Sri Lan ‧ ka /sriː ˈlæŋkə/ BrE AmE
a country in southern Asia, which is an island in the Indian Ocean, southeast of India. Population: 21,128,773 (2008). Capital: Colombo. Sri Lanka was formerly called Ceylon, and it was ruled by Britain from 1798 to 1948. About 70% of the population are Sinhalese, who are mostly Buddhists. The other main group is the Tamils, who are mostly Hindus, and many of them want to become independent from Sri Lanka. A group called the Tamil Tigers sometimes uses violent methods to support its demands for independence. ⇨ ↑ Tamil
—Sri Lankan noun , adjective