Provinces of Sri Lanka

Map of the provinces of Sri Lanka

The provinces ( Sinhala : පළාත paḷāta [ paˈlaːt̪ə ], Tamil : மாகாணம் mākāṇam [ ˈmaːɡaːɳʌm ], English : province ) are an administrative unit of Sri Lanka . The island state is currently divided into nine provinces. The provinces were introduced into what was then Ceylon in 1833 during the British colonial era. Since 1987 the provinces have had limited self-government . The provinces are further divided into districts .

history

The division of Sri Lanka into provinces goes back to the British colonial times. After the British had brought the entire island under their rule by 1815 and incorporated Ceylon into the British Empire as a crown colony , there was an ethnically based administrative unit for the lowland Sinhalese , the highland Sinhalese and the Tamils . According to the recommendations of the Colebrooke Cameron Commission , the provincial administration was reformed in 1833 and the island was divided into five geographical provinces: the Northern Province , the Eastern Province , the Southern Province , the Western Province and the Central Province . In the course of the 19th century, four new provinces were established: the Northwest Province was established in 1845, the North Central Province in 1873, the Uva Province in 1886 and the Sabaragamuwa Province in 1889 . The nine provinces that existed to this day had taken shape. After the independence of Ceylon, which was renamed Sri Lanka in 1972, in 1948 the provincial division was taken over unchanged.

Originally, according to the centralized state order of Sri Lanka , the provinces had no competencies of their own. Most of the administrative tasks were taken over by the districts , the next lower administrative unit, so that the provinces practically only existed nominally. Against the background of the Indian intervention in the civil war in Sri Lanka , the 13th Amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution was passed in November 1987, which among other things introduced limited self-government for the provinces. Since then, the provinces have had their own legislature , the provincial council, and the executive branch , a government led by a chief minister elected by the provincial council . In addition, the India-Sri Lankan agreement provided for the Tamil-populated areas to be placed under joint administration. Therefore, in September 1988, the north and east provinces were merged to form the north-east province . After the civil war flared up again after the withdrawal of the Indian intervention troops, the government of the Northeast Province was ousted in March 1990 and the province was placed directly under the central government. In response to a petition from the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) party, the Sri Lankan Supreme Court declared the amalgamation of the Northeast Province to be invalid in October 2006. Therefore, effective January 1, 2007, the northern and eastern provinces were restored. Elections to the Provincial Council took place again in May 2008 in the Eastern Province and in September 2013 in the Northern Province.

List of provinces in Sri Lanka

province	Capital	map	surface	Population (2012)	Population density
North Central Province	Anuradhapura		10,472 km²	1,259,200	129 inhabitants / km²
Northern Province	Jaffna		8,884 km²	1,059,888	128 people / km²
Northwest Province	Kurunegala		7,888 km²	2,371,881	316 inhabitants / km²
Eastern Province	Trincomalee		9,996 km²	1,547,306	165 inhabitants / km²
Sabaragamuwa	Ratnapura		4,968 km²	1,919,151	390 people / km²
Southern province	bile		5,544 km²	2,465,333	458 inhabitants / km²
Uva	Badulla		8,500 km²	1,259,218	151 people / km²
Western province	Colombo		3,684 km²	5,835,852	1,624 inhabitants / km²
Central Province	Kandy		5,674 km²	2,556,350	459 inhabitants / km²

Former Province (1988-2006):

province	Capital	map	surface	Population (2003)	Population density
Northeast Province	Trincomalee		18,880 km²	2,460,565	130 inhabitants / km²

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Including inland waters. See Statistical Abstract 2016. Table 1.1: Area of ​​Sri Lanka by Province and District. Department of Census and Statistics
2. ^ Department of Census and Statistics: Census of Population and Housing 2011. Enumeration Stage February - March 2012. Population of Sri Lanka by District. (PDF; 1.7 MB)
3. ↑ Based on the area without inland waterways.