FAX: (1) 437345

FAX: (202) 232-7181

consulate(s) general: Los Angeles

consulate(s): New York

Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador
E. Ashley WILLS

embassy: 210 Galle Road, Colombo 3

mailing address: P. O. Box 106, Colombo

telephone: (1) 448007

Flag description: yellow with two panels; the smaller hoist-side panel has two equal vertical bands of green (hoist side) and orange; the other panel is a large dark red rectangle with a yellow lion holding a sword, and there is a yellow bo leaf in each corner; the yellow field appears as a border that goes around the entire flag and extends between the two panels

Sri Lanka Economy

Economy - overview: 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. But a resurgence of civil war between the Sinhalese and the minority Tamils and a possible slowdown in tourism dampen prospects for 2001. 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.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $62.7 billion (2000 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 5.6% (2000 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $3,250 (2000 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 21%

industry: 19%

services: 60% (1998)

Population below poverty line: 22% (1997 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 1.8%

highest 10%: 39.7% (1995-96 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 8.5% (2000 est.)

Labor force: 6.6 million (1998)

Labor force - by occupation: services 45%, agriculture 38%, industry 17% (1998 est.)

Unemployment rate: 8.8% (1999 est.)

Budget: revenues: $3 billion

expenditures: $3 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)

Industries: processing of rubber, tea, coconuts, and other agricultural commodities; clothing, cement, petroleum refining, textiles, tobacco

Industrial production growth rate: 4% (1999)

Electricity - production: 6.026 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 29.9%

hydro: 70.1%

nuclear: 0%

other: 0% (1999)

Electricity - consumption: 5.604 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (1999)

Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (1999)

Agriculture - products: rice, sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseed, spices, tea, rubber, coconuts; milk, eggs, hides, beef

Exports: $5.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000)

Exports - commodities: textiles and apparel, tea, diamonds, coconut products, petroleum products

Exports - partners: US 39%, UK 13%, Middle East 8%, Germany 5%,
Japan 4% (1999)

Imports: $6.1 billion (f.o.b., 2000)

Imports - commodities: machinery and equipment, textiles, petroleum, foodstuffs

Imports - partners: Japan 10%, India 9%, Hong Kong 8%, Singapore 8%,
South Korea 6% (1999)

Debt - external: $9.9 billion (2000)

Economic aid - recipient: $577 million (1998)

Currency: Sri Lankan rupee (LKR)

Currency code: LKR

Exchange rates: Sri Lankan rupees per US dollar - 83.506 (January 2001), 77.005 (2000), 70.635 (1999), 64.450 (1998), 58.995 (1997), 55.271 (1996)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Sri Lanka Communications

Telephones - main lines in use: 494,509 (1998)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 228,604 (1999)

Telephone system: general assessment: very inadequate domestic service, particularly in rural areas; some hope for improvement with privatization of national telephone company and encouragement to private investment; good international service (1999)

domestic: national trunk network consists mostly of digital microwave radio relay; fiber-optic links now in use in Colombo area and two fixed wireless local loops have been installed; competition is strong in mobile cellular systems; telephone density remains low at 2.6 main lines per 100 persons (1999)

international: submarine cables to Indonesia and Djibouti; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) (1999)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 26, FM 45, shortwave 1 (1998)

Radios: 3.85 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations: 21 (1997)

Televisions: 1.53 million (1997)

Internet country code: .lk

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 5 (2000)

Internet users: 65,000 (2000)

Sri Lanka Transportation

Railways: total: 1,463 km

broad gauge: 1,404 km 1.676-m gauge

narrow gauge: 59 km 0.762-m gauge (1996)

Highways: total: 11,285 km

paved: 10,721 km

unpaved: 564 km (1998 est.)

Waterways: 430 km (navigable by shallow-draft craft)

Pipelines: crude oil and petroleum products 62 km (1987)

Ports and harbors: Colombo, Galle, Jaffna, Trincomalee

Merchant marine: total: 20 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 149,902 GRT/247,852 DWT

ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 16, container 1, petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 1 (2000 est.)

Airports: 14 (2000 est.)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 12

over 3,047 m: 1

1,524 to 2,437 m: 5

914 to 1,523 m: 6 (2000 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 2

1,524 to 2,437 m: 1

under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.)

Sri Lanka Military

Military branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Police Force

Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age

Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 5,304,323 (2001 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 4,119,511 (2001 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 193,522 (2001 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure: $719 million (FY98)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 4.2% (FY98)

Sri Lanka Transnational Issues

Disputes - international: none

@Sudan

Sudan Introduction

Background: Military dictatorships promulgating an Islamic government have mostly run the country since independence from the UK in 1956. Over the past two decades, a civil war pitting black Christians and animists in the south against the Arab-Muslims of the north has cost at least 1.5 million lives in war- and famine-related deaths, as well as the displacement of millions of others.

Sudan Geography

Location: Northern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Egypt and
Eritrea

Geographic coordinates: 15 00 N, 30 00 E

Map references: Africa

Area: total: 2,505,810 sq km

land: 2.376 million sq km

water: 129,810 sq km

Area - comparative: slightly more than one-quarter the size of the US

Land boundaries: total: 7,687 km

border countries: Central African Republic 1,165 km, Chad 1,360 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 628 km, Egypt 1,273 km, Eritrea 605 km, Ethiopia 1,606 km, Kenya 232 km, Libya 383 km, Uganda 435 km

Coastline: 853 km

Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 18 NM

continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation

territorial sea: 12 NM

Climate: tropical in south; arid desert in north; rainy season
(April to October)

Terrain: generally flat, featureless plain; mountains in east and west

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Red Sea 0 m

highest point: Kinyeti 3,187 m

Natural resources: petroleum; small reserves of iron ore, copper, chromium ore, zinc, tungsten, mica, silver, gold, hydropower

Land use: arable land: 5%

permanent crops: 0%

permanent pastures: 46%

forests and woodland: 19%

other: 30% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 19,460 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: dust storms

Environment - current issues: inadequate supplies of potable water; wildlife populations threatened by excessive hunting; soil erosion; desertification

Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity,
Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea,
Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection

signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note: largest country in Africa; dominated by the Nile and its tributaries

Sudan People

Population: 36,080,373 (July 2001 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 44.62% (male 8,227,011; female 7,870,783)

15-64 years: 53.29% (male 9,619,218; female 9,608,469)

65 years and over: 2.09% (male 425,898; female 328,994) (2001 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.79% (2001 est.)

Birth rate: 37.89 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Death rate: 10.04 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Net migration rate: 0.04 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 1.29 male(s)/female

total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2001 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 68.67 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 56.94 years

male: 55.85 years

female: 58.08 years (2001 est.)

Total fertility rate: 5.35 children born/woman (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.99% (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: NA

HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA

Nationality: noun: Sudanese (singular and plural)

adjective: Sudanese

Ethnic groups: black 52%, Arab 39%, Beja 6%, foreigners 2%, other 1%

Religions: Sunni Muslim 70% (in north), indigenous beliefs 25%,
Christian 5% (mostly in south and Khartoum)

Languages: Arabic (official), Nubian, Ta Bedawie, diverse dialects of Nilotic, Nilo-Hamitic, Sudanic languages, English

note: program of "Arabization" in process

Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 46.1%

male: 57.7%

female: 34.6% (1995 est.)

Sudan Government

Country name: conventional long form: Republic of the Sudan

conventional short form: Sudan

local long form: Jumhuriyat as-Sudan

local short form: As-Sudan

former: Anglo-Egyptian Sudan

Government type: transitional - ruling military junta took power in
1989; government is dominated by members of Sudan's National Islamic
Front (NIF), a fundamentalist political organization, which uses the
National Congress Party (NCP) as its legal front

Capital: Khartoum

Administrative divisions: 26 states (wilayat, singular - wilayah);
A'ali an Nil, Al Bahr al Ahmar, Al Buhayrat, Al Jazirah, Al Khartum,
Al Qadarif, Al Wahdah, An Nil al Abyad, An Nil al Azraq, Ash
Shamaliyah, Bahr al Jabal, Gharb al Istiwa'iyah, Gharb Bahr al
Ghazal, Gharb Darfur, Gharb Kurdufan, Janub Darfur, Janub Kurdufan,
Junqali, Kassala, Nahr an Nil, Shamal Bahr al Ghazal, Shamal Darfur,
Shamal Kurdufan, Sharq al Istiwa'iyah, Sinnar, Warab

Independence: 1 January 1956 (from Egypt and UK)

National holiday: Independence Day, 1 January (1956)

Constitution: 12 April 1973, suspended following coup of 6 April 1985; interim constitution of 10 October 1985 suspended following coup of 30 June 1989; new constitution implemented on 30 June 1998 partially suspended 12 December 1999 by President BASHIR

Legal system: based on English common law and Islamic law; as of 20 January 1991, the now defunct Revolutionary Command Council imposed Islamic law in the northern states; Islamic law applies to all residents of the northern states regardless of their religion; some separate religious courts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Suffrage: 17 years of age; universal, but noncompulsory

Executive branch: chief of state: President Lt. Gen. Umar Hasan
Ahmad al-BASHIR (since 16 October 1993); First Vice President Ali
Uthman Muhammad TAHA (since 17 February 1998), Second Vice President
Moses MACHAR (since 12 February 2001); note - the president is both
the chief of state and head of government

head of government: President Lt. Gen. Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR (since 16 October 1993); First Vice President Ali Uthman Muhammad TAHA (since 17 February 1998), Second Vice President Moses MACHAR (since 12 February 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government

cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president; note - the National Congress Party (front for the National Islamic Front or NIF) dominates BASHIR's cabinet

elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 13-23 December 2000 (next to be held NA 2005)

election results: Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR reelected president; percent of vote - Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR 86.5%, Ja'afar Muhammed NUMAYRI 9.6%, three other candidates received less than a combined 4% of the vote

note: BASHIR assumed supreme executive power in 1989 and retained it through several transitional governments in the early and mid-90s before being popularly elected for the first time in March 1996

Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (400 seats; 275 elected by popular vote, 125 elected by a supra assembly of interest groups known as the National Congress)

elections: last held 13-23 December 2000 (next to be held NA)

election results: NA; few parties participated in the 2000 elections

note: on 12 December 1999, BASHIR dismissed the National Assembly during an internal power struggle between the president and speaker of the National Assembly Hasan al-TURABI

Judicial branch: Supreme Court; Special Revolutionary Courts

Political parties and leaders: the government allows political "associations" under a 1998 law revised in 2000; to obtain government approval parties must accept the constitution and refrain from advocating or using violence against the regime; approved parties include the National Congress Party or NCP [Ibrahim Ahmed UMAR], Popular National Congress [Hassan al-TURABI], and a handful of minor pro-government parties

Political pressure groups and leaders: National Congress Party
[Ibrahim Ahmed UMAR] (front for the National Islamic Front or NIF);
Popular National Congress [Hassan al-TURABI]; Umma [Sadiq al-MAHDI];
Democratic Unionist Party [Muhammed Uthman AL-MIRGHANI]; National
Democratic Alliance [Muhammed Uthman AL-MIRGHANI, chairman]; Sudan
People's Liberation Army [Dr. John GARANG]

International organization participation: ABEDA, ACP, AfDB, AFESD,
AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA,
IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC,
IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
(observer)

Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador
Mahdi Ibrahim MAHAMMAD (recalled to Khartoum in August 1998)

chancery: 2210 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone: (202) 338-8565