Kurunegala (District)
Coordinates: 7 ° 29 ' N , 80 ° 22' E
Kurunegala District කුරුණෑගල දිස්ත්රික්කය குருநாகல் மாவட்டம |
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Province : | Northwest Province |
Administrative headquarters : | Kurunegala |
Area : | 4,816 km² |
of which land area: | 4,624 km² |
of which inland waters: | 192 km² |
Residents : | 1618465 |
Population density : | 350 inhabitants / km² |
Website : | District website |
Kurunegala ( Sinhala කුරුණෑගල දිස්ත්රික්කය Kurunegala distrikkaya ; Tamil குருநாகல் மாவட்டம Kurunākal māvaṭṭam ) is a district in the North West Province in Sri Lanka . The main town is Kurunegala .
geography
The Kurunegala District is located in the west of Sri Lanka and belongs to the Northwest Province . Neighboring districts are Anuradhapura in the north and northeast, Matale in the east, Kandy in the southeast, Kegalle in the south, Gampaha in the southwest and Puttalam in the west.
The Kurunegala District has an area of 4,816 square kilometers (of which 4,624 square kilometers are land and 192 square kilometers are inland water). This makes it the third largest district in Sri Lanka in terms of area.
population
According to the 2012 census, the Kurunegala district has 1,618,465 inhabitants. With 350 inhabitants per square kilometer, the population density is slightly above the average for Sri Lanka (325 inhabitants per square kilometer). Of the residents, 777,201 (48.02%) were male and 841,264 (51.98%) were female. The population is very young. This is illustrated by a look at the age distribution.
Age | 0–9 years | 10–19 years | 20-29 years | 30–39 years | 40-49 years | 50–59 years | 60–79 years | 80 years and more |
number | 272.291 | 244,736 | 226.157 | 243,682 | 219.996 | 201.052 | 188.058 | 22,493 |
proportion of | 16.82% | 15.12% | 13.97% | 15.06% | 13.59% | 12.42% | 11.62% | 1.39% |
District population by ethnic group
The Sinhalese make up the majority of the population of the Kurunegala district. But there are large minorities of other ethnic groups.
Sinhalese
More than 90% of the residents belong to the Sinhalese ethnic group . They are a clear majority in all divisions. The Kuliyapitiya East division (only 68.01% Sinhalese) is ethnically mixed. The Sinhala population ranges from 68.01% in Kuliyapitiya East to 99.80% in Polpithigama.
Moors
The second largest ethnic group and thus the largest minority are the Moors or Tamil-speaking Muslims. They form strong minorities in the divisions Kuliyapitiya East (31.41% Moors), Rasnayakapura (18.78%), Mallawapitiya (14.55%), Panduwasnuwara (13.11%), Mawathagama (11.61%), Rideegama (11.17%), Kurunegala (10.76%), Kobeigane (10.69%) and Udubaddawa (10.29%) each with over ten percent of the population. In three of the 30 divisions, however, only a few members of their ethnic group live. Their share ranges from 0.01% in Alawwa to 31.41% in Kuliyapitiya East.
Sri Lankan Tamils
The Sri Lankan Tamils are the third largest ethnic group. However, they are only a tiny minority everywhere. Their share ranges between 0.05% in Kotavehera and 4.73% in Mawathagama.
Other ethnic groups
The Indian-born Tamils, Malays and Burghers, Sri Lankan Chetties and Bharathas are small minorities. They live scattered in all divisions of Kurunegala District
year | Sinhalese 1 | Sri Lankan Tamils 2 | Tamils 2 | Moors 3 | Burgher | Malays | Others 4 | Total | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
1981 | 1,125,912 | 92.91% | 14,930 | 1.23% | 6,616 | 0.55% | 60,791 | 5.02% | 562 | 0.05% | 1,259 | 0.10% | 1,741 | 0.14% | 1,211,801 | 100.00% |
2001 | 1,341,237 | 91.85% | 17,585 | 1.20% | 2,972 | 0.20% | 94,544 | 6.47% | 613 | 0.04% | 2,150 | 0.15% | 1,114 | 0.08% | 1,460,215 | 100.00% |
2012 | 1,479,863 | 91.44% | 18,041 | 1.11% | 2,594 | 0.16% | 115,302 | 7.12% | 663 | 0.04% | 1,220 | 0.08% | 782 | 0.05% | 1,618,465 | 100.00% |
Source: Sri Lanka censuses in 1981, 2001 and 2012 |
1 Lowland and Kandy Sinhalese together 2 Sri Lankan Tamils and Indian Tamils separately 3 only Sri Lankan moors 4 thereof 2001 221 Sri Lanka Chetties and 67 Bharathas, 2012 119 Sri Lanka Chetties and 40 Bharathas
Population of the district by confession
The distribution of creeds is largely a reflection of ethnic relationships. The Buddhism is the largest religious group because of the Sinhalese majority. But more than 40,000 Sinhalese and over 5,000 Tamils belong to the Christian minority. This is particularly evident in the Bingiriya and Udubaddawa divisions. There are 96.29% resp. 88.48% of the total Sinhalese population (and only a few Tamils). But there are 11.14% resp. 15.23% of the population is Christians . Despite numerous returnees - from Christianity to Buddhism - by Sinhalese in the past two hundred years, Christianity is therefore still the third most powerful religion to this day. The Hinduism , which belongs to the majority of Sri Lankan and Indian Tamils, is only the fourth largest religious community in the district of Kurunegala. Clearly in second place is Islam , to which the Moors and Malays belong.
year | Buddhists | Hindus | Muslims | Catholics | other Christs | Other | Total | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
1981 | 1,092,128 | 90.12% | 15,133 | 1.25% | 64.112 | 5.29% | 36,340 | 3.00% | 3,641 | 0.30% | 447 | 0.04% | 1,211,801 | 100.00% |
2001 | 1,300,539 | 89.06% | 13.303 | 0.91% | 98.223 | 6.73% | 40,680 | 2.79% | 6,960 | 0.48% | 510 | 0.03% | 1,460,215 | 100.00% |
2012 | 1,431,632 | 88.46% | 14,721 | 0.91% | 118,305 | 7.31% | 43,711 | 2.70% | 9,926 | 0.61% | 170 | 0.01% | 1,618,465 | 100.00% |
Source: Sri Lanka censuses in 1981, 2001 and 2012 |
Population development
The population of the Kurunegala district has grown at an above-average rate for Sri Lankan standards since independence. In the period from 2001 to 2012 (the last two census years) the increase was 158,250 people. This is a growth of 10.84%. Since independence, the population has increased by 234%.
Significant places
The only large towns in the district are Kurunegala (2012: 24,833 inhabitants) and Kuliyapitiya (2012: 5,509 inhabitants).
Local administration
The head of the district holds the title of District Secretary. The district is further divided into 30 divisions (under a Division Secretary). The cities and larger towns have their own administration (municipal parliament or council). There are 1,610 village administrations (Grama Niladharis) for the 4,432 villages in the entire district.
Surname | main place | Residents 2012 |
Area in km² |
density | GN | Villages |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Alawwa | Alawwa | 63,667 | 128 | 497 | 66 | 124 |
Ambanpola | Ambanpola | 22,878 | 139 | 165 | 28 | 122 |
Bamunakotuwa | Bamunakotuwa | 36,217 | 100 | 362 | 36 | 125 |
Bingiriya | Bingiriya | 62,349 | 207 | 301 | 52 | 149 |
Ehetuwewa | Ehetuwewa | 25,781 | 180 | 143 | 35 | 152 |
Galgamuwa | Galgamuwa | 55,078 | 278 | 198 | 62 | 189 |
Ganewatta | Ganewatta | 40,137 | 148 | 271 | 42 | 146 |
Giribawa | Giribawa | 31,412 | 201 | 156 | 35 | 72 |
Ibbagamuwa | Ibbagamuwa | 85,309 | 210 | 406 | 74 | 188 |
Kobeigane | Kobeigane | 35,975 | 127 | 283 | 35 | 132 |
Kotawehera | Kotawehera | 21,263 | 184 | 116 | 31 | 90 |
Kuliyapitiya East | Nakkawatta | 54,062 | 121 | 447 | 45 | 139 |
Kuliyapitiya West | 77,316 | 165 | 469 | 68 | 146 | |
Kurunegala | Kurunegala | 80,755 | 101 | 800 | 54 | 125 |
Mahawa | Mahawa | 57,485 | 258 | 223 | 68 | 220 |
Mallawapitiya | Mallawapitiya | 52,634 | 75 | 702 | 45 | 99 |
Maspotha | Maspotha | 34,262 | 58 | 591 | 33 | 72 |
Mawathagama | Mawathagama | 64,904 | 107 | 607 | 71 | 167 |
Narammala | Narammala | 56,279 | 110 | 512 | 54 | 125 |
Nikaweratiya | Nikaweratiya | 40,452 | 158 | 256 | 42 | 101 |
Panduwasnuwara | Hettipola | 63,742 | 161 | 396 | 64 | 227 |
Panduwasnuwara East | Katupotha | 32,386 | 101 | 321 | 39 | 118 |
Pannala | Pannala | 124.225 | 275 | 452 | 87 | 207 |
Polgahawela | Polgahawela | 65,156 | 95 | 686 | 84 | 198 |
Polpithigama | Polpithigama | 76.139 | 387 | 197 | 82 | 283 |
Rasnayakapura | Rasnayakapura | 21,893 | 123 | 178 | 28 | 79 |
Rideegama | Ridigama | 88.714 | 212 | 418 | 113 | 262 |
Udubaddawa | Udubaddawa | 52,231 | 130 | 402 | 43 | 93 |
Wariyapola | Wariyapola | 61,425 | 181 | 339 | 56 | 178 |
Wirambugedara | Wirambugedara | 34,339 | 95 | 361 | 38 | 104 |
Kurunegala District | Kurunegala | 1,618,465 | 4,624 | 350 | 1,610 | 4,432 |
Individual evidence
- ↑ Final result of the 2012 census
- ^ Map of the ethnic distribution after the 2012 census
- ↑ Kurunegala district data based on the 2012 census
- ^ Map of religious distribution after the 2012 census
- ↑ Kurunegala district data based on the 2012 census
- ↑ Kurunegala District Handbook 2013, Table 1.1
- ^ Map of the inhabitants by division
- ↑ Kurunegala District Handbook 2013, Table 1.5
Web links
- Website of the district (English)