Provinces of Sri Lanka
In Sri Lanka, provinces 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. 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. The Commission recommended that the existing three ethnic based administrations be unified into a single administration divided into five geographic provinces. Accordingly, on 1 October 1833 five provinces under one administration came into being:- 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.
- North Western Province was created in 1845 from northern Western Province.
- North Central Province was created in 1873 from southern Northern Province and north-western Eastern Province.
- Uva Province was created in 1886 from parts of Central Province, Eastern Province and Southern Province.
- Sabaragamuwa Province was created in 1889.
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka currently has nine provinces, seven of which have had provincial councils from the start.
Provinces
Current
All population data are from the most recent census of Sri Lanka, in 2012.| Province | Area map | Provincial capital | Date Created | Land area in km2 | Inland water area in km2 | Total area in km2 | Population | Population density per km2 |
| Central Province, Sri Lanka | Kandy | 2,571,557 | ||||||
| Eastern Province, Sri Lanka | Trincomalee | 1,555,510 | ||||||
| North Central Province, Sri Lanka | Anuradhapura | 1,266,663 | ||||||
| Northern Province, Sri Lanka | Jaffna | 1,061,315 | ||||||
| North Western Province, Sri Lanka | Kurunegala | 2,380,861 | ||||||
| Sabaragamuwa Province | Ratnapura | 1,928,655 | ||||||
| Southern Province, Sri Lanka | Galle | 2,477,285 | ||||||
| Uva Province | Badulla | 1,266,463 | ||||||
| Western Province, Sri Lanka | Colombo | 5,851,130 | ||||||
| Total | 20,359,439 |