| Sri Lanka |
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In Sri Lanka, districts (Sinhala: දිස්ත්රික්ක, Tamil: மாவட்ட) are the second-level administrative divisions, and are included in a province. There are 25 districts organized into 9 provinces.[1] Each district is administered under a District Secretary,[2] who is appointed by the central government.[3] The main tasks of the District Secretariat involve coordinating communications and activities of the central government and Divisional Secretariats. The District Secretariat is also responsible for implementing and monitoring development projects at the district level and assisting lower-level subdivisions in their activities,[4] as well as revenue collection and coordination of elections in the district.[5] A district is divided into a number of Divisional Secretary Divisions (commonly known as DS divisions), which are in turn subdivided into Grama Niladari Divisions.[6] There are 256 DS divisions in the country.[1]
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The country was first divided into several administrative units during the Anuradhapura Kingdom. The kingdom was divided into three provinces; Rajarata, Ruhuna and Malaya Rata. These were further subdivided into smaller units called rata.[7] Over time, the number of provinces increased, but the second-level administrative division continued to be the rata. However, with the country eventually being divided into more than one kingdom and with foreign colonial missions landing and taking parts of the country under their control, this structure began to change. The territory of the Kotte Kingdom was organized into four disavas, which were further subdivided into forty korales. The korales had their own civil and military officials with a small militia. The Jaffna kingdom appears to have had a similar administrative structure to this with four provinces.[8]
When the Portuguese took over parts of the country after their arrival in 1505,[9] they maintained more or less the same administrative structure followed by Sri Lankan rulers.[10] During the Dutch rule in the country, the terrain under their control was divided into three administrative divisions. These were subdivided into disavas as in earlier systems.[11] The British initially continued this system,[12] but following reforms in 1796 to 1802, the country was divided according to ethnic composition.[13][14] This was abolished by the Colebrook–Cameron reforms in 1833 and a legislative council was created,[15] making the island a politically and administratively single unit. Five provinces were created, later expanded into nine, and these were subdivided into twenty-one districts. These districts were administered by officials known as Government Agents or Assistant Government Agents.[13]
In 1955, the district replaced the province as the country's main administrative unit.[16] The Ampara district was created in 1958, followed by the creation of Mullaitivu and Gampaha districts in 1978[17] through a new constitution, which also reintroduced the province as the main administrative unit.[18] The last district to be created was Kilinochchi in 1983,[19] and the current constitution (that of 1978) states that the territory of Sri Lanka consists of 25 administrative districts. These districts may be subdivided or amalgamated by a resolution of the Parliament of Sri Lanka.[20]
All population data are from the most recent census of Sri Lanka, in 2001. The districts of Jaffna, Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi were not covered in this census because of security reasons, and Batticaloa, Trincomalee, Vavuniya and Mannar were only partially covered. Therefore, the population statistics for these districts are estimates.[21] These are marked by a * symbol.
| Name | Area map | Province | District capital |
Land area | Inland water area |
Total area | Population | Population density[N 1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ampara | Eastern | Ampara | 4,222 km2 (1,630 sq mi) | 193 km2 (75 sq mi) | 4,415 km2 (1,705 sq mi) | 592,997 | 140 /km2 (363 /sq mi) | |
| Anuradhapura | North Central | Anuradhapura | 6,664 km2 (2,573 sq mi) | 515 km2 (199 sq mi) | 7,179 km2 (2,772 sq mi) | 745,693 | 112 /km2 (290 /sq mi) | |
| Badulla | Uva | Badulla | 2,827 km2 (1,092 sq mi) | 34 km2 (13 sq mi) | 2,861 km2 (1,105 sq mi) | 779,983 | 276 /km2 (715 /sq mi) | |
| Batticaloa | Eastern | Batticaloa | 2,610 km2 (1,010 sq mi) | 244 km2 (94 sq mi) | 2,854 km2 (1,102 sq mi) | 486,447 * | 186 /km2 (482 /sq mi) | |
| Colombo | Western | Colombo | 676 km2 (261 sq mi) | 23 km2 (8.9 sq mi) | 699 km2 (270 sq mi) | 2,251,274 | 3,330 /km2 (8,625 /sq mi) | |
| Galle | Southern | Galle | 1,617 km2 (624 sq mi) | 35 km2 (14 sq mi) | 1,652 km2 (638 sq mi) | 990,487 | 613 /km2 (1,588 /sq mi) | |
| Gampaha | Western | Gampaha | 1,341 km2 (518 sq mi) | 46 km2 (18 sq mi) | 1,387 km2 (536 sq mi) | 2,063,684 | 1,539 /km2 (3,986 /sq mi) | |
| Hambantota | Southern | Hambantota | 2,496 km2 (964 sq mi) | 113 km2 (44 sq mi) | 2,609 km2 (1,007 sq mi) | 526,414 | 211 /km2 (546 /sq mi) | |
| Jaffna | Northern | Jaffna | 929 km2 (359 sq mi) | 96 km2 (37 sq mi) | 1,025 km2 (396 sq mi) | 490,621 * | 528 /km2 (1,368 /sq mi) | |
| Kalutara | Western | Kalutara | 1,576 km2 (608 sq mi) | 22 km2 (8.5 sq mi) | 1,598 km2 (617 sq mi) | 1,066,239 | 677 /km2 (1,753 /sq mi) | |
| Kandy | Central | Kandy | 1,917 km2 (740 sq mi) | 23 km2 (8.9 sq mi) | 1,940 km2 (750 sq mi) | 1,279,028 | 667 /km2 (1,728 /sq mi) | |
| Kegalle | Sabaragamuwa | Kegalle | 1,685 km2 (651 sq mi) | 8 km2 (3.1 sq mi) | 1,693 km2 (654 sq mi) | 785,524 | 466 /km2 (1,207 /sq mi) | |
| Kilinochchi | Northern | Kilinochchi | 1,205 km2 (465 sq mi) | 74 km2 (29 sq mi) | 1,279 km2 (494 sq mi) | 127,263 * | 106 /km2 (275 /sq mi) | |
| Kurunegala | North Western | Kurunegala | 4,624 km2 (1,785 sq mi) | 192 km2 (74 sq mi) | 4,816 km2 (1,859 sq mi) | 1,460,215 | 316 /km2 (818 /sq mi) | |
| Mannar | Northern | Mannar | 1,880 km2 (730 sq mi) | 116 km2 (45 sq mi) | 1,996 km2 (771 sq mi) | 151,577 * | 81/km2 (208/sq mi) |
|
| Matale | Central | Matale | 1,952 km2 (754 sq mi) | 41 km2 (16 sq mi) | 1,993 km2 (770 sq mi) | 441,328 | 226 /km2 (585 /sq mi) | |
| Matara | Southern | Matara | 1,270 km2 (490 sq mi) | 13 km2 (5.0 sq mi) | 1,283 km2 (495 sq mi) | 761,370 | 600 /km2 (1,554 /sq mi) | |
| Moneragala | Uva | Moneragala | 5,508 km2 (2,127 sq mi) | 131 km2 (51 sq mi) | 5,639 km2 (2,177 sq mi) | 397,375 | 72 /km2 (186 /sq mi) | |
| Mullaitivu | Northern | Mullaitivu | 2,415 km2 (932 sq mi) | 202 km2 (78 sq mi) | 2,617 km2 (1,010 sq mi) | 121,667 * | 50 /km2 (129 /sq mi) | |
| Nuwara Eliya | Central | Nuwara Eliya | 1,706 km2 (659 sq mi) | 35 km2 (14 sq mi) | 1,741 km2 (672 sq mi) | 703,610 | 412 /km2 (1,067 /sq mi) | |
| Polonnaruwa | North Central | Polonnaruwa | 3,077 km2 (1,188 sq mi) | 216 km2 (83 sq mi) | 3,293 km2 (1,271 sq mi) | 358,984 | 117 /km2 (303 /sq mi) | |
| Puttalam | North Western | Puttalam | 2,882 km2 (1,113 sq mi) | 190 km2 (73 sq mi) | 3,072 km2 (1,186 sq mi) | 709,677 | 246 /km2 (637 /sq mi) | |
| Ratnapura | Sabaragamuwa | Ratnapura | 3,236 km2 (1,249 sq mi) | 39 km2 (15 sq mi) | 3,275 km2 (1,264 sq mi) | 1,015,807 | 314 /km2 (813 /sq mi) | |
| Trincomalee | Eastern | Trincomalee | 2,529 km2 (976 sq mi) | 198 km2 (76 sq mi) | 2,727 km2 (1,053 sq mi) | 340,158 * | 135/km2 (349/sq mi) |
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| Vavuniya | Northern | Vavuniya | 1,861 km2 (719 sq mi) | 106 km2 (41 sq mi) | 1,967 km2 (759 sq mi) | 149,835 * | 81/km2 (208/sq mi) |
|
| Total | 62,705 km2 (24,211 sq mi) | 2,905 km2 (1,122 sq mi) | 65,610 km2 (25,330 sq mi) | 18,797,257 | 300 /km2 (777 /sq mi) |
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