Sri Lanka
Population: 20,859,949
Official Language: Sinhala, Tamil
Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent in South Asia. Known until 1972 as Ceylon, Sri Lanka is an island located off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent, surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar, the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the Maldives. Colombo, the former capital (and still the site of many government offices), is the commercial capital and largest city.
As a result of its location in the path of major sea routes, Sri Lanka is a strategic naval link between West Asia and South East Asia. It was an important stop on the ancient Silk Road. The island’s contact with the outside world began early. Roman sailors called the island Taprobane. Arab traders knew it as “Serendip,” the root of the word “serendipity.”
Sri Lanka has also been a center of the Buddhist religion and culture from ancient times, and is one of the few remaining abodes of Buddhism.
