It shares a maritime border with the Maldives in the southwest and India in the northwest. Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte is the legislative capital of Sri Lanka and the largest city, Colombo is the administrative and judicial capital which is the nation's political, financial and cultural centre. Kandy is the second-largest urban area and also the capital of the last native kingdom of Sri Lanka.
The most spoken language Sinhala , is spoken by the majority of the population approximately 17 million. Tamil is also spoken by approximately five million people, making it the second most-spoken language in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka has a population of approximately 22 million and is home to several cultures, languages and ethnicities. The Sinhalese people form the majority of the population, followed by the Sri Lankan Tamils , who are the largest minority group and are concentrated in northern Sri Lanka; both groups have played an influential role in the island's history. Sri Lanka's documented history goes back 3, years, with evidence of prehistoric human settlements dating back , years. During a period of great political crisis in the Kingdom of Kotte , the Portuguese arrived in Sri Lanka and sought to control its maritime trade, with a part of Sri Lanka subsequently becoming a Portuguese possession.
Dutch Ceylon was taken by the British Empire , which extended control over the whole island, colonising it as British Ceylon from to A national movement for political independence arose in the early 20th century, and in , Ceylon became a dominion.
It was succeeded by the republic of Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka is a developing country , ranking 78th on the Human Development Index. It is the highest-ranked South Asian nation in terms of development and has the second-highest per capita income in South Asia. The country has had a long history of engagement with modern international groups; it is a founding member of the SAARC , the G77 and the Non-Aligned Movement , as well as a member of the United Nations and the Commonwealth of Nations.
