Districts of Sri Lanka facts for kids
Districts (Sinhala: දිස්ත්රික්ක, Tamil: மாவட்டம்) are important parts of Sri Lanka. Think of them like smaller regions or counties that help organize the country. Sri Lanka has 9 larger areas called provinces, and each province is divided into several districts. There are 25 districts in total across the country. Each district is managed by a special officer called a District Secretary, who is chosen by the government.
Contents
What are Districts?
Districts are the second level of how Sri Lanka is divided for administrative purposes. This means they are smaller than provinces but bigger than other local areas. They help the government manage things like schools, hospitals, and local services for the people living there.
How Many Districts Are There?
Sri Lanka has 25 districts. These districts are spread across the 9 provinces. For example, the Western Province has three districts: Colombo, Gampaha, and Kalutara. Each district has its own main city, called the district capital.
Who Manages a District?
Each district is looked after by a District Secretary. This person is like the main manager for the district. They make sure that government plans and services work well for everyone in that area. The central government chooses who becomes a District Secretary.
Districts and Their People
We can learn a lot about districts by looking at their population. The numbers below are from the most recent count of people in Sri Lanka, which happened in 2012. When we talk about how many people live in a certain area, we often use "population density." This tells us how crowded an area is by showing how many people live in each square kilometer of land. We only use the land area for this, not including rivers or lakes.
- Colombo District: This is the most crowded district, with over 2.3 million people! It's in the Western Province and its capital is Colombo, the biggest city in Sri Lanka.
- Gampaha District: Also in the Western Province, Gampaha is another very populated district, with nearly 2.3 million people.
- Kandy District: Located in the Central Province, Kandy is home to over 1.3 million people. Its capital is Kandy, a famous city.
- Jaffna District: In the far north, in the Northern Province, Jaffna has over half a million people. Its capital is Jaffna.
- Mullaitivu District: This district, also in the Northern Province, has the smallest population, with just over 90,000 people.
Images for kids
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Area map of Ampara District
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Area map of Anuradhapura District
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Area map of Badulla District
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Area map of Batticaloa District
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Area map of Colombo District
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Area map of Galle District
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Area map of Gampaha District
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Area map of Hambantota District
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Area map of Jaffna District
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Area map of Kalutara District
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Area map of Kandy District
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Area map of Kegalle District
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Area map of Kilinochchi District
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Area map of Kurunegala District
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Area map of Mannar District
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Area map of Matale District
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Area map of Matara District
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Area map of Moneragala District
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Area map of Mullaitivu District
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Area map of Nuwara Eliya District
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Area map of Polonnaruwa District
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Area map of Puttalam District
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Area map of Ratnapura District
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Area map of Trincomalee District
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Area map of Vavuniya District
