Factbook
Histoire de Sri Lanka — Chronologie
Dates clés de l'histoire de Sri Lanka, d'après le Factbook Magna et l'Encyclopédie universelle.
1796The island was ceded to the British in 1796, became a crown colony in 1802, and was formally united under British rule by 1815.
1948As Ceylon, it became independent in 1948; the name was changed to Sri Lanka in 1972.
1948Independence: 4 February 1948 (from the UK).
1983Prevailing tensions between the Sinhalese majority and Tamil separatists erupted into war in 1983.
2002Although Norway brokered peace negotiations that led to a cease-fire in 2002, the fighting slowly resumed and was again in full force by 2006.
2009The government defeated the LTTE in 2009.
2012Languages: Sinhala (official) 87%, Tamil (official) 28.5%, English 23.8% (2012 est.) Religions: Buddhist (official) 70.2%, Hindu 12.6%, Muslim 9.7%, Roman Catholic 6.1%, other Christian 1.3%, other 0.05% (2012 est.) Urban population: 19.2% of total population (2023).
2015In 2015, a new coalition government headed by President Maithripala SIRISENA of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party and Prime Minister Ranil WICKREMESINGHE of the United National Party came to power with pledges to advance economic, political, and judicial reforms.
2018Major urban areas: 103,000 Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte (legislative capital) (2018), 633,000 COLOMBO (capital) (2023) economic contraction in 2022-23 marked by increased poverty and significant inflation; IMF two-year debt relief program following 2022 sovereign default; structural challenges from non-diversified economy and rigid labor laws; heavy dependence on tourism receipts and remittances Inflation: -0.4% (2024 est.).
2019In 2019, Gotabaya RAJAPAKSA won the presidential election and appointed his brother Mahinda prime minister.
2022A combination of factors including the COVID-19 pandemic; severe shortages of food, medicine, and fuel; and power outages triggered increasingly violent protests in Columbo beginning in 2022.
2023Generation mix — fossil fuels: 49.4% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); solar: 4.6% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); wind: 4.6% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); hydroelectricity: 40.7% of total installed capacity (2023 est.) Energy use: 12.372 million Btu/person (2023 est.).
2023Industries: processing of rubber, tea, coconuts, tobacco and other agricultural commodities; tourism; clothing and textiles; mining Agriculture: rice, coconuts, tea, sugarcane, plantains, milk, fiber crops, cassava, chicken, pumpkins/squash (2023) Electricity access: 100% (2022 est.).
2024Military spending: 1.5% of GDP (2024 est.).
2025Population: 22.1 million (2025 estimate).
