What every visitor should know about Sri Lanka:

Money
The currency is the Sri Lankan rupee (LKR). 100 LKR is worth about US$0.89, or €0.61.
Crime
CrimeSafe Travel Score™: 4 out of 5 (Safe)

Areas of concern:

  • Mugging
  • Pick-pocketing / bag-snatching
  • Significant risk of terrorism or politically-motivated attacks
Capital
Colombo
Tap water
Not recommended. Water is usually drinkable in large cities, but quality is uneven.

Sri Lanka facts and figures:

People

Population
21,324,791
Language
Sinhala (official and national language) 74%, Tamil (national language) 18%, other 8%
Ethnicity
Sinhalese 73.8%, Sri Lankan Moors 7.2%, Indian Tamil 4.6%, Sri Lankan Tamil 3.9%, other 0.5%, unspecified 10%

Economy

GDP
US$4,400 (per capita)
Income equality
Moderate
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