as an effective tool to increase women's participation in politics. In 1997 Sri Lanka's government proposed a constitutional reform, which contained a 25% reservation for women at the local government level. However, little progress has been done and the provision was not even stated in the August 2000 constitutional reform. The reason given by the government was that the Muslim and Tamil parties felt that they would not be able to find sufficient women candidates.

Women have equal rights under national, civil, and criminal law. However, issues related to family law, including divorce, child custody, and inheritance, are adjudicated by the customary law of each ethnic or religious group. The minimum age of marriage for women is 18 years, except in the case of Muslims, who continue to follow their customary marriage practices. The application of different legal practices based on membership in a religious or ethnic group often results in discrimination against women.

More on the situation of women in Sri Lanka in this report.


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Important political facts

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Important political facts
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