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Sri Lanka : Country Situation print friendly page email this page

Sri Lanka has been wracked by civil war for over twenty years, fueled by tensions between the Sinhalese majority and Tamil separatists, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The conflict claimed over 60,000 lives and left a legacy of 700,000 landmines scattered across large swathes of countryside. Main ethnic groups comprising Sri Lanka's population of 20 million are Sinhalese (70%), Tamils (18%) and Muslims (8%).

The gender separation is 50.2% female and 49.8% male. For purposes of local government, Sri Lanka is divided into nine provinces which sub-divide into a total of 25 districts. Approximately 77% of the population lives in rural areas. The population growth rate in 2004 was 0.81%. The Norwegian Government continues to broker peace and reconciliation talks, founded on principles of internal self-determination for the Tamil people, based on a federal structure within a united Sri Lanka.

Many Sri Lankans, whilst not destitute, remain poor and vulnerable. Though estimated only 4% of the population now exists on under $1 a day, 41% still live on less than $2 a day. Concentrations of extreme poor exist in the conflict zones in the north and east due to the large numbers of internally displaced people in these areas. Although most poor live in the countryside, poverty rates per capita in urban areas are only a little lower than rural areas.

Sri Lankan Women
 
waiting for eyecare

Of the estimated 730,000 people displaced at the signing of the ceasefire agreement in February 2002, 387,000 (53%) were still displaced at the end of 2003.

Around one quarter of these people continue to live in precarious conditions in Welfare Camps. In areas earmarked for resettlement, the UN estimates 75% of returnees will not have access to adequate water supply or proper sanitation and will face a serious lack of medical care due to the overall lack of health infrastructures and the flight of qualified personnel.

WHO concluded in 2002 that the depletion of human resources combined with a lack of proper supplies had disrupted all regular curative and preventative services in the north-east of Sri Lanka.

The destructive force of the December 2004 Tsunami impacted on 261,414 families, displacing 143,307 families (516,150 people) many of whom continue to live either with friends or relatives or in welfare camps..