Sri Lanka, historically known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian peninsula by the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait. It shares a maritime border with the Maldives in the southwest and India in the northwest.
The mixed economy of Sri Lanka was worth $84 billion by nominal gross domestic product (GDP) in 2019 and $296.959 billion by purchasing power parity (PPP). The country had experienced an annual growth of 6.4 percent from 2003 to 2012, well above its regional peers. This growth was driven by the growth of non-tradable sectors, which the World Bank warned to be both unsustainable and unequitable. Growth has slowed since then. In 2019 with an income per capita of 13,620 PPP Dollars or 3,852 (2019) nominal US dollars, Sri Lanka was re-classified as a lower middle income nation with the population around 22 million (2021) by the World Bank from a previous upper middle income status.
Sapphire is a precious gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum, consisting of aluminium oxide (α-Al2O3) with trace amounts of elements such as iron, titanium, cobalt, lead, chromium, vanadium, magnesium, boron, and silicon. The name sapphire is derived from the Latin word sapphirus, itself from the Greek word sappheiros (σάπφειρος), which referred to lapis lazuli. It is typically blue, but natural "fancy" sapphires also occur in yellow, purple, orange, and green colors; "parti sapphires" show two or more colors. Red corundum stones also occur, but are called rubies rather than sapphires. Pink-colored corundum may be classified either as ruby or sapphire depending on the locale. Commonly, natural sapphires are cut and polished into gemstones and worn in jewelry. They also may be created synthetically in laboratories for industrial or decorative purposes in large crystal boules. Because of the remarkable hardness of sapphires – 9 on the Mohs scale (the third hardest mineral, after diamond at 10 and moissanite at 9.5) – sapphires are also used in some non-ornamental applications, such as infrared optical components, high-durability windows, wristwatch crystals and movement bearings, and very thin electronic wafers, which are used as the insulating substrates of special-purpose solid-state electronics such as integrated circuits and GaN-based blue LEDs. Sapphire is the birthstone for September and the gem of the 45th anniversary. A sapphire jubilee occurs after 65 years.
Yala (යාල) National Park is the most visited and second largest national park in Sri Lanka, bordering the Indian Ocean. The park consists of five blocks, three of which are now open to the public. There are also two adjoining parks, Kumana National Park or 'Yala East' and Lunugamvehera National Park. The blocks have individual names, such as Palatupana. It is situated in the southeastern region of the country, in the Southern Province and Uva Province. The park covers 979 square kilometres (378 sq mi) and is located about 300 kilometres (190 mi) from Colombo. Yala was designated as a wildlife sanctuary in 1900, along with Wilpattu, designated in 1938, as the first two designated national parks in Sri Lanka. The park is best known for its variety of wildlife and is important conservation of Sri Lankan elephants, Sri Lankan leopards and aquatic birds.
Udawalawe National Park is a national park on the boundary of Sabaragamuwa and Uva Provinces in Sri Lanka. The park was created to provide a sanctuary for wild animals displaced by the construction of the Udawalawe Reservoir on the Walawe River, as well as to protect the catchment of the reservoir. The reserve covers 30,821 hectares (119.00 sq mi) of land area and was established on 30 June 1972.
Provinces are the first level administrative divisions of Sri Lanka. Currently, Sri Lanka is divided into 9 provinces. Each province is further divided into districts, which are further divided into divisional secretariats.
Ratnapura is a major city in Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of Sabaragamuwa Province, as well as the Ratnapura District, and is a traditional centre for the Sri Lankan gem trade. It is located on the Kalu Ganga in south-central Sri Lanka, some 101 km (63 mi) southeast of the country's capital, Colombo. Ratnapura is also spelled as Rathnapura.
Badulla is the capital and the largest city of Uva Province situated in the lower central hills of Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of Uva Province and the Badulla District.
The Logan Sapphire is a 422.98-carat (84.596 g) sapphire from Sri Lanka. One of the largest blue faceted sapphires in the world, it was owned by Sir Victor Sassoon and then purchased by M. Robert Guggenheim as a gift for his wife, Rebecca Pollard Guggenheim, who donated the sapphire to the Smithsonian Institution in 1960. The sapphire's name is derived from Rebecca's new surname after marrying John A. Logan. It has been displayed in the National Gem Collection of the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., since 1971. It is a mixed cushion-cut sapphire, approximately the size of a large chicken egg, and set in a silver and gold brooch surrounded by 20 round brilliant-cut diamonds.
Great Rebellion of 1817–1818, also known as the 1818 Uva–Wellassa Rebellion , was the third Kandyan War in the Uva and Wellassa provinces of the former Kingdom of Kandy, which is today the Uva province of Sri Lanka. The rebellion started against the British colonial government under Governor Robert Brownrigg, three years after the Kandyan Convention ceded Kingdom of Kandy to the British Crown.
British Ceylon, officially British Settlements and Territories in the Island of Ceylon with its Dependencies from 1802 to 1833, then the Island of Ceylon and its Territories and Dependencies from 1833 to 1931 and finally the Island of Ceylon and its Dependencies from 1931 to 1948, was the British Crown colony of present-day Sri Lanka between 1796 and 4 February 1948. Initially, the area it covered did not include the Kingdom of Kandy, which was a protectorate, but from 1817 to 1948 the British possessions included the whole island of Ceylon, now the nation of Sri Lanka.
Bandarawela is the second largest town in the Badulla District which is 28 km (17 mi) away from Badulla. Bandarawela is 200 km (120 mi) away from Colombo and about 125 km (78 mi) away from Kandy, the two largest cities of Sri Lanka. Thanks to its higher altitude, compared to surrounding locations, Bandarawela has milder weather conditions throughout the year making it a tourist destination for locals. Bandarawela is within hours reach of surrounding towns and cities by both road and rail. The town is influenced by its colonial history and rests among dense, lush forestation occupying a niche among visitors as a base for tourism.
Rathnayaka Mudiyanselage Dharmadasa Banda, known commonly as R. M. Dharmadasa Banda, was a Sri Lankan teacher, lawyer and politician, a member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka and a former cabinet minister. He was a Basnayaka Nilame of the Ruhunu Maha Kataragama Devalaya.
Scientific research in Sri Lanka is carried out by several research institutions. However, historically, Sri Lanka has been behind its regional peers in research funding. Sri Lanka was ranked 95th in the Global Innovation Index in 2021.
Pelwatte Sugar Industries PLC is a Sri Lankan sugar manufacturing company, which is listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange. The main sugar factory of the group is located in Buttala in the Moneragala District, Uva Province, about 225 kilometres (140 mi) from Colombo to the east of the country. Pelwatte Sugar was incorporated on 19 February 1981 as Pelwatte Sugar Company Ltd. It became a Public Limited Liability company on 10 December 1982. In 1990, the holding company changed its name to Pelwatte Sugar Industries Ltd. It was first quoted on the Colombo Stock Exchange in 1984.
The following lists notable events that occurred and which took place during 2017 in Sri Lanka.
Malwattege Simon Andrew Peeris, OBE was a Ceylonese businessmen and politician.
The Bibile Polling Division is a Polling Division in the Monaragala Electoral District, in the Uva Province, Sri Lanka.
