Country · Asia
Sri Lanka
Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka is a country in Southern Asia. About 21.7 million people live there, in an area of 65 610 square kilometres. Its capital city is Colombo.
Colombo is Sri Lanka's largest city. The official capital is called Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte and sits right beside it — that is where parliament meets.
Picture credit: Vyacheslav Argenberg (CC BY 4.0) · Sanduni Dissanayake (CC BY-SA 4.0) · PRAVEEN230 (CC BY-SA 4.0) · T Chamika (CC0) · Steffen Schmitz (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Sri Lanka?
Sri Lanka lies in Southern Asia, on the continent of Asia.
It sits in the northern half of the world, roughly 779 km from the equator.
It shares a border with 1 country: India.
How big is Sri Lanka?
Sri Lanka covers 65 610 square kilometres.
That is about 25 times the size of Luxembourg.
Among the world's countries that makes it the 120th largest.
If everybody spread out evenly, there would be about 330.3 people on every square kilometre.
That is busier than the world average of roughly 60 people per square kilometre.
Who lives in Sri Lanka?
About 21.7 million people live in Sri Lanka.
That is the 57th biggest population in the world.
People here speak Sinhala and Tamil.
They pay with the Sri Lankan rupee (Rs රු).
On average, people born here can expect to live about 76 years.
The land of Sri Lanka
It lies inside the tropics, which is the single biggest reason its weather is the way it is.
What makes Sri Lanka different?
Dishes the country is known for: Rice and curry, pittu and kiribath.
Websites from here often end in .lk.
Sri Lanka and the rest of the world
Out of every thousand people alive on Earth, about 3 live in Sri Lanka.
It takes up about 0.05 % of all the land that countries stand on.
Within Asia the country ranks 35th of 46 by size, and 22nd by population.
Sri Lanka and its neighbours
India, its only neighbour, is about 50.1 times bigger.
India has more people: 1.4 billion against 21.7 million.
Nature and animals
Of the animals on this site, 4 live wild in Sri Lanka: Indian peafowl, Sperm whale, Sloth bear and Indian flying fox. The highest mountain in the country is Pidurutalagala, at 2 524 metres. The longest river in the country is the Mahaweli. The country has no large natural lake; its largest body of water, Senanayake Samudraya, is a reservoir.
Photographs from Wikimedia Commons under free licences — every credit is on the page itself and in the picture credits.
How big is Sri Lanka compared with the United States?
- The United States is about 143 times as big as Sri Lanka: 9 372 610 km² against 65 610 km².
- The United Kingdom is about 3.7 times as big as Sri Lanka: 242 900 km² against 65 610 km². See both on one map
Questions children ask
What is the capital of Sri Lanka?
The capital of Sri Lanka is Colombo.
How many people live in Sri Lanka?
About 21.7 million people live in Sri Lanka, which makes it the 57th most populated country in the world. (Source: World Bank, 2018.)
Which countries border Sri Lanka?
Sri Lanka borders India — 1 neighbour in total.
How big is Sri Lanka?
Sri Lanka covers 65 610 square kilometres, making it the 120th largest country in the world. That is about 25 times the size of Luxembourg.
What is the highest mountain in Sri Lanka?
The highest mountain in Sri Lanka is Pidurutalagala, 2 524 metres above sea level. It is the country's highest point.
What is the longest river in Sri Lanka?
The longest river in Sri Lanka is the Mahaweli, about 335 kilometres long.
What is the largest lake in Sri Lanka?
The largest body of water in Sri Lanka is Senanayake Samudraya, a reservoir of about 91 km²; there is no large natural lake in the country.
Which continent is Sri Lanka in?
Sri Lanka is in Asia, in the part called Southern Asia.
Where these numbers come from
Borders and outlines: Natural Earth. Names, capitals, areas, languages and currencies: ISO 3166 data (world-countries). Population: World Bank, 2018. Every derived figure on this page (ranks, density, distance from the equator) is calculated from those values.
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