Henry Adams praised Sri Lanka's "combination of rich nature and varied human interest," and called it "a true piece of voluptuous creativeness." Its almost unimaginable greenness, its lost jungle cities of Polonnaruwa and Anuradhapura, storied Kandy, and its refreshing highlands and delightful beaches command great affection.

• TOTAL AREA: 65,610 sq km

• LAND AREA: 64,740 sq km

• WATER AREA: 870 sq km

• POPULATION: 20,222,240

• RELIGIONS: Buddhist 69.1%, Muslim 7.6%, Hindu 7.1%, Christian 6.2%, unspecified 10%

• LANGUAGES: Sinhala (official and national language) 74%, Tamil (national language) 18%, other 8% note: English is commonly used in government and is spoken competently by about 10% of the population

• GOVERNMENT TYPE: Republic

• CAPITAL CITY: Colombo

• OFFICIAL CURRENCY: Sri Lankan rupee (LKR)

• TIME ZONE: GMT/UTC +6