Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka

Modern state Level 2 ★ Major power

1972 – present

Republic since 1972, when Ceylon was renamed Sri Lanka.

🗺 See on map in 1999

Capital: Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte
Region: Sri Lanka
Duration: 54 years (continuing)
Main period: Republic of India

Approximate extent.

Rulers

J. R. Jayewardene President
1978 – 1989
Chandrika Kumaratunga President
1994 – 2005
Mahinda Rajapaksa President
2005 – 2015
Maithripala Sirisena President
2015 – 2019
Gotabaya Rajapaksa President
2019 – 2022
Ranil Wickremesinghe President
2022 – 2024
Anura Kumara Dissanayake President
2024 – present

Selected rulers; gaps in the list are not gaps in the dynasty.

Key events

Year	Event	Place
1972	Ceylon becomes the Republic of Sri Lanka	Colombo
1983	Sri Lankan civil war begins	Jaffna
2009	End of the Sri Lankan civil war The LTTE was militarily defeated.	Mullaitivu
2022	Sri Lankan economic crisis and Aragalaya protests	Colombo

📚 Recommended reading on the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka

Reference

A History of Sri Lanka

K. M. de Silva · Penguin

The standard history of Sri Lanka from Anuradhapura to independence.

General reading

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Contemporaries

Powers that coexisted with the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka for a significant part of its history.

Kingdom of Nepal ★

Himalaya · 1816 – 2008

Kingdom of Bhutan ★

Himalaya · 1907 – present

Republic of India ★

Pan-Indian · 1950 – present

Republic of Maldives ★

Islands · 1968 – present

Islamic Republic of Pakistan ★

Northwest · 1971 – present

People's Republic of Bangladesh ★

East · 1971 – present

Afghanistan ★

Northwest · 1973 – present

Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ★

Himalaya · 2008 – present