My research is largely focused on the comparison of homelessness in both the United States and in Sri Lanka. One underlying factor that I wanted to look at in both case studies in the presence of natural disasters and how they have contributed to the homeless rates in both countries, and then look at resulting consequences of those disasters, as well as the efforts made to alleviate the effects of the events.
To give you some background information on Sri Lanka, and to see where it compares to the US, here are a few statistics taken from the CIA World Factbook pages about both countries.
Total Population
United States: 318,892,103
Sri Lanka: 21,866,445
GDP
United States: $16.72 trillion-- country comparison to world: 1
Sri Lanka: $134.5 billion-- country comparison to world: 65
GDP Per Capita
United States: $52,800--country comparison to world: 14
Sri Lanka: $6,500-- country comparison to world: 145
Unemployment Rate
United States: 7.3%--country comparison to world: 79
Sri Lanka: 5.1%--country comparison to world: 49
Population Below Poverty Line
United States: 15.1%
Sri Lanka: 8.9%
These statistics can help you get a basic understanding of where both countries stand in the world and how each might be able to dedicate funds to different sectors, such as homeless needs. While Sri Lanka is a considerably smaller country compared to the United States, both in physical size and population, and has a smaller GDP both in Purchasing Power Parity and Per Capita, Sri Lanka has a lower unemployment rate and the percent of the population living below the poverty line is almost half that of the United States.
The natural disasters that I have been looking at in my research include Hurricanes Katrina (New Orleans 2005) and Sandy (Northeast US 2012) and the 2004 tsunami that hit much of southeastern Asia on December 26. Before going any further, one must realize that the 2004 Asian tsunami was a disaster of a much larger scale than either of the hurricanes studied, resulting in a wider area affected with much more total damage done. This does affect the research outcomes, as the results of the disasters themselves were different.
To give you some background information on Sri Lanka, and to see where it compares to the US, here are a few statistics taken from the CIA World Factbook pages about both countries.
Total Population
United States: 318,892,103
Sri Lanka: 21,866,445
GDP
United States: $16.72 trillion-- country comparison to world: 1
Sri Lanka: $134.5 billion-- country comparison to world: 65
GDP Per Capita
United States: $52,800--country comparison to world: 14
Sri Lanka: $6,500-- country comparison to world: 145
Unemployment Rate
United States: 7.3%--country comparison to world: 79
Sri Lanka: 5.1%--country comparison to world: 49
Population Below Poverty Line
United States: 15.1%
Sri Lanka: 8.9%
These statistics can help you get a basic understanding of where both countries stand in the world and how each might be able to dedicate funds to different sectors, such as homeless needs. While Sri Lanka is a considerably smaller country compared to the United States, both in physical size and population, and has a smaller GDP both in Purchasing Power Parity and Per Capita, Sri Lanka has a lower unemployment rate and the percent of the population living below the poverty line is almost half that of the United States.
The natural disasters that I have been looking at in my research include Hurricanes Katrina (New Orleans 2005) and Sandy (Northeast US 2012) and the 2004 tsunami that hit much of southeastern Asia on December 26. Before going any further, one must realize that the 2004 Asian tsunami was a disaster of a much larger scale than either of the hurricanes studied, resulting in a wider area affected with much more total damage done. This does affect the research outcomes, as the results of the disasters themselves were different.