Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an island nation in South Asia with a documented history of more than 3,000 years, including Buddhist writings dating to 29 BCE, and endured Portuguese, Dutch and British colonial rule before gaining independence from Britain on 4 February 1948 as the Dominion of Ceylon under the Soulbury constitution, with D. S. Senanayake as its first prime minister. It became a republic in 1972 and adopted its current constitution on 7 September 1978, when it took its present name; the country operates as a unitary semi-presidential republic, with Colombo serving as executive and judicial capital and largest city while Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte is the legislative capital. Its population of about 22 million is roughly 74 percent Sinhalese and 15 percent Tamil, with Moor, Indian Tamil and Burgher minorities, and Sri Lanka has the highest level of human development in South Asia while participating in SAARC, the Commonwealth and the Non-Aligned Movement.
Facts
Government TypeUnitary semi-presidential republic 1 Start Year1948 is Sri Lanka's independence as the Dominion of Ceylon under the British crown; the country became a republic in 1972. Government type (class) Classification
Status (Extant or Former) Connections
In Era
Source Wikipedia: Sri Lanka
In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Sri Lanka
WikipediaLead section, paragraph 1
Its executive and judicial capital is Colombo, which is also its largest city and the political, financial and cultural centre of the country; neighboring Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte is the legislative capital.
Government and politics section, paragraph 1
Sri Lanka is a democratic republic and a unitary state which is governed by a semi-presidential system.
Lead section, paragraph 2
In 1948, Sri Lanka gained independence as the Dominion of Ceylon, eventually becoming a republic in 1972.
Sri Lanka: Status
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an island nation in South Asia with a documented history of more than 3,000 years, including Buddhist writings dating to 29 BCE, and endured Portuguese, Dutch and British colonial rule before gaining independence from Britain on 4 February 1948 as the Dominion of Ceylon under the Soulbury constitution, with D.
In Era: The Contemporary Period, lead paragraph and infobox, existence dates
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, formerly known as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia.
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