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Where is Sri Lanka located on the world map?

Ravana Tour Specialist May 22, 2026

Sri Lanka is an island nation in South Asia, situated in the Indian Ocean slightly southeast of the Indian subcontinent. If you look at the world map, it appears just north of the equator, sitting between the Bay of Bengal and the Laccadive Sea, in a way that feels a little tucked in.

Many travellers also ask if it belongs to Southeast Asia. However, Sri Lanka is strictly a South Asian country. The island, which older world maps often call Ceylon, lies in both the Northern Hemisphere and the Eastern Hemisphere. It has no land borders with any country, but its closest neighbours are India, separated by the Palk Strait to the northwest, and the Maldives to the southwest. Since it is fully surrounded by the Indian Ocean, this position provides a very strategic maritime location along major global shipping routes that link the East with the West.

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