A representative, democratic system of government has existed in Sri
Lanka since the termination of British rule in 1948. Elections are
regularly held, and citizens over 18 years of age may vote. Fairly
contested elections have resulted in several orderly changes of
government since independence.
As provided for by the constitution of 1978, the government is headed
by an executive president elected directly by popular vote from a
national electorate. The president selects a cabinet of ministers and
other noncabinet ministers from the parliament. The president is also
the commander in chief of the armed forces—army, navy, and air
force.
The national parliament consists of more than 200 members. The system
of proportional representation that operates at the elections ensures
that the number of parliamentary seats secured by each party is
roughly proportional to the number of votes received by the party at
the polls.
Sri Lanka’s constitution provides for certain functions of government
to be devolved to provincial councils (palāth sabhā). In addition, the
country has a system of local government comprising municipal councils
and urban councils.
The independence of Sri Lanka’s judiciary is protected by the constitution. The Supreme Court is the highest appellate court and the final arbiter in constitutional disputes. The Court of Appeal, High Court, district courts, magistrate’s courts, and primary courts occupy, successively, the lower levels of the hierarchy. The common law of Sri Lanka is based largely on Roman-Dutch law. Principles drawn from indigenous legal traditions are applied to aspects of civil law concerning certain communities.
Among the political parties in Sri Lanka, the conservative United National Party (UNP) and the more liberal Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) have dominated the political arena since independence. A splinter party from the SLFP, known as the Sri Lanka Podujana Peremuna party (SLPP), emerged as a political force after parliament member and former president Mahinda Rajapaksa joined the party in 2018. Successive governments have been led by one of these parties, which, at times, formed coalitions with the smaller parties.
The government controls the educational system and offers free education from primary schools through university levels and in certain professional and technical fields. The country has a relatively well-developed system of primary and secondary education with high rates of student enrollment in most parts of the country. More than 85 percent of the population is literate, giving Sir Lanka one of the highest literacy rates among developing countries. Tertiary education (including universities), however, caters to only the small proportion that completed secondary education. Formal higher education in the country has a strong academic bias, making the large majority of university graduates suitable for only a limited number of white-collar jobs; this has caused widespread frustration, especially among the educated unemployed youth. Major universities include the University of Ruhuna (1978); the University of Jaffna (1974); and the University of Kelaniya and the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, both of which were centres of Buddhist learning until they were elevated to university status in 1959.
In Sri Lanka, government-sponsored health services are free and are delivered through an extensive network of hospitals and dispensaries. Several special campaigns in preventive health care, and a program of family planning—all based on Western medical technology—have significantly improved health conditions in Sri Lanka. These services coexist with a smaller private sector in Western medicine. Several indigenous traditions of curative health care, some of which receive government sponsorship, remain largely in the private sector but play an important role in Sri Lankan medical practices. Practitioners of traditional medicine (ayurveda) outnumber Western-trained physicians. Major health problems include malnutrition and various gastrointestinal infectious diseases.