In Sri Lanka, districts ( si, දිස්ත්‍රි‌ක්‌ක, ''Distrikka'', ta, மாவட்டம், ''Māvaṭṭam'') are the second-level administrative divisions, and are included in a

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

. There are 25 districts organized into 9 provinces. Each district is administered under a district secretary, who is appointed by the central government. 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, as well as revenue collection and coordination of elections in the district. A district is divided into a number of

Divisional Secretary's Division The districts of Sri Lanka are divided into administrative sub-units known as ''divisional secretariats''. These were originally based on the feudal counties, the ''korale''s and ''rata''s. They were formerly known as 'D.R.O. Divisions' after the ...

s (commonly known as DS divisions), which are in turn subdivided into 14,022

grama niladhari ''Grama Niladhari'' (''village officers'') ( si, ග්‍රාම නිලධාරී) is a Sri Lankan public official appointed by the central government to carry out administrative duties in a ''grama niladhari'' division, which is a sub-un ...

divisions. There are 331 DS divisions in the country.

History

The country was first divided into several administrative units during the Anuradhapura Kingdom. The kingdom was divided into three provinces; '' Rajarata'', ''

Ruhuna The Principality of Ruhuna, also referred to as the Kingdom of Ruhuna, is a region of present-day Southern and Eastern Sri Lanka. It was the center of a flourishing civilisation and the cultural and economic centres of ancient Sri Lanka. Magama, T ...

'' and '' Malaya Rata''. These were further subdivided into smaller units called ''rata''. 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 , which were further subdivided into forty . The 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. When the Portuguese took over parts of the country after their arrival in 1505, they maintained more or less the same administrative structure followed by Sri Lankan rulers. During the Dutch rule in the country, the terrain under their control was divided into three administrative divisions. These were subdivided into as in earlier systems. The

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

initially continued this system, but following reforms in 1796 to 1802, the country was divided according to ethnic composition. This was abolished by the Colebrook–Cameron reforms in 1833 and a legislative council was created, 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. In 1955, the district replaced the province as the country's main administrative unit.

Ampara District Ampara District ( ta, அம்பாறை மாவட்டம், translit=Ampāṟai Māvaṭṭam; si, අම්පාර දිස්ත්‍රික්කය, translit=Ampāra Distrikkaya) is one of the 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the se ...

was created in April 1961, followed by the creation of

Mullaitivu Mullaitivu ( ta, முல்லைத்தீவு, translit=Mullaittīvu; si, මූලදූව, translit=Mūladūva) is the main town of Mullaitivu District, situated on the north-eastern coast of Northern Province, Sri Lanka. A largely ...

and

Gampaha Gampaha (Sinhala: ගම්පහ ; Tamil: கம்பஹா ) is an urban city in Gampaha District, Western Province, Sri Lanka. It is situated to the north-east of the capital Colombo. It is the sixth largest urban area in Western Province ...

districts in September 1978 through a new constitution, which also reintroduced the province as the main administrative unit. The last district to be created was

Kilinochchi Kilinochchi ( ta, கிளிநொச்சி, translit=Kiḷinocci; si, කිලිනොච්චි, translit=Girānika) is the main town of Kilinochchi District, Northern Province of Sri Lanka. Kilinochchi is situated at the A9 road so ...

in February 1984, 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.

Districts

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

Notes

Citations

References

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External links