South And Central Asian Affairs
Individual country pages link to the official government website as well as major news sources and statistical agencies. Sri Lanka is an island country in South Asia with borders to India and Maldives. The official languages are Sinhalese and Tamil and English is the link language. English is widely used across the nation for education, scientific and commercial purposes. Members of the Burgher community speak different forms of Portuguese Creole and Dutch, while members of the Malay community speak a form of Creole Malay. The official and common language of the country is Dhivehi, which is an Indo-Aryan language. Food Security In Asia And The Pacific This zone has very few areas with enough moisture and precipitation to produce crops. Grains, such as barley and corn, are the principal irrigated crops of some countries. A lack of pastureland suitable for grains, however, means heat-resistant vegetables and fruits are grown most widely in this zone. Dates, figs, apricots, olives, o