Puttalam (District)

Coordinates: 8 ° 2 ′  N , 79 ° 50 ′  E

Puttalam district පුත්තලම දිස්ත්රික්කය புத்தளம் மாவட்டம்
Province :	Northwest Province
Administrative headquarters :	Puttalam
Area :	3072 km²
of which land area:	2882 ​​km²
of which inland waters:	190 km²
Residents :	762396
Population density :	265 inhabitants / km²
Website :	District website

Puttalam ( Sinhala පුත්තලම දිස්ත්රික්කය puttalama distrikkaya ; Tamil புத்தளம் மாவட்டம் Puttalam māvaṭṭam ) is a district in the North West Province in Sri Lanka . The main town is Puttalam .

geography

The Puttalam District is located on the west coast of Sri Lanka on the Gulf of Mannar and belongs to the Northwest Province . Neighboring districts are Mannar in the north, Anuradhapura in the northeast, Kurunegala in the east and southeast, Gampaha in the south and the Gulf of Mannar in the west.

The Puttalam district has an area of ​​3,072 square kilometers (of which 2,882 square kilometers are land and 190 square kilometers are inland water). This makes it the seventh largest district in Sri Lanka in terms of area.

population

According to the 2012 census, the Puttalam district has 762,396 inhabitants. With 265 inhabitants per square kilometer, the population density is well below the Sri Lankan average (325 inhabitants per square kilometer). Of the residents, 368,971 (48.40%) were male and 393,425 (51.60%) 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	141.040	134,650	118,774	116,832	93,637	77,861	72,330	7,272
proportion of	18.50%	17.66%	15.58%	15.32%	12.28%	10.21%	9.49%	0.95%

District population by ethnic group

The Sinhalese make up the majority of the population of the Puttalam district. But there are large minorities of other ethnic groups.

Sinhalese

More than 70% of the residents belong to the Sinhalese ethnic group . The Sinhalese population ranges between 26.61% in Puttalam and 99.34% in Nawagattegama. The south and the eastern divisions are clearly Sinhalese. There are numerous members of other ethnic groups in the northern coastal region. In the Puttalam division, only 26.61% of the population are Sinhalese. They are only the second largest ethnic group there. The Kalpitiya (31.29% Sinhalese), Mundalama (Mundel; 41.39%) and Vanathavilluwa (56.37%) divisions are also ethnically mixed.

Moors

The second largest ethnic group and thus the largest minority are the Moors or Tamil-speaking Muslims. They form the largest population group in the Kalpitiya (53.67%) and Puttalam (63.33%) divisions. They are also well above average in the Mundalama (Mundel; 38.07% Moors), Nattandiya (10.26%), Pallama (16.16%) and Vanathavilluwa (35.76%). In contrast, only a few members of their ethnic group live in five of the sixteen divisions. Their share ranges between 0.01% in Nawagattegama and 63.33% in Puttalam.

Sri Lankan Tamils

The Sri Lankan Tamils are the third largest ethnic group. They are above average in the divisions Mundalama (Mundel; 19.95% Sri Lankan Tamils), Kalpitiya (12.90%), Chilaw (9.19%), Puttalam (8.71%) and Vanathavilluwa (7.37 %). They live in all sixteen divisions. Their share ranges between 0.54% in Karuwalagaswewa and 19.95% in Mundalama (Mundel).

Other ethnic groups

The Indian-born Tamils, Malays and Burghers, Sri Lankan Chetties and Bharathas are small minorities. They live in all divisions of the Puttalam 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	407.067	82.65%	32,282	6.55%	2,289	0.46%	49,000	9.95%	440	0.09%	954	0.19%	501	0.10%	492,533	100.00%
2001	523.116	73.71%	48,072	6.77%	2,227	0.31%	133.134	18.76%	735	0.10%	1,214	0.17%	1,179	0.17%	709,677	100.00%
2012	560.838	73.56%	48,341	6.34%	1.953	0.26%	147,546	19.35%	1,152	0.15%	631	0.08%	1,935	0.25%	762.396	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 674 Sri Lanka Chetties and 34 Bharathas, 2012 200 Sri Lanka Chetties and 201 Bharathas

Population of the district by confession

The distribution of creeds is largely a reflection of ethnic relationships. However, on closer inspection, there are significant differences from the rest of the country. It is true that Buddhism is the strongest religious group because of the Sinhalese majority of the population. But far more than 200,000 Sinhalese and over 20,000 Tamils ​​belong to the Christian minority. This is particularly evident in the Wennappuwa division. There are 99.59% of the total population Sinhalese. Yet only 18.02% of the population are Buddhists and 80.63% Christian . Despite numerous returnees - from Christianity to Buddhism - by Sinhalese in the past two hundred years, Christianity is therefore still the second most powerful religion today. The Hinduism , the Sri Lankan and Indian Tamils, the majority of plays, is in the district of Puttalam only the fourth-largest religious community. In third place is Islam , to which the Moors and Malays belong.

year	Buddhists		Hindus		Muslims		Catholics		other Christs		Other		Total
	number	%	number	%	number	%	number	%	number	%	number	%	number	%
1981	236.241	47.96%	18,997	3.86%	50,351	10.22%	184,555	37.47%	2,082	0.42%	307	0.06%	492,533	100.00%
2001	308.273	43.44%	29,482	4.15%	134,643	18.97%	229,966	32.40%	6,830	0.96%	483	0.07%	709,677	100.00%
2012	329.705	43.25%	28,811	3.78%	150.404	19.73%	240.221	31.51%	12.093	1.59%	1,162	0.15%	762.396	100.00%
Source: Sri Lanka censuses in 1981, 2001 and 2012

Population development

The population of the Puttalam district has grown below average for Sri Lankan standards since the turn of the millennium. In the period from 2001 to 2012 (the last two census years) the increase was only 52,719 people. This is a growth of 7.43%. Since independence, the population in the boundaries of the new district (Chilaw and Puttalam together) has increased by 233%.

The Chilaw district, incorporated in 1958, is already included in the 1953 figures.

Significant places

The only large towns in the district are Puttalam (2012: 45,511 inhabitants) and Chilaw (2012: 21,441 inhabitants).

Local administration

The head of the district holds the title of District Secretary. The district is further divided into sixteen divisions (under a Division Secretary). The cities and larger towns have their own administration (municipal parliament or council). There are 548 village administrations (Grama Niladharis) for the 1,273 villages in the entire district.

The DS Divisions in the Puttalam District

Surname	main place	Residents 2012	Area in km²	density	GN	Villages
Anamaduwa	Anamaduwa	38.286	238	161	35	129
Arachchikattuwa	Arachchikattuwa	40,999	154	266	33	102
Chilaw	Pitipana	62,515	98	638	49	98
Dankotuwa	Dankotuwa	62,399	78	800	47	81
Kalpitiya	Pudukudirippu	86,405	167	517	31	86
Karuwalagaswewa	Karuwalagaswewa	23,440	502	47	26th	67
Madampe	Uraliyagara	47,920	84	570	49	98
Mahakumbukkadawala	Mahakumbukkadawala	18,633	173	108	25th	70
Mahawewa	Ihala Mahawewa	51,078	73	700	47	69
Mundalama	Mundalama	61,638	221	279	31	117
Nattandiya	Wirahena	62,145	72	863	47	75
Nawagattegama	Kirimatiyawa	14,483	163	89	19th	75
Pallama	Nandimithrapura	24,441	119	205	18th	63
Puttalam	Puttalam	82,443	175	471	22nd	50
Vanathavilluwa	Vanathavilluwa	17,460	716	24	17th	37
Wennappuwa	Ulhitiyawa	68.111	39	1,746	52	56
Puttalam District	Puttalam	762.396	2882	265	548	1,273

history

In 1958 the larger Chilaw district (1953: 170,100 inhabitants) was incorporated into the smaller Puttalam district (1953: 58,800 inhabitants).

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Final result of the 2012 census
2. ^ Map of the ethnic distribution after the 2012 census
3. ↑ Puttalam district data after the 2012 census
4. ^ Map of religious distribution after the 2012 census
5. ↑ Puttalam district data after the 2012 census
6. ↑ Handbook of the Puttalam District 2013, Table 1.1
7. ^ Map of the inhabitants by division
8. ↑ Statistical Abstract 2013 of Sri Lanka, Table 1.2 ( Memento of the original from February 13, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 

Web links

• Website of the district (English)