Sri Lanka
Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte · South Asia
Sri Lanka is a country in Asia. Its capital city is Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, the official currency is the Sri Lankan Rupee, and the main language is Sinhala.
With a population of roughly 21.9 million people spread over 65,610 km², Sri Lanka is the 60th most populous country in the world and the 120th largest by area. That works out at about 334 people per square kilometre.
Sri Lanka has no land borders with any other country. Its largest urban centres are Colombo, Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia and Moratuwa. The highest point in the country is Pidurutalagala, at 2,524 metres.
For scale, it covers almost exactly the same area as Lithuania, while its population is closest to that of Malawi.
- Capital
- Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte
- Region
- South Asia
- Population
- 21,900,000
- Area
- 65,610 km²
- Currency
- Sri Lankan Rupee
- Main language
- Sinhala
- Highest point
- Pidurutalagala
2,524 m - Land borders
- 0
Sri Lanka: things worth knowing
- Sri Lanka's administrative capital is Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, though Colombo remains the commercial centre.
- It is one of the world's largest tea exporters, a trade established under British rule in the 19th century.
- Sigiriya, a palace complex built atop a 180-metre rock column, dates from the 5th century.
Sri Lanka in context
Asia has 48 sovereign countries in total. Sri Lanka ranks 23rd among them by population.
See the full list of Asia countries, or browse all 195 countries.