Provinces of Sri Lanka

Province; පළාත; மாகாணம்
Category	First level administrative division
Location	Sri Lanka
Created	1 October 1833
Number	9 (as of 1 January 2007)
Populations	1,061,315–5,851,130
Areas	3,684–10,472 km²
Government	Provincial council
Subdivisions	District

Last updated April 02, 2018

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In Sri Lanka, provinces (Sinhalese : පළාත, translit. Paḷāta; Tamil : மாகாணம், translit. Mākāṇam) are the first level administrative division. They were first established by the British rulers of Ceylon in 1833. Over the next century most of the administrative functions were transferred to the districts, the second level administrative division. By the middle of the 20th century the provinces had become merely ceremonial. This changed in 1987 when, following several decades of increasing demand for a decentralization, the 13th Amendment to the 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka established provincial councils.^[1]^[2] Currently there are nine provinces.

History

Anuradhapura Kingdom

British Ceylon

After the British took control of the entire island of Ceylon in 1815 it was divided into three ethnic based administrative structures: Low Country Sinhalese, Kandyan Sinhalese and Tamil. In 1829 the British established the Colebrooke–Cameron Commission to review the colonial government of Ceylon, including its administrative structures.^[3] The Commission recommended that the existing three ethnic based administrations be unified into a single administration divided into five geographic provinces.^[3] Accordingly, on 1 October 1833 five provinces under one administration came into being:^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]

Central Province – composed of the central Kandyan provinces.
Eastern Province – composed of the maritime districts of Batticaloa and Trincomalee, and the Kandyan provinces of Bintenna and Tamankaduwa.
Northern Province – composed of the maritime districts of Jaffna, Mannar and Vanni, and the Kandyan province of Nuwara Kalawiya.
Southern Province – composed of the maritime districts of Galle, Hambantota, Matara and Tangalle, and the Kandyan provinces of Lower Uva, Saffragam and Wellassa.
Western Province – composed of the maritime districts of Colombo, Chilaw and Puttalam, and the Kandyan provinces of Three Korales, Four Korales, Seven Korales and Lower Bulathgama.

Over the next fifty years four additional provinces were created, taking the total number to nine:^[6]^[7]^[8]

North Western Province was created in 1845 from northern Western Province (districts of Chilaw, Puttalam and Seven Korales).^[9]
North Central Province was created in 1873 from southern Northern Province (district of Nuwara Kalawiya) and north-western Eastern Province (district of Tamankaduwa).^[10]
Uva Province was created in 1886 from parts of Central Province, Eastern Province (district of Bintenna) and Southern Province (district of Wellassa).^[10]
Sabaragamuwa Province was created in 1889.^[11]

Sri Lanka

The number of provinces remained static until September 1988 when, in accordance with the Indo-Lanka Accord, President Jayewardene issued proclamations enabling the Northern and Eastern provinces to be one administrative unit administered by one elected Council, creating the North Eastern Province.^[12] The proclamations were only meant to be a temporary measure until a referendum was held in the Eastern Province on a permanent merger between the two provinces. However, the referendum was never held and successive Sri Lankan presidents issued proclamations annually extending the life of the "temporary" entity.^[13] The merger was bitterly opposed by Sri Lankan nationalists. On 14 July 2006, after a long campaign against the merger, the JVP filed three separate petitions with the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka requesting a separate Provincial Council for the East.^[12] On 16 October 2006 the Supreme Court ruled that the proclamations issued by President Jayewardene were null and void and had no legal effect.^[12] The North-East Province was formally de-merged into the Northern and Eastern provinces on 1 January 2007.

Sri Lanka currently has nine provinces, seven of which have had provincial councils from the start.^[2]

Evolution of Sri Lankan provinces since 1833

1833–1845

1845–1873

1873–1886

1886–1889

1889 – Present

Provinces

Current

All population data are from the most recent census of Sri Lanka, in 2012.

Province	Provincial capital	Date Created	Land area in km² (mi²)^[14]	Inland water area in km² (mi²)^[14]	Total area in km² (mi²)^[14]	Population (2012)^[15]	Population density per km² (per mi²)^{[lower-alpha 1]}
Central	Kandy	000000001833-10-01-00001 October 1833	7009557500000000000♠5,575 (2,153)	7007990000000000000♠99 (38)	7009567400000000000♠5,674 (2,191)	2,571,557	6996461000000000000♠461 (1,190)
Eastern	Trincomalee	000000001833-10-01-00001 October 1833	7009936100000000000♠9,361 (3,614)	7008635000000000000♠635 (245)	7009999600000000000♠9,996 (3,859)	1,555,510	6996166000000000000♠166 (430)
North Central	Anuradhapura	000000001873-01-01-00001873	7009974100000000000♠9,741 (3,761)	7008731000000000000♠731 (282)	7010104720000000000♠10,472 (4,043)	1,266,663	6996129999999999999♠130 (340)
Northern	Jaffna	000000001833-10-01-00001 October 1833	7009829000000000000♠8,290 (3,200)	7008594000000000000♠594 (229)	7009888400000000000♠8,884 (3,430)	1,061,315	6996128000000000000♠128 (330)
North Western	Kurunegala	000000001845-01-01-00001845	7009750600000000000♠7,506 (2,898)	7008382000000000000♠382 (147)	7009788800000000000♠7,888 (3,046)	2,380,861	6996317000000000000♠317 (820)
Sabaragamuwa	Ratnapura	000000001889-01-01-00001889	7009492100000000000♠4,921 (1,900)	7007470000000000000♠47 (18)	7009496800000000000♠4,968 (1,918)	1,928,655	6996392000000000000♠392 (1,020)
Southern	Galle	000000001833-10-01-00001 October 1833	7009538300000000000♠5,383 (2,078)	7008161000000000000♠161 (62)	7009554400000000000♠5,544 (2,141)	2,477,285	6996459999999999999♠460 (1,200)
Uva	Badulla	000000001886-01-01-00001886	7009833500000000000♠8,335 (3,218)	7008165000000000000♠165 (64)	7009850000000000000♠8,500 (3,300)	1,266,463	6996151999999999999♠152 (390)
Western	Colombo	000000001833-10-01-00001 October 1833	7009359300000000000♠3,593 (1,387)	7007910000000000000♠91 (35)	7009368400000000000♠3,684 (1,422)	5,851,130	6997162800000000000♠1,628 (4,220)
Total			7010627050000000000♠62,705 (24,211)	7009290500000000000♠2,905 (1,122)	7010656100000000000♠65,610 (25,330)	20,359,439	6996325000000000000♠325 (840)