Posted by
janith
Following the news, or being stuck in the daily grind, or being caught in the usual doom and gloom conversation would lead you to believe that things are perpetually at 'suck' for Sri Lankans. But is this really the case? As modern Sri Lanka turns 68, we looked at a few of the many things that make us proud as Sri Lankans.
Photos of the Sri Lankan flags by the amazing Nazly
Sri Lanka was a "pilot project" in autonomy and universal adult franchise in the British Empire, starting with the Donoughmore Constitution (1931 - 1947). This means Sri Lanka has had "one person, one vote" for 85 years now, making it the oldest democracy in Asia.
Sri Lanka's national electrification ratio is 94%, up from 70% in 2005. While we have low fixed line penetration (thanks, SLT!), our mobile penetration is pretty high:
Home to a highly proactive regulatory authority and a competitive mobile market with five operators, Sri Lanka ranks 14th globally in the 2011 mobile-cellular price basket, which measures affordability of services. That means that mobile cellular prices are among the lowest in the world, in US$ terms as well as in relative terms (as a percentage of GNI per capita), with prices dropping by over 40% between 2010 and 2011. [ITU]
While people do complain about the traffic in Colombo, expressways and roads out in the provinces are awesome: The A9 to Jaffna, the A6 to Trinco, the A11 to Batti, the A26 via the 18 hairpin bends, the A4 via Pottuvil... the list goes on. They're all great roads.
No matter how much people try to stir up the stir fry, Sri Lanka has a pretty integrated society. Everyone can name a handful of close friends from backgrounds different from their own. Sri Lankan neighbourhoods tend to be mixed, and everyone is connected through a mutual love for (and sharing of) each other's delicacies.
Sri Lanka is a welfare state. While the Americans are still figuring out the details on universal healthcare, we've had that stuff for ages. The average life expectancy of a Sri Lankan grew from 68.1 years in 1980 to 75.1 in 2012. Our Infant Mortality Rate dropped from 29 to 8 (per 1000 live births) in that same period. [UNDP]
Sri Lanka has free Primary, Secondary and Tertiary education. We have a literacy rate of 92%, the highest in South Asia. While the rest of the region is known for (sometimes violent) opposition to educating girls, Sri Lanka has the following stats:
The adult literacy rate in Sri Lanka for females is 90%. Among youth (15-24 years) the rate is 99%. Girls outnumber boys in secondary education 50.42% to 49.58% (boys). This statistic also reflects the high value placed by parents on education. Life expectancy stands at 78 years for women and 72 years for men. [Dr. Palitha Kohona/MDG]
While frequent protests and a woefully underfunded system give an impression of the Sri Lankan university system failing, there are quite a few bright sparks as well.
Sri Lanka has been known throughout history for the quality of the spices that originate on these shores. It's no surprise that Sri Lankan food is also known for the variety of spices used in them. And there's so much regional and ethnic variety that no kid running a Sri Lankan stall at a world food fair should ever worry about lack of options. Just look at this beautiful crispy isso and reconsider your migration plans.
Despite sometimes getting on the news for all the wrong reasons, Sri Lankans are pretty great people overall. We rank 8th in the world for generosity, there are annual dansals where people feed entire neighbourhoods for free, and pretty active organizations for social good.
Sri Lanka also donates a large number of corneas. The numbers are so large that in 2014, Sri Lanka exported 2551 corneas to countries including China, Pakistan, Thailand and Japan. Even late president J.R. Jayewardene, better known for his 1978 constitution, donated his eyes.
An Eye Donation Society ad from 2011
From the rolling, parallel hills of Sabaragamuwa to the chilly peaks of the central mountains, the rainforests of the Knuckles range to the savannah of Minneriya several dozen kilometres away, the coral reefs of the East, and the South, Sri Lanka has so much natural beauty packed into a tiny 66,000 square kilometre whole. You could literally go from bathing in an icy waterfall to surfing in a sunny, dry beach in the span of a couple of hours. There's not a lot of places in the world that can offer that variety.
Sri Lanka turns 68 today. There's a lot to be fixed and bettered in this country, but there's a lot going for it too. We're proud to be Sri Lankans.
Countries that let you in without a fuss with your Lankan passport
Here's a round-up of Colombo's buffets with what they do best.
Ways we can help the current situation.
Hostels, B&Bs, and other budget accommodation in Sri Lanka's capital - Colombo.
Delete Comment
rothbourne
Can't completely agree with point 5. 70% of Sri Lanka's haven't met a person from outside their own ethnic group. While multi culturism is true and well among major cities and urban areas most rural parts of or outside Colombo, Kandy, Gampaha,Kurunagala are made of communities made of a single ethnicity. :
Sinhalese
same for any country…I live in one of the most diverse places on earth and the rural areas are locals only
Tori Kelly Fan
Where did you get tha number from? lol Nope, all sri lankans know people from outside their religion.
Anon
Got a source for that stat? Because it sounds fabricated.
Thimal
rothbourne: You are WRONG mate. I'm pretty sure you are not a Sri Lankan. In urban areas like Colombo, Kandy and so named Cities, all ethnic groups have well mixed up. In rural areas, there are patches of other ethnics. For an instance, in Sinhala villages, there are patches of muslim and tamil communities. Pls don't lie on social media… pls don't carry a false news to the world
What?!
Um, no.
Athulya
"Sri Lanka turns 68 year"
…
Liyamu
Nice try Yamu, but I don't see how these things are unique to SL. I think these things apply to a lot of other countries!
Harindra Adikari
Name them.
Liyamu
Ok, I understand the content is good and some of those things sound special… I meant overall, those headings are pretty broad and you could fill them for so many countries… but I guess it's what underneath…
ranilsss
I almost doubt that one could find a country 1/2 the size of the State of New York that offers so much of diversity & nature. Whether it is the beaches, wild life, sea life, high mountains, rain forests, arid land, ancient cities, ethnic diversity, religious diversity, cultural diversity Sri Lanka has them all within the confines of 64000 sq. kms.
FoodReviewDevil
There is a pic of some bombing stats in the gallery. No need to publish this.
Janith
I thought Sri Lanka is too old than 68, we found democracy way back even before British ruled this country.
Jimmy
That is absolutely true, I need some friends from Sri Lanka
Louw Naberman from the Netherlands
I have been several times on holiday in Sri Lanka by tour and private with the bicycle .
And I can understand that the Sri Lankans are proud of their country.
I am 72 years of age and in a wheel chair but my memories are still alive .
And thanks to Mr Punu Cumaratunga from Panadura who told me the good things in Life.
Ayubowan
tonychristoffelsz
Interesting! How can I advertise my website on it (www.currymad.net)?
K.Anaga
It is indeed a beautiful country with beautiful smiles but with dirty politicians.
A.A.W. Amarasinghe
Facts are certainly stranger than fiction !!
Thanks, for publishing these lesser known facts about Sri Lanka.
cssuntherrao
The beauty of Sri Lanka is that there is so much of variety in many respects, within a relatively small area compared to some large countries. It is definitely a great place to holiday but an okay enough place to live.
Brian Ratnayake
Someone once said of Ceylon ………" where every prospect pleases, but only man is vile" !.
They have made much progress since, but have a long way yet to go !……lovely well made roads and Motorways now, but the Motor vehicle drivers leave a lot to be desired in discipline…!!!.
Ranil Suraweera
I guess this was the case couple of years back. Lately everything is chaotic. There is no democracy now and negative infrastructure improvements lately. Basic needs like 24 hour electricity is a luxury for us and there are rumors of terrorism spawning again. A country with lot of hope couple of years ago is now a place to chaos. Putting politics aside, unfortunately this is the terrible truth.
Roshini Fernz
Sri Lankan's generosity factor in the 8th place in the world is as same as the
British.This is revealed after a research .It is the best centre that donates eyes to many countries (B.B.C).In tge same way , Sri Lankans ' good values don't depend on the politicians in power.Anyone who tries to sow the seed of division are the terrorist.Now,people of all communities have realised that politicians benefit by dividing people.Very soon, there will be a time people will rule the country as the democracy is in full swing .People can protest and criticize faults of any politician now.Lot of mixed marriages give evidence that caste ,race and religion will not be divisive factors.Bad future for any politician who want to cover their faults by distracting people after creating problems .
Roshini Fenz
Any good values majority Sri Lankans possess is not owing to any of the politicians. Those who read world researches will know that our generosity is 8th in the world chart.We have the largest eye bank that donate eyes to other countries as well(BBC) .In the same way mixed marriages between young people who once belonged to different communities give evidence that politicians can't distract people by creating divisions.
People are not scared to fight for their rights in a peaceful way (at times even with force.)Though still there are lot of poor people in rural areas (politicians have done little for them.) The middle class is more educated and cannot be fooled by the tricks of any politician .The only terrorist now are people who want to benefit themselves through politicians.But they'll never be able the escape the power of people.
Irham Khaleel
Beautiful country with beautiful people in every aspect but dirty politicians ruining it