In Sri Lanka, districts (Sinhala: දිස්ත්රික්ක , Tamil: மாவட்ட ) are the second-level administrative divisions, and are included in a province. 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 Divisions (commonly known as DS divisions), which are in turn subdivided into Grama Niladari Divisions. There are 256 DS divisions in the country.
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 . 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.
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 disavas as in earlier systems. The British 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. The Ampara district was created in 1958, followed by the creation of Mullaitivu and Gampaha districts in 1978 through a new constitution, which also reintroduced the province as the main administrative unit. The last district to be created was Kilinochchi in 1983, 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 2001. The districts of Jaffna, Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi were not covered in this census because of security reasons, and Batticaloa, Trincomalee, Vavuniya and Mannar were only partially covered. Therefore, the population statistics for these districts are estimates. These are marked by a * symbol.
See also
- Provinces of Sri Lanka
- ISO 3166-2:LK
Notes
- ^ Population density has been calculated using the land area rather than the total area.
Citations
- ^ a b "Sri Lanka in Brief". The Government of Sri Lanka . http://www.priu.gov.lk/TourCountry/Indextc.html . Retrieved 2009-07-21 .
- ^ "District Secretariats". District and Divisional Secretariats Portal—Ministry of Public Administration and Home Affairs . http://www.ds.gov.lk/dis_sec/dis_eng/District_Secretariats.php . Retrieved 2009-07-21 .
- ^ "Kilinochchi a brief look". Daily News . 2009-04-27 . http://www.dailynews.lk/2009/04/27/Visit.asp?id=s02 . Retrieved 2009-08-01 .
- ^ "District Secretariat—Vavuniya". District and Divisional Secretariats Portal—Ministry of Public Administration and Home Affairs . http://www.ds.gov.lk/dist_vavuniya/english/about_us.html . Retrieved 2009-07-29 .
- ^ "Performs Report and Accounts—2008" (PDF). District and Divisional Secretariats Portal—Ministry of Public Administration and Home Affairs . http://www.ds.gov.lk/uploads/karayasadana_english_.pdf . Retrieved 2009-07-29 .
- ^ "Identification of DS Divisions of Sri Lanka Vulnerable for food insecurity" (PDF). World Food Program . http://documents.wfp.org/stellent/groups/public/documents/vam/wfp173167.pdf . Retrieved 2009-07-21 .
- ^ Siriweera (2004), p. 91
- ^ Yogasundaram (2006), p. 170
- ^ Hewavissenti, Panchamee (2008-02-03). "Episodes of colonised history". Sunday Observer . http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2008/02/03/imp02.asp . Retrieved 2009-07-21 .
- ^ 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
- ^ "Population by sex and district, census years" (PDF). Department of Census and Statistics—Sri Lanka . http://www.statistics.gov.lk/Abstract_2008_PDF/abstract2008/table%202008/Chap%202/AB2-1.pdf . Retrieved 2009-08-06 .
- ^ Schmiegelow, Michèle (1997). Democracy in Asia . Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 425. ISBN 0312164955.
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