KEY FACTS Joined Commonwealth: 1948 Population: 21,273,000 (2013) GDP p.c. growth: 4.6% p.a. 1990–2013 GNI p.c.: US$3,170 (2013) UN HDI 2014: World ranking 73 Life expectancy: 74 years (2013) Under-five mortality rate (per 1,000 live births): 10 (2012) Largest contribution to mortality: Cardiovascular diseases Government health expenditure: 1.3% of GDP (2013) General information The Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) is an island in the Indian Ocean, separated from south-east India (Tamil Nadu state) by the Palk Strait. It is almost linked to the Indian mainland by Adam’s Bridge, an atoll barrier, mostly submerged, lying between the offshore island of Mannar and India itself. The country comprises nine provinces (from south to north): Southern (provincial capital Galle), Sabaragamuwa (Ratnapura), Western (Colombo), Uva (Badulla), Eastern (Trincomalee), Central (Kandy), North-Western (Kurunegala), North-Central (Anuradhapura) and Northern (Jaffna). 270 Commonwealth Health Partnerships 2015 Climate: Tropical. The lowlands are always hot, particularly in March–May. The highlands are cooler. During December–January there is occasional frost on very high ground – for example, at Nuwara Eliya. The dry season is March–mid-May. The south-west monsoon season spans mid-May–September; the north-east, November–March. Environment: The most significant environmental issues are deforestation; soil erosion; coastal degradation as a result of mining activities and increased pollution; pollution of freshwater resources by industrial wastes and sewage; air pollution in Colombo; and the threats to wildlife populations of poaching and urbanisation. Population: 21,273,000 (2013); 18 per cent of people live in urban areas. The population growth rate stood at 0.9 per cent p.a. between the years of 1990 and 2013. In 2013 the birth rate was 18 per 1,000 people (31 in 1970) and life expectancy was 74 years (43 in 1946 and 64 in 1970). The largest ethnic group is Sinhalese (estimated at 74 per cent of the population), followed by Sri Lankan Tamils (12 per cent), Muslims (seven per cent), Indian Tamils (five per cent), and small communities of Malays and Burghers (persons of Dutch or partly Dutch descent), with a small number of Veddhas, descended from the earliest inhabitants. Sinhalese settlers arrived in the fifth and sixth centuries BC. Economy: Sri Lanka is classified as a lower-middle-income economy by the World Bank. Health Child and maternal health: Infant mortality in Sri Lanka was eight deaths per 1,000 live births in 2013, with an under-five mortality rate of ten deaths per 1,000 live births in 2013. There has been a consistent gradual decline in the under-five mortality rate since 1990. Although this decline is promising, the under-five mortality rate is not yet in line with the country’s target of seven deaths per 1,000 live births as defined by Millennium Development Goal 4 (MDG 4). In 2010 the two most prominent causes of death for children below the age of five years were congenital anomalies (39 per cent) and prematurity (25 per cent). Other contributory causes were intrapartum-related complications (nine per cent), acute respiratory infections (six per cent), injuries (four per cent), neonatal sepsis (four per cent) and diarrhoea (two per cent). In 2013 Sri Lanka had an adjusted maternal mortality rate of 29 deaths per 100,000 live births (this figure was estimated at 35 deaths per 100,000 by UN agencies/World Bank in 2010). Burden of disease: Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in Sri Lanka accounted for an estimated 75 per cent of all mortality in 2008. The most prevalent NCDs in Sri Lanka are cardiovascular diseases, which accounted for 40 per cent of total deaths across all age groups in 2012. Cancer, non-communicable variants of respiratory diseases and diabetes contributed ten per cent, eight Sri Lanka
Commonwealth Health Partnerships 2015
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