Where it is absent, as is the case in some areas of property, the courts may look to Roman-Dutch Law as the residual law which existed prior to statutes. Statutory law predominantly follows English Law. The legal system in Sri Lanka is highly pluralistic. However, this clouds a high level of income inequality, where 40% of the population live on less than 225 Sri Lankan rupees (1.2 USD) per day, and 70% of labour lies in the informal sector, without access to social welfare. Economically, Sri Lanka carries a lower-middle-income status under World Bank measures. There is a pluralistic legal system, where a residual Roman-Dutch Law operates next to a British-style parliament and a French-style presidency but with few safeguards against abuse of power. Sri Lanka was colonised by the Portuguese in the 16th century, replaced by Dutch powers in the 17th and 18th centuries, and then the British up to independence in 1948. This afforded attention from a number of European powers. The location, lying 50 km south of India, gave the island a strategic importance as trade shipping routes opened up around the world. The island of Sri Lanka is 65,610 kmĀ², and is densely populated with 21.8 million people. By Daniel Hayward, peer-reviewed by Pubudini Wickramaratne, Oxfam International