Ampara District

Ampara District
அம்பாறை மாவட்டம்
අම්පාර දිස්ත්‍රික්කය
Administrative District
Paddy field in Oluvil

Location within Sri Lanka
Coordinates: 07°05′N 81°45′E / 7.083°N 81.750°E / 7.083; 81.750Coordinates: 07°05′N 81°45′E / 7.083°N 81.750°E / 7.083; 81.750
Country Sri Lanka
Province Eastern
Created April 1961
Capital Ampara
DS Division
Government
 • District Secretary Neel De Alwis
 • MPs
 • MPCs
Area[1]
 • Total 4,415 km2 (1,705 sq mi)
 • Land 4,222 km2 (1,630 sq mi)
 • Water 193 km2 (75 sq mi)  4.37%
Area rank 4th (6.73% of total area)
Population (2012 census)[2]
 • Total 648,057
 • Rank 14th (3.20% of total pop.)
 • Density 150/km2 (380/sq mi)
Ethnicity(2012 census)[2]
 • Moor 282,484 (43.59%)
 • Sinhalese 251,018 (38.73%)
 • Sri Lankan Tamil 112,750 (17.40%)
 • Burgher 849 (0.13%)
 • Other 956 (0.15%)
Religion(2012 census)[3]
 • Muslim 282,746 (43.63%)
 • Buddhist 250,213 (38.61%)
 • Hindu 102,454 (15.81%)
 • Christian 12,609 (1.95%)
 • Other 35 (0.01%)
Time zone UTC+05:30 (Sri Lanka)
Post Codes 32000-32999
Telephone Codes 063, 067
ISO 3166 code LK-52
Vehicle registration EP
Official Languages Tamil, Sinhala
Website Ampara District Secretariat

Ampara District (Tamil: அம்பாறை மாவட்டம், translit. Ampāṟai Māvaṭṭam; Sinhalese: අම්පාර දිස්ත්‍රික්කය, translit. Ampāra Distrikkaya) is one of the 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the second level administrative division of the country. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a District Secretary (previously known as a Government Agent) appointed by the central government of Sri Lanka. The capital of the district is the town of Ampara. The district was carved out of the southern part of Batticaloa District in April 1961.[4][5]

Geography

Ampara District is located in the south east of Sri Lanka in the Eastern Province. It has an area of 4,415 square kilometres (1,705 sq mi).[1] It is bounded by Batticaloa and Polonnaruwa districts from north, Indian Ocean from east, Hambantota District from south, Badulla and Matale districts from northwest and by the Monaragala District from west and southeast.[4]

Demographics

Population

Ampara District's population was 648,057 in 2012.[2] The district is one of the most diverse in Sri Lanka, both ethnically and religiously.

The population of the district, like the rest of the east and north, was affected by the civil war. The war killed an estimated 100,000 people.[6] Several hundred thousand Sri Lankan Tamils, possibly as much as one million, emigrated to the West during the war.[7] Many Sri Lankan Tamils also moved to the relative safety of the capital Colombo. The war also caused many people from all ethnic and religious groups who lived in the district to flee to other parts of Sri Lanka, though most of them have returned to the district since the end of the civil war.

Ethnicity

Population of Ampara District by ethnic group 1963 to 2012[2][8]
Year Sri Lankan Moor Sinhalese Sri Lankan Tamil Indian Tamil Other Total
No.
No.%No.%No.%No.%No.%
1963 Census97,62146.11%61,99629.28%49,18523.23%1,3120.62%1,6180.76%211,732
1971 Census126,36546.35%82,28030.18%60,51922.20%1,7710.65%1,6700.61%272,605
1981 Census161,56841.54%146,94337.78%77,82620.01%1,4110.36%1,2220.31%388,970
2001 Census244,62041.25%236,58339.90%109,18818.41%7150.12%1,8910.32%592,997
2007 Enumeration268,63043.99%228,93837.49%111,94818.33%580.01%1,1450.19%610,719
2012 Census282,48443.59%251,01838.73%112,75017.40%1650.03%1,6400.25%648,057

Religion

Population of Ampara District by religion 1981 to 2012[3][9]
Year Muslim Buddhist Hindu Christian[lower-alpha 1] Others Total
No.
No.%No.%No.%No.%No.%
1981 Census162,14041.68%145,68737.45%72,80918.72%8,0302.06%3040.08%388,970
2001 Census245,17941.35%235,65239.74%100,21316.90%11,7851.99%1680.03%592,997
2012 Census282,74643.63%250,21338.61%102,45415.81%12,6091.95%350.01%648,057

Politics and government

Administrative units of Ampara District in 2006

Local government

Ampara District has 20 local authorities of which two are Municipal Councils, one is an Urban Council and the remaining 17 are Divisional Councils (Pradesha Sabhai or Pradeshiya Sabha).

Local Authority Area Population Registered
Electors
(2011)		 Elected Members (2011)
UPFA[lower-alpha 2]SLMCUNPTNAOtherTotal
Addalaichchenai Divisional Council94.5043,49925,510270009
Akkaraipattu Divisional Council64.2239,1484,074610007
Akkaraipattu Municipal Council20,971810009
Alayadivembu Divisional Council129.2026,17515,358200529
Ampara Urban Council13,523603009
Damana Divisional Council23,899702009
Dehiattakandiya Divisional Council40,09912070221
Irakkamam Divisional Council8,185250007
Kalmunai Municipal Council22.80100,42768,19831114019
Karaitivu Divisional Council8.6018,43512,044010405
Lahugala Divisional Council5,8614070011
Maha Oya Divisional Council697.8017,80112,6077030010
Namal Oya Divisional Council105.1016,715603009
Navithanveli Divisional Council12,799110417
Nintavur Divisional Council42.9028,24719,124160007
Padiyatalawa Divisional Council11,6867030111
Pottuvil Divisional Council269.0031,99521,398260109
Sammanthurai Divisional Council198.4075,25737,469531009
Thirukkovil Divisional Council212.1229,86018,076101709
Uhana Divisional Council415.0060,07140,6949050115
Total428,290914236257201

Administrative units

Ampara District is divided into 20 Divisional Secretary's Division (DS Divisions), each headed by a Divisional Secretary (previously known as an Assistant Government Agent). The DS Divisions are further sub-divided into 507 Grama Niladhari Divisions (GN Divisions).

DS Division Main Town Divisional Secretary GN
Divisions
 Area
(km2)
[10]		 Population (2012 Census)[11] Population
Density
(/km2)
Sri Lankan MoorsSinhaleseSri Lankan
Tamil		BurgherOtherTotal
AddalaichchenaiAddalaichchenaiI. M. Haniffa326238,9482,218942302742,165
AkkaraipattuAkkaraipattuM. Y. Saleem286039,016165357039,223
AlayadivembuAlayadivembuV. Jahadeesan22902222822,0141291822,411
Ampara (Namal Oya)AmparaM. M. S. K. Bandara Mapa2217413343,1771724519343,720
DamanaDamanaS. K. Kulathunga Mudali3354213738,3022851738,489
DehiattakandiyaDehiattakandiyaW. G. M.Hemantha Kumara1439410858,94867050559,628
Irakkamam (Eragama)IrakkamamM. M. Nazeer1213,0849383500114,373
Kalmunai (Muslim)KalmunaiM M. Noufal282244,3061246611244,509
Kalmunai (Tamil)KalmunaiK. Lavanathan292,37623126,5644905229,713
KaraitivuKaraitivuS. Jegarajan1776,753139,891123116,781
LahugalaLahugalaL. A. Somarathna1281518,253645018,900
Maha OyaMaha OyaA. M. Wickramarachchi176674220,655152120,715
NavithanveliNavithanveliS. Garan206,39915312,10191018,672
NintavurNintavurR U. Abdul Jaleel253525,34789692326,329
PadiyathalawaPadiyathalawaK. G. S. Nishantha203798718,091280318,209
PottuvilPottuvilM. I. M. Thawfieek2726527,2138816,58137134,749
SainthamaruthuSainthamaruthuA. L. Mohamed Saleem17625,3895170125,412
SammanthuraiSammanthuraiA. Mansoor5122953,1142977,1781660,596
ThirukkovilThirukkovilM. Gopakaretnam22184210025,05512925,187
UhanaUhanaU. P. Indika Anurudda Piyadasa59485758,231321558,276
Total5074,415282,484251,018112,750849956648,057147

Notes

  1. ↑ Roman Catholic and Other Christian.
  2. ↑ Includes National Congress.

References

  1. 1 2 "Area of Sri Lanka by province and district" (PDF). Statistical Abstract 2011. Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-11-13.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "A2 : Population by ethnic group according to districts, 2012". Census of Population & Housing, 2011. Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka.
  3. 1 2 "A3 : Population by religion according to districts, 2012". Census of Population & Housing, 2011. Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka.
  4. 1 2 "Overview". Ampara District Secretariat.
  5. ↑ Mohideen, M. I. M. (27 December 2007). "Sinhalisation of East: A reply to Minister Champika Ranawaka". The Island (Sri Lanka).
  6. ↑ "Up to 100,000 killed in Sri Lanka's civil war: UN". ABC News (Australia). 20 May 2009.
  7. ↑ Harrison, Frances (23 July 2003). "Twenty years on – riots that led to war". BBC News.
  8. ↑ "Special Enumeration 2007, Ampara" (PDF). Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka.
  9. ↑ "Population by religion and district, Census 1981, 2001" (PDF). Statistical Abstract 2011. Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-11-13.
  10. ↑ "Land area by province, district and divisional secretariat division" (PDF). Statistical Abstract 2011. Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-11-13.
  11. ↑ "A6 : Population by ethnicity and district according to Divisional Secretary's Division, 2012". Census of Population & Housing, 2011. Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka.
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