斯里兰卡(Sri Lanka)
正式名称斯里兰卡民主社会主义共和国（Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka）
旧称锡兰（Ceylon）
印度洋上的岛国，面积65,610平方公里。人口约19,399,000（2001）。首都︰可伦坡（行政）；斯里贾亚瓦德纳普拉.科特（立法）。约75%的人口为僧伽罗人。其他种族集团有坦米尔人和穆斯林。语言︰僧伽罗语和坦米尔语（均为官方语）；英语的使用亦很广泛。宗教︰佛教、印度教、伊斯兰教和基督教。货币︰斯里兰卡卢比（SL Rs）。高地构成了斯里兰卡的中南部地区和中心处，有狭窄的峡谷以及深深的河谷。四周围低地有小山和肥沃的平原。斯里兰卡属开发中混合经济，主要以农业、服务业和轻工业为基础。茶叶、橡胶和椰子为主要出口品。斯里兰卡因出口多种宝石而着称於世，有蓝宝石、红宝石和黄宝石。在高级石墨生产方面居世界领先地位。政府形式为共和国，一院制。国家元首暨政府首脑为总统，由总理辅助。
斯里兰卡的僧伽罗人可能源自於原住民与西元5世纪左右自印度来到该地的印欧人混合种。坦米尔人是以後来自达罗毗荼印度的移民。他们的移民活动从西元初一直延续到西元1200年前後。佛教在西元前3世纪传入。随着佛教的普及，僧伽罗人王国的政治控制在锡兰扩张开来，10世纪失於来自南印度的入侵者。从1200～1505年，僧伽罗人的势力逐渐转到该岛西南部。与此同时，一个南印度王朝在北方崛起，并於14世纪建立了一个坦米尔王国。在13～15世纪，发生了来自印度、中国和马来亚的入侵。1505年，葡萄牙人到达。到1619年，葡萄牙人控制了该岛的大部分领土。僧伽罗人借助荷兰人的帮助，把葡萄牙人赶了出去，但该岛却落入了荷属东印度公司的手中，1796年让予英国人。1802年，锡兰成为英国政府的直辖殖民地。1948年，获得独立。1972年成为斯里兰卡共和国。1978年改国名为斯里兰卡民主社会主义共和国。近几年来，随着坦米尔在斯里兰卡北部要求单独的自治国家，坦米尔与僧伽罗集团之间的内讧侵扰该国。
English version：
Sri Lanka
formerlyCeylonIsland country in the Indian Ocean, off the southeastern coast of India. Area: 25,332 sq mi (65,610 sq km). Population (1997 est.): 18,663,000. Capitals: Colombo (executive), Sri Jayewardenepura (legislative and judicial). About 75% of the population is Sinhalese; other ethnic groups include Tamils and Muslims. Languages: Sinhalese and Tamil (both official); English also widely spoken. Religions: Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Christianity. Currency: Sri Lanka rupee. Highlands make up Sri Lanka's southern central region and heart, with narrow gorges and deep river valleys. The surrounding lowlands include hills and fertile plains. It has a developing mixed economy, largely based on agriculture, services, and light industries. Tea, rubber, and coconuts are exported. The island is world-famous for its gemstones, which include sapphires, rubies, and topaz. It leads the world in the production of high-grade graphite. It is a republic with one legislative house; its head of state and government is the president, assisted by the prime minister. The Sinhalese people of Sri Lanka probably originated with aboriginal inhabitants blending with migrating Indo-Aryans from India c. 5th century BC. The Tamils were later immigrants from Dravidian India, migrating over a period from the early centuries AD to c. 1200. Buddhism was introduced during the 3rd century BC. As Buddhism spread, the Sinhalese kingdom extended its political control over Ceylon, but lost it to invaders from southern India in the 10th century AD. Between 1200 and 1505 Sinhalese power gravitated to southwestern Ceylon, while a southern Indian dynasty seized power in the north and established the Tamil kingdom in the 14th century. Foreign invasions from India, China, and Malaya occurred in the 13th-15th century. In 1505 the Portuguese arrived, and by 1619 they controlled most of the island. The Sinhalese enlisted the Dutch to help oust the Portuguese, and it eventually came under the control of the Dutch East India Co., which relinquished it in 1796 to the British. In 1802 Ceylon became a crown colony, gaining independence in 1948. It became the Republic of Sri Lanka in 1972, and was renamed the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka in 1978. Civil strife between Tamil and Sinhalese groups has beset the country in recent years, with the Tamils demanding a separate autonomous state in northern Sri Lanka.