Ratnapura (District)

Coordinates: 6 ° 41 ′  N , 80 ° 24 ′  E

Ratnapura District රත්නපුර දිස්ත්‍රික්කය இரத்தினபுரி மாவட்டம்
Province :	Sabaragamuwa Province
Administrative headquarters :	Ratnapura
Area :	3,275 km²
of which land area:	3,236 km²
of which inland waters:	39 km²
Residents :	1088007
Population density :	336 inhabitants / km²
Website :	District website

The Ratnapura District ( Sinhalese රත්නපුර දිස්ත්‍රික්කය Ratnapura distrikkaya ; Tamil இரத்தினபுரி மாவட்டம் Irattiṉapuri māvaṭṭam ) is a district in the Sabaragamuwa Province in Sri Lanka . The main town is Ratnapura.

geography

The Ratnapura District is located in the southern interior of the island and belongs to the Sabaragamuwa Province . Neighboring districts are Kegalle and Nuwara Eliya in the north, Badulla in the northeast, Moneragala in the east, Hambantota in the southeast, Matara in the south, Galle in the southwest, Kalutara in the west and Colombo in the northwest.

The Ratnapura district has an area of ​​3,275 square kilometers (of which 3,236 square kilometers are land and 39 square kilometers are inland water). This makes it the sixth largest district in Sri Lanka in terms of area.

population

According to the 2012 census, the Ratnapura district has 1,088,007 inhabitants. With 336 inhabitants per square kilometer, the population density is almost exactly the average of Sri Lanka (325 inhabitants per square kilometer). Of the residents, 536,401 (49.3%) were male and 551,606 (50.7%) 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	181,680	166.358	168,964	166.146	140,670	123,636	126,395	14,158
proportion of	16.70%	15.29%	15.53%	15.27%	12.93%	11.36%	11.62%	1.30%

District population by ethnic group

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

Sinhalese

More than 85% of the residents belong to the Sinhalese ethnic group . In all seventeen divisions they make up the majority of the population. They are below average in the Balangoda, Godakawela, Kahawaththa and Ratnapure divisions. More than 20% of the population there are members of other ethnic groups. The Sinhalese population ranges from 76.52% in Kahawaththa to 99.84% in Embilipitiya.

Indian Tamils

The Tamils ​​of Indian descent are descendants of immigrants from India during British colonial rule. At the 1946 census, their proportion of the population in the Ratnapura district was still 20.6%. This value rose slightly to 20.7% (or 87,088 people) in 1953 and slowly decreased to 17.1% (or 113,214 people) by 1971. In the 1970s, many members of this ethnic group had to turn their backs on Sri Lanka and move to India. Therefore, the 1981 census only counted 84,740 members of their community (1971–1981: - 28,474 or - 25.2%). Today they are represented well above the average in the Niwitigala (12.78% Indian Tamils), Imbulpe (11.73%) and Kalawana (10.76%) divisions. Their share ranges between 0.01% in Embilipitiya and 12.78% in Niwitigala.

Sri Lankan Tamils

The Sri Lankan Tamils are the third largest ethnic group. They are represented above average in the Kahawatta (12.14% Sri Lankan Tamils), Godakawela (9.89%) and Ratnapura (9.77%) divisions. Their share ranges between 0.08% in Embilipitiya and 12.14% in Kahawatta.

Moors

Only the fourth largest ethnic group are the Moors or Tamil-speaking Muslims. They are represented above average in the Balangoda division (7.39% Moors). Only a few members of their ethnic group live in four of the seventeen divisions. Their share ranges between 0.00% in Weligepola and 7.39% in Balangoda.

Other ethnic groups

The Malays, Burghers, Sri Lankan Chetties and Bharathas are small minorities. They live scattered across all divisions of the district. However, numerous members of the Burgher (157 people or 38.8% of their ethnic group) are at home in Balangoda and many Malays (101 people or 35.1% of their ethnic group) are at home in the Ratnapura division. The ethnic group of the Indian Moors has almost completely disappeared (in 1946 0.34% of the inhabitants or 1,200 people).

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	677.510	85.00%	19.094	2.40%	84,740	10.64%	13,791	1.73%	342	0.04%	412	0.05%	1,198	0.15%	797.087	100.00%
2001	882.017	86.83%	28,740	2.83%	82,591	8.13%	20,690	2.04%	343	0.03%	444	0.04%	982	0.10%	1,015,807	100.00%
2012	947.811	87.11%	54,437	5.00%	62.124	5.71%	22,346	2.05%	405	0.04%	288	0.03%	596	0.05%	1,088,007	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 102 Sri Lanka Chetties and 8 Bharathas; 2012 35 Sri Lanka Chetties and 12 Bharathas

Population of the district by confession

Almost all Sinhala residents of Ratnapura are Buddhist , while the Moors and Malays are all Islamic . The second strongest religion is Hinduism , to which the vast majority of Indian and Sri Lankan Tamils ​​belong. The Christianity , the (about 4,000 people) (about 14,000 people) who are Burgher, a small minority of Sinhalese and the minority Tamils, is only a small minority religion. It is worth mentioning the growth of Protestants (mostly Free Churches; 1981–2012: + 230%) with a simultaneous slight decrease among Catholics (1981–2012: - 2.4%).

year	Buddhists		Hindus		Muslims		Catholics		other Christs		Other		Total
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
1981	675.785	84.78%	92.156	11.56%	15,576	1.95%	11,107	1.39%	2,188	0.27%	275	0.03%	797.087	100.00%
2001	880.151	86.65%	96,738	9.52%	21,901	2.16%	11,728	1.15%	4,924	0.48%	365	0.04%	1,015,807	100.00%
2012	943.464	86.71%	101,962	9.37%	24,446	2.25%	10,844	1.00%	7.212	0.66%	79	0.01%	1,088,007	100.00%
Source: Sri Lanka censuses in 1981, 2001 and 2012

Population development

The population of the Ratnapura district has been growing steadily for decades. In the period from 2001 to 2012 (the last two census years) the increase was 72,200 people. This is a growth of 7.11%. Since 1946 the population has more than tripled (+ 217%).

The district was not a combat zone in the civil war. Therefore, only a small part of the migrants belong to the group affected by the civil war. In 2012, according to government statistics, there were only 1,965 refugees and returnees in the Ratnapura district. Among them were 1,377 refugees from other areas of Sri Lanka and 588 people were resettled after previous displacement.

Significant places

The only large towns in the district are Ratnapura , Embilipitiya and Balangoda .

Local administration

The head of the district holds the title of District Secretary. The district is further divided into seventeen divisions (under a Division Secretary). The cities and larger towns have their own administration (municipal parliament or council). There are 575 village administrations (Grama Niladharis) for the 1,941 villages in the entire district.

The DS Divisions in Ratnapura District

Surname	main place	Residents 2012	Area in km²	density	GN	Villages
Ayagama	Ayagama	30,894	165	187	21st	67
Balangoda	Balangoda	81,563	271	301	53	259
Eheliyagoda	Eheliyagoda	70,839	141	502	44	96
Elapatha	Elapatha	37,853	82	462	20th	68
Embilipitiya	Embilipitiya	134.713	388	347	40	107
Godakawela	Godakawela	76,469	155	493	44	62
Imbulpe	Imbulpe	59,477	256	232	50	252
Kahawatta	Kahawatta	43,298	103	420	21st	54
Kalawana	Kalawana	51,307	379	135	33	125
Kiriella	Kiriella	32,613	81	403	17th	33
Kolonna	Kolonna	45,954	176	261	29	123
Kuruvita	Kuruvita	95,646	174	550	39	85
Niwitigala	Niwitigala	60,130	156	385	24	82
Opanayaka	Opanayaka	26,587	80	332	20th	119
Pelmadulla	Pelmadulla	89,469	146	613	37	111
Ratnapura	Ratnapura	120,212	324	371	53	160
Weligepola	Weligepola	30,983	198	156	30th	138
Ratnapura District	Ratnapura	1,088,007	3,236	336	575	1.941

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Final result of the 2012 census
2. ^ Map of the ethnic distribution after the 2012 census
3. ↑ Data from the Ratnapura district after the 2012 census
4. ^ Map of religious distribution after the 2012 census
5. ↑ Data from the Ratnapura district after the 2012 census
6. ↑ Migrants by reason of migration and district.
7. ↑ Handbook of the District Ratnapura 2013, table 1.1
8. ^ Map of the inhabitants by division
9. ↑ 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)