Sri Lanka Government

What is the capital of Sri Lanka?

Country Name	Sri Lanka
Full Country Name	Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
Local - Long	Shri Lanka Prajatantrika Samajavadi Janarajaya/Ilankai Jananayaka Choshalichak Kutiyarachu
Local - Short	Shri Lanka/Ilankai
Former Name	Serendib, Ceylon
Etymology- history of name	the name means "resplendent island" in Sanskrit
Government Type	presidential republic
Capital Name	Colombo; note - Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte is the legislative capital
Capital - geographic coordinate	6 55 N, 79 50 E
Capital Time Difference	UTC+5.5 (10.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Independence	4 February 1948 (from the UK)
National Holiday	Independence Day, 4 February (1948)
Constitution	several previous; latest adopted 16 August 1978, certified 31 August 1978; amended many times, last in 2015

Sri Lanka Capital City Map

Source: Google Maps

Sri Lanka Government and Politics

Who is the president of Sri Lanka?

Executive Branch:	chief of state: President Ranil WICKREMESINGHE (since 20 July 2022); the president is both chief of state and head of government; Prime Minister Dinesh GUNAWARDENA (since 22 July 2022) head of government: President Ranil WICKREMESINGHE (since 20 July 2022) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president in consultation with the prime minister elections/appointments: president directly elected by preferential majority popular vote for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 16 November 2019 (next to be held in 2024); prime minister appointed by the president from among members of Parliament for a 5-year term) election results: Ranil WICKREMESINGHE elected president by Parliament on 20 July 2022; WICKREMESINGHE 134 votes, Dullas ALAHAPPERUNA 82 votes Note: amid public protests which began in March 2022, President Gotabaya RAJAPAKSE fled the country on 13 July and Ranil WICKREMESINGHE became acting president; RAJAPAKSE announced his resignation on the 14th, which was accepted by the speaker of Parliament the following day
Citizenship Criteria:	citizenship by birth: no citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Sri Lanka dual citizenship recognized: no, except in cases where the government rules it is to the benefit of Sri Lanka residency requirement for naturalization: 7 years
Legal System:	mixed legal system of Roman-Dutch civil law, English common law, and Jaffna Tamil customary law
Suffrage:	18 years of age; universal
Legislative Branch:	description: unicameral Parliament (225 seats; 196 members directly elected in multi-seat district constituencies by proportional representation vote using a preferential method in which voters select 3 candidates in order of preference; remaining 29 seats, referred to as the "national list" are allocated by each party secretary according to the island wide proportional vote the party obtains; members serve 5-year terms) elections: last held on 5 August 2020 (next to be held in August 2025) election results: percent of vote by coalition/party - SLFPA 59.1%, SJB 23.9%, JVP 3.8%, TNA 2.8%, UNP 2.2%, TNPF 0.6%, EPDP 0.5%, other 7.1%; seats by coalition/party - SLFPA 145, SJB 54, TNA 10, JVP 3, other 13; composition - men 213, women 12, percent of women 5.3%
Judicial Branch:	highest court(s): Supreme Court of the Republic (consists of the chief justice and 9 justices); note - the court has exclusive jurisdiction to review legislation judge selection and term of office: chief justice nominated by the Constitutional Council (CC), a 9-member high-level advisory body, and appointed by the president; other justices nominated by the CC and appointed by the president on the advice of the chief justice; all justices can serve until age 65 subordinate courts: Court of Appeals; High Courts; Magistrates' Courts; municipal and primary courts
Regions or States:	9 provinces; Central, Eastern, North Central, Northern, North Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Uva, Western
Political Parties and Leaders:	Crusaders for Democracy or CFD [Ganeshalingam CHANDRALINGAM] Eelam People's Democratic Party or EPDP [Douglas DEVANANDA] Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front or EPRLF [Suresh PREMACHANDRAN] Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi or ITAK [Mavai SENATHIRAJAH] Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna or JVP [Anura Kumara DISSANAYAKE] Jathika Hela Urumaya or JHU [Udaya GAMMANPILA] National People's Power or NPP (also known as Jathika Jana Balawegaya or JJB) [Anura Kumara DISSANAYAKE] People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam or PLOTE [Dharmalingam SIDDARTHAN] Samagi Jana Balawegaya or SJB [Sajith PREMADASA] Sri Lanka Freedom Party or SLFP [Maithripala SIRISENA] Sri Lanka Muslim Congress or SLMC [Rauff HAKEEM] Sri Lanka People's Freedom Alliance or SLPFA [Mahinda RAJAPAKSA] (includes SLPFP, SLPP, and several smaller parties) Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (Sri Lanka's People's Front) or SLPP [Gamini Lakshman PEIRIS] Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization or TELO [Selvam ADAIKALANATHAN] Tamil National Alliance or TNA [Rajavarothiam SAMPANTHAN] (includes ITAK, PLOTE, TELO) Tamil National People's Front or TNPF [Gajendrakumar PONNAMBALAM] Tamil People's National Alliance or TPNA [Canagasabapathy Visuvalingam VIGNESWARAN] United National Front for Good Governance or UNFGG [Ranil WICKREMESINGHE] (coalition includes JHU, UNP) United National Party or UNP [Ranil WICKREMESINGHE]
International Law Organization Participation:	has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt
International Organization Participation:	ABEDA, ADB, ARF, BIMSTEC, C, CD, CICA (observer), CP, FAO, G-11, G-15, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSTAH, MONUSCO, NAM, OAS (observer), OPCW, PCA, SAARC, SACEP, SCO (dialogue member), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNISFA, UNMISS, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic Representation in the US:	chief of mission: Ambassador Mahinda SAMARASINGHE (since 13 January 2022) chancery: 3025 Whitehaven Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 483-4025 FAX: [1] (202) 232-7181 email address and website: slembassy@slembassyusa.org https://slembassyusa.org/new/ consulate(s) general: Los Angeles, New York
Diplomatic Representation from US:	chief of mission: Ambassador Julie J. CHUNG (since 17 February 2022) embassy: 210 Galle Road, Colombo 03 mailing address: 6100 Colombo Place, Washington DC 20521-6100 telephone: [94] (11) 249-8500 FAX: [94] (11) 243-7345 email address and website: colomboacs@state.gov https://lk.usembassy.gov/

World Regions

Africa Asia Central America Europe Middle East North America Oceania South America The Caribbean

Most Popular

United States of America China France Italy Canada Spain India Brazil Mexico

All Countries

Afghanistan Akrotiri Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antarctica Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brazil British Indian Ocean Territory British Virgin Islands Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burma Burundi Cabo Verde Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Christmas Island Clipperton Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia Comoros Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Cook Islands Coral Sea Islands Costa Rica Cote d’Ivoire Croatia Cuba Curacao Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Dhekelia Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Eswatini Ethiopia Falkland Islands Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia Gabon Gambia, The Gaza Strip Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guernsey Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Holy See Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Isle of Man Israel Italy Jamaica Jan Mayen Japan Jersey Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Korea, North Korea, South Kosovo Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macau Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island North Macedonia Northern Mariana Islands Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Pitcairn Islands Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Reunion Romania Russia Rwanda Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Sudan, South Suriname Svalbard Sweden Switzerland Syria Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Timor-Leste Togo Tokelau Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States (US) Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela Vietnam Virgin Islands Wake Island Wallis and Futuna West Bank Western Sahara World Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe