Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka-ශ්රී ලංකා ප්රජාතාන්ත්රික සමාජවාදී ජනරජය
Sri Lanka , officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka , is an island country in South Asia , located southeast of India and northeast of the Maldives . The island is home to many cultures, languages and ethnicities. The majority of the population is from the Sinhalese ethnicity , while a large minority of Tamils have also played an influential role in the island's history; Christians in both groups are recent converts who have kept the traditional culture. Moors , Burghers , Malays , Chinese , and the aboriginal Vedda are also established groups on the island. [11] Sri Lanka's documented history spans 3,000 years, with evidence of pre-historic human settlements dating back to at least 125,000 years. It has a rich cultural heritage and the first known Buddhist writings of Sri Lanka, the Pāli Canon , date back to the Fourth Buddhist council ...