Economy

With an economy of US$18.4 billion (est. August 2004), and a per capita gross domestic product (GDP) of about US$950, Sri Lanka enjoyed strong growth rates in recent years. Sri Lanka began to shift away from a socialist orientation in 1977. Since then, the government has been deregulating, privatizing, and opening the economy to international competition. Sri Lanka’s population is just short of 20 million.

Nature

Sri Lanka is one of the world's bio-diversity hot-sports. Its forests are amongst the most floristically rich in Asia, and for some faunal groups it has the highest density of species diversity in the world. Paradise is indeed an apt name - an eco-paradise. In Sinharaja, a large expanse of lowland rain forest, over half the trees that you see are found nowhere else in the world, of the 52 species found in Sri Lanka 21 are endemic. A Tree Nymph - a black and white butterfly - may sail over your head, or a Common Bridwing with wings of translucent yellow patches may flutter past. Both endemics, they are two of the 242 species of butterflies and skippers found on the island. In comparison a British lepidopterist would be content to see 35 species.

A harsh chatter may fill the air announcing the arrival of a mixed-species feeding-flock, with endemic Orange-billed Babblers, acting as a nucleus species. Yellow-fronted Barbets, Layard's Parakeets, enigmatic Redfaced Malkohas and garrulous Ashy-headed Laughing Thrushes are among the endemic birds which are part of this vacuum cleaner sweeping across the forest. Examine a tree hollow or a freshwater stream and you might see land crabs, all of which are endemic.Over 200 species of Land Snails can be seen on tree trunks, the underside of leaves and on the ground. In the streams are gaudy Comb-tailed Paradise Fish, while clinging to the rocks are drab Mountain Stone Loaches.

Some fish, like Wilpita Rasbora, are only known from a small stretch of river, while some amphibians are known only from one forested valley, of less than a few square kilometers. This feature is known as point endemism, in which Sri Lanka has a high incidence. A velvety red dragonfly may dart out and seize its prey. It can climb, stoop, hover and manoeuvre better than any fighter aircraft. But yet, the aerodynamic design has remained unchanged from Carboniferous times, over a hundred million years ago. This is as close as you get to the real Jurassic Park. There is a one-in-two chance that the dragonfly you see is endemic. Nearly half the known species are endemic.