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Administrative divisions 8 provinces; Central, North Central, North Eastern, North Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Uva, Western note: in October 2006, a Sri Lankan Supreme Court ruling voided a presidential directive merging the North and Eastern Provinces; many have defended the merger as a prerequisite for a negotiated settlement to the ethnic conflict; a parliamentary decision on the issue is pending
Administrative divisions > Note in October 2006, the Sri Lankan Supreme Court ruled voided a presidential directive merging the North and Eastern Provinces; many have defended the merger as a prerequisite for a negotiated settlement to the ethnic conflict; a parliamentary decision on the issue is pending
Ambassadors from Finland > Current Finnish Ambassadors > Ambassador	Asko Numminen
Capital city	Colombo
Capital city > Geographic coordinates	6 56 N, 79 51 E
Capital city > Name	Colombo
Capital city > Note Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte (legislative capital)
Capital city > Time difference UTC+5.5 (10.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Commonwealth Heads of Government > Current Heads > Head of Government	Mahinda Rajapaksa
Commonwealth Heads of Government > Current Heads > Title	President
Constitution adopted 16 August 1978, certified 31 August 1978
Copyright > Reference	s. 19,
Corruption	3.2		[81st of 160]
countries' copyright length > Usual term of copyright protection	50 pma
CPIA equity of public resource use rating	3.5		[40th of 75]
CPIA quality of public administration rating	3		[49th of 75]
date of transition to republican system of government > Republic since	January 26, 1950
Diplomatic representation from the US > Chief of mission Ambassador Robert O. BLAKE, Jr.
Diplomatic representation from the US > Embassy	210 Galle Road, Colombo 3
Diplomatic representation from the US > FAX	[94] (11) 243-7345
Diplomatic representation from the US > Mailing address	P. O. Box 106, Colombo
Diplomatic representation from the US > Telephone	[94] (11) 249-8500
Diplomatic representation in the US > Chancery 2148 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
Diplomatic representation in the US > Chief of mission Ambassador Jaliya WICKRAMASURIYA
Diplomatic representation in the US > Consulate(s)	New York
Diplomatic representation in the US > Consulate(s) general	Los Angeles
Diplomatic representation in the US > FAX	[1] (202) 232-7181
Diplomatic representation in the US > Telephone [1] (202) 483-4025 (through 4028)
Elections > Head of state	Direct election
embassies and high commissions in Ottawa > Address 333 Laurier Avenue W, Suite 1204
embassies and high commissions in Ottawa > Neighbourhood Downtown
Executive branch > Cabinet Cabinet appointed by the president in consultation with the prime minister
Executive branch > Chief of state President Mahinda RAJAPAKSA (since 19 November 2005); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government; Ratnasiri WICKREMANAYAKE (since 21 November 2005) holds the largely ceremonial title of prime minister
Executive branch > Election results Mahinda RAJAPAKSA elected president; percent of vote - Mahinda RAJAPAKSA 50.3%, Ranil WICKREMESINGHE 48.4%, other 1.3%
Executive branch > Elections president elected by popular vote for a six-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 17 November 2005 (next to be held in 2011)
Executive branch > Head of government President Mahinda RAJAPAKSA (since 19 November 2005)
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 around the entire flag and extends between the two panels
Flag modification	7		[148th of 197]
Foreign relations > Croatia > Date of Establishment	February 14, 1997
Foreign relations > Nepal > Date of Establishment	July 1, 1957
General government final consumption expenditure > annual % growth	18.6 %		[10th of 147]
General government final consumption expenditure > constant LCU	81021000000
General government final consumption expenditure > current LCU	200363400000
General government final consumption expenditure > current US$	1,993,666,000 $		[76th of 169]
General government final consumption expenditure > current US$ (per $ GDP)	0.085 $ per $1 of GDP		[131st of 184]
General government final consumption expenditure > current US$ (per capita)	101.586 $ per capita		[106th of 184]
Government type	republic
Heads of Missions from the United Kingdom	Dominick Chilcott
Heads of Missions from the United Kingdom > Resident Heads of Missions > Type	High Commission
Independence	4 February 1948 (from UK)
Independence Day > Date	February 4
International organization participation ADB, BIMSTEC, C, CP, FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), OPCW, PCA, SAARC, SACEP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIS, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Judicial branch Supreme Court; Court of Appeals; judges for both courts are appointed by the president
Legal origin English
Legal system a highly complex mixture of English common law, Roman-Dutch, Kandyan, and Jaffna Tamil law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch unicameral Parliament (225 seats; members elected by popular vote on the basis of an open-list, proportional representation system by electoral district to serve six-year terms)
Legislative branch > Election results percent of vote by party or electoral alliance - SLFP and JVP (no longer in formal UPFA alliance) 45.6%, UNP 37.8%, TNA 6.8%, JHU 6%, SLMC 2%, UPF 0.5%, EPDP 0.3%, other 1%; seats by party - UNP 68, SLFP 57, JVP 39, TNA 22, CWC 8, JHU 7, SLMC 6, SLMC dissidents 4, Communist Party 2, JHU dissidents 2, LSSP 2, MEP 2, NUA 2, UPF 2, EPDP 1, UNP dissident 1
Legislative branch > Elections last held on 2 April 2004 (next to be held by 2010)
Management time dealing with officials > % of management time	3.54 %		[5th of 38]
National holiday Independence Day, 4 February
Policy uncertainty > % of managers surveyed ranking this as a major business constraint	34 %		[5th of 38]
political parties > Two party	•
Political parties and leaders All Ceylon Tamil Congress or ACTC [G.PONNAMBALAM]; Ceylon Workers Congress or CWC [Arumugam THONDAMAN]; Communist Party or CP [D. GUNASEKERA]; Eelam People's Democratic Party or EPDP [Douglas DEVANANDA]; Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front or EPRLF [Suresh PREMACHANDRAN]; Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna or JVP [Somawansa AMARASINGHE]; Lanka Sama Samaja Party or LSSP [Tissa VITHARANA]; Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (People's United Front) or MEP [D. GUNAWARDENE]; National Heritage Party or JHU [Ellawala METHANANDA]; National Unity Alliance or NUA [Ferial ASHRAFF]; People's Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam or PLOTE [D. SIDHARTHAN]; Sri Lanka Freedom Party or SLFP [Mahinda RAJAPAKSA]; Sri Lanka Muslim Congress or SLMC [Rauff HAKEEM]; Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization or TELO [Selvam ADAIKALANATHAN]; Tamil National Alliance or TNA [R. SAMPANTHAN]; Tamil United Liberation Front or TULF [V. ANANDASANGAREE]; United National Party or UNP [Ranil WICKREMASINGHE]; Up-country People's Front or UPF [P. CHANDRASEKARAN]
Political pressure groups and leaders Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam or LTTE [Velupillai PRABHAKARAN](insurgent group fighting for a separate state); Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP) or Karuna Faction [Vinayagamurthi MURALITHARAN] (paramilitary breakaway from LTTE and fighting LTTE)
Political pressure groups and leaders > Other Buddhist clergy; labor unions; radical chauvinist Sinhalese groups such as the National Movement Against Terrorism; Sinhalese Buddhist lay groups
Prime minister	Ratnasiri Wickremanayake
Procedures to build a warehouse > number	17		[88th of 168]
Procedures to build a warehouse > number (per capita)	0.917 per 1 million people		[121st of 170]
Procedures to enforce a contract > number	20		[158th of 170]
Procedures to enforce a contract > number (per capita)	1.019 per 1 million people		[136th of 171]
Procedures to register property > number	8		[33rd of 167]
Procedures to register property > number (per capita)	407.635 per 1 billion people		[105th of 167]
Proportion of seats held by women in national parliament > %	4.9 %		[156th of 174]
Secession attempts Tamil Elam
Start-up procedures to register a business > number	8		[118th of 171]
Start-up procedures to register a business > number (per capita)	0.408 per 1 million people		[127th of 171]
Status democracy
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal
Time required to build a warehouse > days	167 days		[99th of 168]
Time required to enforce a contract > days	837 days		[23rd of 171]
Time required to register property > days	63 days		[64th of 167]
Time required to start a business > days	50 days		[48th of 171]
Time to prepare and pay taxes > hours	256 hours		[82nd of 169]
Time to resolve insolvency > years	2.2 years		[102nd of 151]
Total businesses registered > number	49,785		[54th of 71]
Total businesses registered > number (per capita)	2.586 per 1 million people		[58th of 83]
Trademarks, nonresidents	1,773		[24th of 99]
Trademarks, nonresidents (per capita)	0.092 per 1 million people		[45th of 146]
Trademarks, residents	3,989		[25th of 98]
Trademarks, residents (per capita)	0.207 per 1 million people		[48th of 142]
Transnational Issues > Disputes > International	none
UN membership date	14 Dec. 1955
United Nations mission http://www.lanka.net/fm/
Washington, D.C. embassies > Neighborhood	Kalorama Heights

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