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Sri Lanka
Capital: Colombo
ISO Code: LK
Dialing code for Sri Lanka: +994
Currency: 1 rupee = 100 cents
Hours ahead (+) or behind (-) SA:+3.5
Language: Sinhala (official and national language)
74%, Tamil (national language) 18%, other 8%
note: English is commonly used in government and is spoken
competently by about 10% of the population
Fact sheets
Guides
Statistics
Business and trade
News
Government
Industry
Reference
Travel
FACT SHEETS
Links to sites that offer short
profiles of the country in question.
CIA
World Factbook
The CIA World Factbook is one of the
more popular sources of information on countries available
on the Internet. It is certainly one of the more comprehensive
sources in terms of the number of countries covered and
each country web page provides general information on the
country's history, economy and culture, etc.
TradePort
country facts
This site provides a short list
of country facts and statistics, including holidays and
other peripheral information. The site is maintained by
provided by California's Trade Port.
World
Flags country snapshot
This site is about country flags,
but it also provides a very convenient "snapshot" of the
country's vital information! It is worth a look if you want
a very quick view of the core facts about the country.
InfoPlease
country almanac
This site provides one of the
better country factsheets. Also worth a visit if you just
want to get to grips with the basics.
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GUIDES
Links to sites that provide more
detailed information and background on the countries in question.
Mbendi
industry profiles
Mbendi provides an broad analysis
of selected industry sectors in countries around the world.
Library
of Congress country studies
The Library of Congress is one
of the major online sources of research and information
in the US and provides a fairly comprehensive country studies
covering a whole host of topics, including the economy ,
trade, industry and business. This is one of the more comprehensive
sources of information and should serve as one of your first
ports of call.
The
Economist country briefing
The Economist provides a more
economic view of the country, but also includes recent economic,
political and other news, economic data, a short history
as well as a poltical overview. The Economist is a respected
source of information and is an essential port of call in
your secondary research efforts.
BBC
country profile
The BBC provides an overview
of the country, covering the following headings; overview,
facts, leaders, and media view. The focus is more on
"newsy" and political items rather than on hard economic
information. Nevertheless, the information is concise and
up-to-date. This is a good site to get an overall feel of
what is happening in the country currently.
Country
profile from NationsOnline
This site provides a gateway of
links to other sites covering topics such as government,
news, business, culture, education, etc. It is more focused
on cultural, poltical and related information, rather than
on economic or trade matters. It is worth a visit if you
are trying to get a broader perspective of the country.
World
Bank country profiles
The World Bank provides a range
of information and data on the country, including a country
briefing, data and statistics, news and events, publications
and reports, programmes and projects, and links to related
information. There is some interesting information on this
site, but the focus is a World Bank one covering developmental
and assistance matters. It remains worth a visit.
STAT-USA
country commercial guides
This site links to documents
covering a country overview that has been prepared by the
U.S. Department of Commerce (STAT-USA). The guide is quite
comprehensive, but has obviously been written from a US
perspective.
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STATISTICS
Links to sites that provide statistical
data on the country in question.
Department
of Census and Statistics
Gives information on the current economic and social situation
in Sri Lanka.
World
Trade Organisations trade statistics
The WTO provides a wide range
of trade statistics on most countries of the world. This
link takes you to the start page where you will need to
select the country(ies) that you wish to obtain trade statistics
on. It is definitely a good site to visit.
Trade
Map
Trade Map is an online trade
statistics resource - perhaps the most comprehensive available,
as the site enables you to research the trade partterns
of single countries, as well as between countries and regions
in some depth. This site requires registration, however,
and the site is not easy to use and will take some effort
to learn to navigate and to use on your part. Nevertheless,
the statistics available from this site are without equal.
InfoNation
InfoNation is a UN website aimed
at the learning community, but that provides a very useful
facility whereby you can access a range of statistics about
different countries and regions. It is also possible to
compare the statistics from five different countries, which
is a useful feature. It is not the easiest site to navigate,
however, and you will need to spend a little time on the
site in order to become familiar with it.
World
Bank - World Development indicators
The site links to a database
of a wide range of development indicators, from GDP to energy
figures. You need to select the country and indicators you
are interested in, but it is an excellent source of up-to-date
information. This is worth a look.
International
Monetary Fund - World Economic Outlook database
The site links to the World Economic
Outlook database, a comprehensive database covering a wide
range of economic and development data. The site requires
you to select the country you want to investigate as well
as the data that you want to view and when you are finished,
it provides you with a printable report covering all the
information you have selected. It is also possible to compare
countries. Although the site requires some effort, it is
an invaluable source of information.
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BUSINESS AND TRADE
Links to business, trade and industry
information
Country
risk assessment from Ducroire | Delcrede SA.NV Credit Insurance
Charts of risk levels for political
and commercial risks and for export transactions and direct
investments.
Central
Bank of Sri Lanka
Offers information on monetary and banking
policies.
Sri
Lanka Customs
Offers information on laws, regulations
and tariffs.
EIA
country analysis
This site provides a country
analysis from an energy perspective.
Banks
A listing of banks in the country
provided by Qualisteam.
Freight
forwarders
A comprehensive list of freight
forwarders provided by Freight Net.
Chambers
of Commerce
A comprehensive list of local
Chambers of Commerce.provided by the World Chambers Network.
Export
Focus telephone directories
Export focus provides links to
local telephone directories for the country.
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NEWS
Links to news, newspapers and other
publications
World
Bank news
News provided by the World Bank
with a focus on economic and trade issues.
The
Washington Post
News on the country by the Washington
Post!
BBC
country timeline
A timeline of key events in the
country.
Newspapers
A comprehensive list of local
newspapers in the country. Also try this link to newspapers
provided by ExportFocus
ABYZ
newslinks
This site provides a host of links
to local and international news providers that cover the
country in question.
World
Press
This site provides a number of
links to news sources on this country.
World
Newspapers
Another site providing links to
news sources from around the world.
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GOVERNMENT
Links to government information
Sri
Lankan government
The offical Sri Lankan Government
website.
Government
information
A listing of government information
on the country, provided by the University of Michigan.
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INDUSTRY SECTORS
Links to various industry sectors
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REFERENCE (maps, currency,
weather, etc.)
Links to reference information
Map
A broad map of the country provided
by Columbus Guides. Also visit Xpeditions
and InfoPlease
for alternative country maps - great for printing.
Current
local time
Current local time in Sri Lanka.
World
time zones
World time zone map.
The
national flag
The site depicts the country's
flag and other national symbols. Also visit World
Flag Database and World
Flags for more information .
Public
holidays
A short list of country facts
and statistics, including holidays (at the end of the list).
Exchange rates
Compare the local currency against
other world currencies.
The
weather
Prepare yourself for the latest
weather in the country - provided by Wunderground. Click
on the city for more detailed information.
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TRAVEL
Links to travel information for the
business person
US
State Department consular brief
Although aimed at US citizens,
these consular briefings are also useful for SA travellers.
Smart
Traveller
Travel advisories provided by
the Australian Government.
Foreign
and Commonwealth Office
Travel advisories provided by
the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
Lonely
Planet
Lonely Planet's guide to the country
I-Explore
National Geographics travel site
for planning and booking trips througout the world.
Travel
notes
Another tavel profile for the
country
Columbus
Guides
Still another tavel guide the
country.
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