Welcome to another blog in the series, KNOW OUR WORLD. In this blog, we will be talking about Sri Lanka which is known as ‘The Teardrop of India’ due to its unique shape.

Sri Lanka has been a popular face of attraction for foreign travellers. It is best known for its Buddhist culture and other religions. Being one of the largest producers of tea in the world, it is famous for its unorthodox tea. 

Major Statistics

• Capital and largest city: Colombo, city, executive and judicial capital of Sri Lanka. (Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, a Colombo suburb, is the legislative capital).
• Official Name:  Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.
• Religion: The major religion is Theravada Buddhism followed by 70% of the population.
• National Anthem: Sri Lanka Matha
• Language: Sinhala
• Currency: Sri Lankan rupee (LKR)
• National Flower:  Water Lily.
• National Bird: Sri Lankan junglefowl
• National animal: There is no official national animal in Sri Lanka even though the elephant, lion, and grizzled giant squirrel are locally considered as such.
• National Flag:

•  Lion Flag or Sinha Flag, consists of a gold lion holding a kastane sword in its right fore-paw in a maroon background with four gold bo leaves, one in each corner. This is bordered by gold, and to its left are two vertical stripes of equal size in green and orange, with the orange stripe closest to the lion. The lion and the maroon background represent the Sinhalese, while the saffron border and four Bo leaves represent Buddhism and the four Buddhist concepts of Mettā, Karuṇā, Muditā and Upekshā respectively. The stripes represent the two main minorities: the orange representing the Sri Lankan Tamils and the green representing Sri Lankan Muslims.

Geography

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an island country in  South Asia, located in the Indian Ocean southwest of the Bay of Bengal and southeast of the Arabian Sea. It is geographically separated from the Indian subcontinent by the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait.

• Largest state (by area): North Central province with capital as Anuradhapura.
• Smallest state (by area): Western province with capital as Colombo
• Highest peak: Pidurutalagala Mountain also known as Mount Pedro.
• Rivers: Kalu Ganga, which roughly translates to Black River, is one of the most prominent rivers in Sri Lanka

Polity

• President: Gotabaya Rajapaksa (2020)

• Prime Minister : Mahinda Rajapaksa (2020)

Some Interesting Facts:

• It is nicknamed Pearl of the Indian Ocean and teardrop of India
• It’s packed with a large variety of animals
•  Tea is a big business in Sri Lanka
• It is home of cinnamon
• Adam’s Peak is the most sacred mountain in the country
• Sri Lanka gave “serendipity” to the English language
• The Sri Lankan national flag is one of the oldest in the world
• One of Buddha’s Teeth is housed in a temple in Kandy
• It is the first country in the world to have a female prime minister
• It has the highest literacy rate in South Asia
• Volleyball is the national sport of Sri Lanka.

So, this is all for this blog. We’ll keep updating you with such interesting blogs in future as well so that you don’t face any difficulty while appearing for competitive exams such as SSC CHSL, NET JRF, etc.

In the next blog, we would be discussing some interesting facts and trivia about the country Colombia . Click here to Know Country – ‘Colombia’.