The history of postal and postage stamps in Sri Lanka covers the development of postal services in Sri Lanka (before 22 May 1972 - Ceylon), an island nation in South Asia located approximately 31 km off the southern coast of India, with its capital at Colombo. At the same time, we can conditionally distinguish two main historical periods - British colonial rule and the independent state, in each of which their own postage stamps were issued. Since 1949, the independent state of Ceylon has been a member of the Universal Postal Union.