Introducing Sri-Lanka

Empires Children is set in Sri-Lanka. Let’s begin by getting to know the country:

SRI LANKA is an island in the Indian Ocean off the southeast tip of India, Sri Lanka is about the size of Tasmania. Most of the land is flat with mountains in the south-central region rising to over 2,438 metres. It is often described as a tropical paradise. The vegetation of the coastal belt is lush and dramatic, and the mountainous areas of the interior covered with green tea bushes are spectacular. Pleasant sea breezes temper the coast’s tropical climate through most of the year; the hills and mountains in the island’s centre are cool at night.

Arab traders of long ago knew the island as Serendib, which is the origin of the word serendipity, reflecting the unexpected pleasures of the land.

Sri Lanka, once known as the British Crown Colony of Ceylon, became independent in 1948. Its 1972 constitution proclaimed it an independent republic, and changed the country’s name. Finally, in 1978, a new constitution officially declared the island the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.

Total population: 20.9 million

Ethnicity: Sinhalese 73.8%, Sri Lankan Moors 7.2%, Indian Tamil 4.6%, Sri Lankan Tamil 3.9%, other 0.5%, unspecified 10% (2001 census provisional data)

Religion: Buddhist (official) 69.1%, Muslim 7.6%, Hindu 7.1%, Christian 6.2%, unspecified 10% (2001 census provisional data)