Sri Lanka has a documented history that spans over 3,000 years, but

Sri Lanka has a documented history that spans over 3,000 years, but there are facts to suggest that Sri Lanka had pre-historic human settlements dating back to at least 125,000 years.[8] Its geographic location and deep harbours made it of great strategic importance from the time of the ancient Silk Road[9] through to World War II.[10] Sri Lanka is a diverse country, home to many religions, ethnicities and languages.[11] It is the land of the Sinhalese, Sri Lankan Tamils, Moors, Indian Tamils, Burghers, Malays, Kaffirs and the aboriginal Vedda.[12]
Sri Lanka has a rich Buddhist heritage, and the first known Buddhist writings of Sri Lanka, the Pāli Canon, dates back to the Fourth Buddhist Council in 29 BCE.[13][14] The country's recent history has been marred by a thirty-year civil war which decisively ended when Sri Lankan military crushed Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in 2009.[15]

Sri Lanka is a republic and a unitary state governed by a presidential system. The capital, Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, is a suburb of the largest city, Colombo. An important producer of tea, coffee, gemstones, coconuts, rubber, and the native cinnamon,[16] Sri Lanka is known as "the Pearl of the Indian Ocean" because of its natural beauty, its shape and location, and "the nation of smiling people".[17] The island contains tropical forests and diverse landscapes with a high amount of biodiversity.

The country has had a long history of international engagement, as a founding member of SAARC, a member of the United Nations, the Commonwealth of Nations, the G77 and the Non-Aligned Movement. It is also the only country in South Asia that is currently rated 'high' on the Human Development Index.[5]