Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka which was known as Ceylon till 1972, is an island nation in South Asia, located about 31 kilometers (18½ mi) off the southern coast of India . Originally known as Heladiva, it is home to more than 20 million people. Also know as teardrop of Indian Ocean because of the shape.

Also it is world famous for white sand beaches and wild life. Well known for producing most precious gems. Sri Lanka has been a centre of Buddhist religion and culture from ancient times. Today, it has become a multi-religious and multi-ethnic nation, with a fifth of the population following faiths other than Buddhism mainly Hinduism, Christianity and Islam. The majority of the population represents by the Sinhalese community (around 74%), while Tamils who represents the largest ethnic minority. The rest includes the Muslim Moors and Malays as well as Burghers.

Tea, coffee, rubber and coconuts play major role in production and export areas. Sri Lanka boasts a progressive and modern industrial economy. The natural beauties of Sri Lanka 's tropical forests, white-beaches and landscape, as well as its rich cultural heritage make it a world famous tourist destination.

Over two thousand years country was ruled by local kingdoms. And later some parts of Sri Lanka were colonized by Portugal and the Netherlands beginning in the 16th century, before the control of the entire country was ceded to the British Empire in 1815. During World War II Sri Lanka served as an important base for Allied forces in the fight against the Japanese Empire. In the early 20 th century a nationalist political movement arose in the country with the aim of obtaining political independence and eventually granted by the British after peaceful negotiations in 1948. Since then Sri Lanka had a stable democracy and continuous economic progress, until conflicts begin between the Sri Lankan government and a separatist militant group known as the LTTE in the northeastern parts of the country.

The Constitution of Sri Lanka establishes a democratic, socialist republic in Sri Lanka , which is also a unitary state. The government consists of the presidential system and the parliamentary system. The head of state or the President, is the commander in chief of the armed forces, as well as head of government, and is popularly elected for a six-year term. In the exercise of duties, the President is responsible to the Parliament of Sri Lanka, which is a unicameral 225-member legislature. The President appoints and heads a cabinet of ministers composing of elected members of parliament. The Prime Minister acts as President's deputy. He is the person who leads the ruling party in parliament and shares many executive responsibilities, mainly in domestic affairs.

Members of parliament are elected by universal (adult) suffrage based on a modified proportional representation system by district to a six-year term. The party that receives the largest number of valid votes in each constituency gains a unique "bonus seat." The president has the power of calling for suspend, or end a legislative session and dissolve Parliament any time after it has served for one year. The parliament holds the responsibility to make all laws. The first-ever female head of government in Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike elected On July 1, 1960. From 1999 to 2005 her daughter Chandrika Kumaratunga has served multiple terms as prime minister and as president. The current president is Mahinda Rajapaksa who took office on November 21, 2005. Ratnasiri Wickremanayake took office as the current prime minister on November 21, 2005.

The original inhabitants of the country are the Veddahs, also called the “Wanniyala-aetto” or the People of the Forest . The exact numbers of this unique group are highly doubtful today. Some reports count as few as 200 Veddahs in Sri Lanka . Some even believe that due to inter-marriage and integration into Sinhalese culture, the Veddahs no longer exists and can no longer claim to be a separate ethnic group. Only a very few of people identifying themselves as Veddah maintain of their old culture, stressing a hunting lifestyle and maintaining close relationships with nature and their ancestors. Although Sinhalese legends describe the Veddahs as partly descended from evil spirits, the Veddahs are related to South Indian tribes such as the Vedas of Kerala and even thought to be related to the aborigines of Australia .

There is a warm climate in costal areas with little moisture which attract tourists who would like sun bathing. Central highlands such as Nuwara-Eliya, has a temperature around 16 o C.For some days frost can be occur in the winter season. Especially during the month of April to May, even local people are attracted to Nuwara-Eliya to see beautiful summer in Nuwara-Eliya. The northeast coast shows a totally different climate with very high temperature like 32 C .