World Factbook
Sri Lanka
Shri Lanka Prajatantrika Samajavadi Janarajaya (Sinhala)/ Ilankai Jananayaka Choshalichak Kutiyarachu (Tamil)
Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)
Area
land
64,630 sq km
water
980 sq km
total
65,610 sq km
Climate
tropical monsoon; northeast monsoon (December to March); southwest monsoon (June to October)
Terrain
mostly low, flat to rolling plain; mountains in south-central interior
Land use
other
16.7% (2023 est.)
forest
34.4% (2023 est.)
agricultural land
48.6% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: arable land
arable land: 22.2% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent crops
permanent crops: 19.3% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent pasture
permanent pasture: 7.1% (2023 est.)
Location
Southern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of India
Coastline
1,340 km
Elevation
lowest point
Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point
Pidurutalagala 2,524 m
mean elevation
228 m
Irrigated land
5,700 sq km (2012)
Map references
Asia
Land boundaries
total
0 km
Maritime claims
contiguous zone
24 nm
territorial sea
12 nm
continental shelf
200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
exclusive economic zone
200 nm
Natural hazards
occasional cyclones and tornadoes
Geography - note
strategic location near major Indian Ocean sea lanes; Adam's Bridge is a chain of limestone shoals between the southeastern coast of India and the northwestern coast of Sri Lanka; geological evidence suggests that this 50-km (31-mi) bridge once connected India and Sri Lanka; ancient records seem to indicate that a foot passage was possible between the two land masses until the 15th century, when the land bridge broke up in a cyclone
Natural resources
limestone, graphite, mineral sands, gems, phosphates, clay, hydropower, arable land
Area - comparative
slightly larger than West Virginia
Geographic coordinates
7 00 N, 81 00 E
Population distribution
the population is primarily concentrated within a broad wet zone in the southwest, urban centers along the eastern coast, and on the Jaffna Peninsula in the north