The country was first divided into several administrative units during the Anuradhapura Kingdom. The kingdom was divided into three provinces; Rajarata, Ruhuna and Malaya Rata. These were further subdivided into smaller units called rata.[1] Over time, the number of provinces increased, but the second-level administrative division continued to be the rata. However, with the country eventually being divided into more than one kingdom and with foreign colonial missions landing and taking parts of the country under their control, this structure began to change. The territory of the Kotte Kingdom was organized into four disavas, which were further subdivided into forty korales. The korales had their own civil and military officials with a small militia. The Jaffna kingdom appears to have had a similar administrative structure to this with four provinces.[2]
When the Portuguese took over parts of the country after their arrival in 1505,[3] they maintained more or less the same administrative structure followed by Sri Lankan rulers.[4] During the Dutch rule in the country, the terrain under their control was divided into three administrative divisions. These were subdivided into disavas as in earlier systems.[5] The British initially continued this system,[6] but following reforms in 1796 to 1802, the country was divided according to ethnic composition.[7][8] This was abolished by the Colebrook–Cameron reforms in 1833 and a legislative council was created,[9] making the island a politically and administratively single unit. Five provinces were created, later expanded into nine, and these were subdivided into twenty-one districts. These districts were administered by officials known as Government Agents or Assistant Government Agents.[7]
In 1955, the district replaced the province as the country's main administrative unit.[10]Ampara District was created in April 1961,[11][12] followed by the creation of Mullaitivu and Gampaha districts in September 1978[13] through a new constitution, which also reintroduced the province as the main administrative unit.[14] The last district to be created was Kilinochchi in February 1984,[15] and the current constitution (that of 1978) states that the territory of Sri Lanka consists of 25 administrative districts. These districts may be subdivided or amalgamated by a resolution of the Parliament of Sri Lanka.[16]
A map of all Sri Lankan Provinces, Districts, and Divisional Secretary's Division.
Districts are the second-level administrative divisions. There are 25 districts organized into 9 provinces.[20] Each district is administered under a District Secretary,[21] who is appointed by the central government.[22] The main tasks of the District Secretariat involve coordinating communications and activities of the central government and Divisional Secretariats. The District Secretariat is also responsible for implementing and monitoring development projects at the district level and assisting lower-level subdivisions in their activities,[23] as well as revenue collection and coordination of elections in the district.[24] A district is divided into a number of Divisional Secretary's Divisions (commonly known as DS divisions), which are in turn subdivided into Grama Niladhari Divisions.[25] There are 256 DS divisions in the country.[20]
^Karalliyadda, S. B. (9 June 2013). . The Nation (Sri Lanka). Archived from the original on 2013-12-24.
^. The Constitution of Sri Lanka. Government of Sri Lanka. Archived from the original on 31 May 2014. Retrieved 21 July 2009.
^Law, Gwillim (2010). "Provinces of Sri Lanka". statoids.com. Retrieved 19 January 2010.
^. Provincial Councils. Government of Sri Lanka. Archived from the original on 7 July 2009. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
^"Population of Sri Lanka by district" (PDF). Department of Census and Statistics. Retrieved 28 September 2013.
^ ab. Sri Lanka in Brief. Government of Sri Lanka. Archived from the original on 7 July 2009. Retrieved 21 July 2009.
^. District Secretariats Portal. Ministry of Public Administration & Home Affairs, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original on 13 May 2009. Retrieved 21 July 2009.
^"Kilinochchi a brief look". Daily News (Sri Lanka). 27 April 2009. Retrieved 1 August 2009.
^. Vavuniya District Secretariat. Archived from the original on 12 November 2010. Retrieved 29 July 2009.
^(PDF). District and Divisional Secretariats Portal—Ministry of Public Administration and Home Affairs. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-10-03. Retrieved 2009-07-29.
^(PDF). World Food Programme. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2011. Retrieved 21 July 2009.
Bibliography
. International Centre for Ethnic Studies. Archived from the original on 2009-06-08. Retrieved 2009-07-18.
Siriweera, W. I. (2004). History of Sri Lanka: From Earliest Times Up to the Sixteenth Century. Dayawansa Jayakodi & Company. ISBN955-551-257-4.
Yogasundaram, Nath (2006). A Comprehensive History of Sri Lanka from Prehistory to Tsunami. Vijitha Yapa Publishers. ISBN978-955-665-002-0.
Peebles, Patrick (2006). The History of Sri Lanka. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN0-313-33205-3.
External links
"Provinces of Sri Lanka". Statoids.
March 06, 2023
administrative, divisions, lanka, lanka, divided, into, provinces, which, further, subdivided, into, districts, districts, further, subdivided, into, divisional, secretary, divisions, each, division, divided, into, grama, niladhari, divisions, village, officer. Sri Lanka is divided into 9 provinces which are further subdivided into 25 districts Districts are further subdivided into Divisional Secretary s Divisions Each DS Division is divided into Grama Niladhari Divisions village officer divisions Administrative divisions of Sri LankaAdministrative map of Sri LankaLocationSri LankaSubdivisionsTypeNumberProvinces9Districts25DS Divisions331GN Divisions14 022 Contents 1 History 2 Summary 3 List of subdivisions 3 1 Provinces 3 2 Districts 3 3 Divisional Secretary s Divisions 3 4 Grama Niladhari Divisions 4 See also 5 Notes 6 References 7 Bibliography 8 External linksHistory EditThe country was first divided into several administrative units during the Anuradhapura Kingdom The kingdom was divided into three provinces Rajarata Ruhuna and Malaya Rata These were further subdivided into smaller units called rata 1 Over time the number of provinces increased but the second level administrative division continued to be the rata However with the country eventually being divided into more than one kingdom and with foreign colonial missions landing and taking parts of the country under their control this structure began to change The territory of the Kotte Kingdom was organized into four disavas which were further subdivided into forty korales The korales had their own civil and military officials with a small militia The Jaffna kingdom appears to have had a similar administrative structure to this with four provinces 2 When the Portuguese took over parts of the country after their arrival in 1505 3 they maintained more or less the same administrative structure followed by Sri Lankan rulers 4 During the Dutch rule in the country the terrain under their control was divided into three administrative divisions These were subdivided into disavas as in earlier systems 5 The British initially continued this system 6 but following reforms in 1796 to 1802 the country was divided according to ethnic composition 7 8 This was abolished by the Colebrook Cameron reforms in 1833 and a legislative council was created 9 making the island a politically and administratively single unit Five provinces were created later expanded into nine and these were subdivided into twenty one districts These districts were administered by officials known as Government Agents or Assistant Government Agents 7 In 1955 the district replaced the province as the country s main administrative unit 10 Ampara District was created in April 1961 11 12 followed by the creation of Mullaitivu and Gampaha districts in September 1978 13 through a new constitution which also reintroduced the province as the main administrative unit 14 The last district to be created was Kilinochchi in February 1984 15 and the current constitution that of 1978 states that the territory of Sri Lanka consists of 25 administrative districts These districts may be subdivided or amalgamated by a resolution of the Parliament of Sri Lanka 16 Summary EditLevel Group name Type No 1 Provincesපළ ත ம க ணம N A 92 Districtsද ස ත ර ක ක ம வட டம N A 253 Divisional Secretary s Divisions N A 3394 Grama Niladhari Divisions N A 14 018List of subdivisions EditProvinces Edit Main article Provinces of Sri Lanka Provinces are first level administrative divisions in Sri Lanka 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 17 18 Currently there are nine provinces Map Code Name Area km2 Population 19 Website Bay of Bengal Palk Strait Northern Province Gulf ofMannar North Central Province North WesternProvince EasternProvince CentralProvince Uva Province WesternProvince SabaragamuwaProvince Southern Province Indian Ocean CP Central Province 5 674 2 556 774 cp gov lkEP Eastern Province 9 996 1 547 377 ep gov lkNC North Central Province 10 714 1 259 421 nc gov lkNP Northern Province 8 884 1 060 023 np gov lkNW North Western Province 7 812 2 372 185 nw gov lkSG Sabaragamuwa 4 902 1 919 478 sg gov lkSP Southern Province 5 559 2 465 626 sp gov lkUP Uva 8 488 1 259 419 up gov lkWP Western Province 3 709 5 837 294 wpc gov lkDistricts Edit Main article Districts of Sri Lanka A map of all Sri Lankan Provinces Districts and Divisional Secretary s Division Districts are the second level administrative divisions There are 25 districts organized into 9 provinces 20 Each district is administered under a District Secretary 21 who is appointed by the central government 22 The main tasks of the District Secretariat involve coordinating communications and activities of the central government and Divisional Secretariats The District Secretariat is also responsible for implementing and monitoring development projects at the district level and assisting lower level subdivisions in their activities 23 as well as revenue collection and coordination of elections in the district 24 A district is divided into a number of Divisional Secretary s Divisions commonly known as DS divisions which are in turn subdivided into Grama Niladhari Divisions 25 There are 256 DS divisions in the country 20 Divisional Secretary s Divisions Edit Main article Divisional Secretary s Divisions Grama Niladhari Divisions Edit Main article Grama Niladhari divisionsSee also EditList of capitals in Sri Lanka List of cities in Sri Lanka List of towns in Sri LankaNotes EditReferences Edit Siriweera 2004 p 91 Yogasundaram 2006 p 170 Hewavissenti Panchamee 3 February 2008 Episodes of colonised history Sunday Observer Sri Lanka Archived from the original on 7 February 2008 Retrieved 21 July 2009 Yogasundaram 2006 p 168 Yogasundaram 2006 p 195 Yogasundaram 2006 p 214 a b Yogasundaram 2006 p 258 Peebles 2006 p 48 Peebles 2006 p 52 Peebles 2006 p 110 Overview Ampara District Secretariat Archived from the original on 2013 12 24 Retrieved 2016 06 20 Mohideen M I M 27 December 2007 Sinhalisation of East A reply to Minister Champika Ranawaka The Island Sri Lanka Archived from the original on 5 October 2018 Retrieved 20 June 2016 Population by sex and district census years PDF Statistical Abstract 2011 Department of Census amp Statistics Sri Lanka Archived from the original PDF on 2012 11 13 Schmiegelow Michele 1997 Democracy in Asia Palgrave Macmillan p 425 ISBN 0 312 16495 5 Karalliyadda S B 9 June 2013 Awakening Jaffna Uthuru Wasanthaya The Nation Sri Lanka Archived from the original on 2013 12 24 Chapter 1 The People The State and Sovereignty The Constitution of Sri Lanka Government of Sri Lanka Archived from the original on 31 May 2014 Retrieved 21 July 2009 Law Gwillim 2010 Provinces of Sri Lanka statoids com Retrieved 19 January 2010 Introduction Provincial Councils Government of Sri Lanka Archived from the original on 7 July 2009 Retrieved 16 January 2010 Population of Sri Lanka by district PDF Department of Census and Statistics Retrieved 28 September 2013 a b At a Glance Sri Lanka in Brief Government of Sri Lanka Archived from the original on 7 July 2009 Retrieved 21 July 2009 Vision amp Mission District Secretariats Portal Ministry of Public Administration amp Home Affairs Sri Lanka Archived from the original on 13 May 2009 Retrieved 21 July 2009 Kilinochchi a brief look Daily News Sri Lanka 27 April 2009 Retrieved 1 August 2009 About Us Vavuniya District Secretariat Archived from the original on 12 November 2010 Retrieved 29 July 2009 Performs Report and Accounts 2008 PDF District and Divisional Secretariats Portal Ministry of Public Administration and Home Affairs Archived from the original PDF on 2011 10 03 Retrieved 2009 07 29 Identification of DS Divisions of Sri Lanka Vulnerable for food insecurity PDF World Food Programme Archived from the original PDF on 4 March 2011 Retrieved 21 July 2009 Bibliography Edit Administrative Districts and Main Towns of Sri Lanka International Centre for Ethnic Studies Archived from the original on 2009 06 08 Retrieved 2009 07 18 Siriweera W I 2004 History of Sri Lanka From Earliest Times Up to the Sixteenth Century Dayawansa Jayakodi amp Company ISBN 955 551 257 4 Yogasundaram Nath 2006 A Comprehensive History of Sri Lanka from Prehistory to Tsunami Vijitha Yapa Publishers ISBN 978 955 665 002 0 Peebles Patrick 2006 The History of Sri Lanka Greenwood Publishing Group ISBN 0 313 33205 3 External links Edit Provinces of Sri Lanka Statoids Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Administrative divisions of Sri Lanka amp oldid 1141068889, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
