Colombo District

Colombo District (Sinhala: කොළඹ දිස්ත්‍රික්කය kol̠am̆ba distrikkaya; Tamil: கொழும்பு மாவட்டம் Koḻumpu Māvaṭṭam) 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 city of Colombo. The district of Colombo was officially recorded in 2016 as having the highest income on average, per household.[4]

Colombo District


කොළඹ දිස්ත්‍රික්කය

கொழும்பு மாவட்டம்
Administrative District
Location within Sri Lanka
Coordinates: 06°52′N 80°01′E
CountrySri Lanka
ProvinceWestern
CapitalColombo
DS Division
Government
 • District SecretaryPradeep Yasaratne
Area
 • Total699 km2 (270 sq mi)
 • Land676 km2 (261 sq mi)
 • Water23 km2 (9 sq mi)  3.29%
Area rank25th (1.07% of total area)
Population
 (2012 census)[2]
 • Total2,309,809
 • Rank1st (11.40% of total pop.)
 • Density3,300/km2 (8,600/sq mi)
Ethnicity
(2012 census)[2]
 • Sinhalese1,771,319 (76.69%)
 • Sri Lankan Moors242,728 (10.51%)
 • Sri Lankan Tamil231,318 (10.01%)
 • Indian Tamil27,336 (1.18%)
 • Other37,108 (1.61%)
Religion
(2012 census)[3]
 • Buddhist1,631,999 (70.66%)
 • Muslim271,719 (11.76%)
 • Christian220,711 (9.56%)
 • Hindu182,342 (7.89%)
 • Other3,038 (0.13%)
Time zoneUTC+05:30 (Sri Lanka)
Post Codes
00000-10999
Telephone Codes011, 036
ISO 3166 codeLK-11
Vehicle registrationWP
Official LanguagesSinhala, Tamil
WebsiteColombo District Secretariat

History

Colombo District was part of the pre-colonial Kingdom of Kotte. The district then came under Portuguese, Dutch and British control. In 1815 the British gained control of the entire island of Ceylon. They divided the island into three ethnic based administrative structures: Low Country Sinhalese, Kandyan Sinhalese and Tamil. Colombo District was part of the Low Country Sinhalese administration. In 1833, in accordance with the recommendations of the Colebrooke-Cameron Commission, the ethnic based administrative structures were unified into a single administration divided into five geographic provinces.[5] Colombo District, together with Kalutara, Puttalam, Seven Korales (present day Kurunegala District), Three Korales, Four Korales and Lower Bulatgama (present day Kegalle District) formed the new Western Province.[6] At the time that Ceylon gained independence, Colombo was one of the two districts located in the Western Province. Parts of the district were transferred to newly created Gampaha District in September 1978.

Geography

Colombo District is located in the south west of Sri Lanka and has an area of 699 square kilometres (270 sq mi).[1]

Administrative units

Colombo District is divided into 13 Divisional Secretary's Division (DS Divisions), each headed by a Divisional Secretary (previously known as an Assistant Government Agent).[7] The DS Divisions are further sub-divided into 566 Grama Niladhari Divisions (GN Divisions).[7]

DS Division Main Town Divisional Secretary GN
Divisions
[7]		 Area
(km2)
[8]		 Population (2012 Census)[9] Population
Density
(/km2)
SinhaleseSri Lankan MoorsSri Lankan
Tamil		Indian
Tamil		OtherTotal
ColomboColomboK. G. Dharmathilaka351879,468126,34597,6908,6355,910318,04817,669
DehiwalaDehiwala-Mount LaviniaK. Champa N. Perera15853,18217,87012,9171,2402,62587,83410,979
HomagamaHomagama81121231,8785081,9074601,426236,1791,952
KaduwelaKaduwelaM. S. P. Suriyapperuma5788241,1042,0114,6057403,597252,0572,864
KesbewaKesbewaL. A. Kalukapuarachchi7364237,7811,1142,4034392,325244,0623,813
KolonnawaKolonnawaU. W. Senarathna4628128,62340,41215,9342,1013,747190,8176,815
MaharagamaMaharagamaK. M. Buddhi Tharanga Karunasena4138187,3631,3693,1075292,987195,3555,141
MoratuwaMoratuwaK. C. Niroshan4220157,9012,6834,8023971,377167,1608,358
PadukkaPadukkaS. H. Hewage4611062,4729981,23833412565,167592
RatmalanaDehiwala-Mount LaviniaPradeep Ratnayaka131375,1819,0057,8528552,26995,1627,320
SeethawakaAvissawellaP. D. S. Wijerathna68150100,0468385,0077,285301113,477757
Sri Jayawardenepura KotteSri Jayawardenepura KotteAmal J. S. S. Edirisooriya201791,2685,2077,5038012,729107,5086,324
ThimbirigasyayaColomboGeethamani C. Karunaratne2924125,05234,36866,3533,5207,690236,9839,874
Total5666991,771,319242,728231,31827,33637,1082,309,8093,304

Demographics

Population

Colombo District's population was 2,309,809 in 2012.[2] It has the highest population and population density in Sri Lanka. The majority of the population are Sinhalese, with a minority Sri Lankan Moor and Sri Lankan Tamil population.

Ethnicity
Population of Colombo District by ethnic group 1946 to 2012[2][10][11]
Year Sinhalese Sri Lankan Moors Sri Lankan Tamil Indian Tamil Other Total
No.
No.%No.%No.%No.%No.%
1946 Censusn/an/an/an/an/an/an/an/an/an/a1,420,332
1953 Censusn/an/an/an/an/an/an/an/an/an/a1,708,726
1963 Censusn/an/an/an/an/an/an/an/an/an/a2,207,420
1971 Censusn/an/an/an/an/an/an/an/an/an/a2,672,620
1981 Census[lower-alpha 1]1,318,83577.61%139,7438.22%170,59010.04%19,8241.17%50,2492.96%1,699,241
2001 Census1,724,45976.60%202,7319.01%247,73911.00%24,8211.10%51,5242.29%2,251,274
2012 Census1,771,31976.69%242,72810.51%231,31810.01%27,3361.18%37,1081.61%2,309,809

Religion

Religion in Colombo District (2011)[12]

  Buddhism (70.7%)
  Islam (11.8%)
  Christianity (9.6%)
  Hinduism (7.9%)
  Other (0.1%)
Population of Colombo District by religion 1981 to 2012[3][13]
Year Buddhist Muslim Christian[lower-alpha 2] Hindu Other Total
No.
No.%No.%No.%No.%No.%
1981 Census1,196,96470.44%168,8639.94%200,54511.80%130,2157.66%2,6540.16%1,699,241
2001 Census1,578,24870.10%241,94410.75%233,25410.36%194,7438.65%3,0850.14%2,251,274
2012 Census1,631,99970.66%271,71911.76%220,7119.56%182,3427.89%3,0380.13%2,309,809

Notes
  1. Gampaha District was carved out of Colombo District in 1978.
  2. Roman Catholic and Other Christian.

References
  1. "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. "A2 : Population by ethnic group according to districts, 2012". Census of Population & Housing, 2011. Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka.
  3. "A3 : Population by religion according to districts, 2012". Census of Population & Housing, 2011. Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka.
  4. "What is the wealthiest city in Sri Lanka? (Official 2016 Dataset)".
  5. Mills, Lennox A. (1933). Ceylon Under British Rule (1795 - 1932). London: Oxford University Press. pp. 67–68.
  6. Medis, G. C. (1946). Ceylon Under the British (2nd (revised) ed.). Colombo: The Colombo Apothecaries Co. pp. 39–40.
  7. "Grama Niladhari Divisions". Colombo District Secretariat. Archived from the original on 2013-12-12. Retrieved 2013-12-08.
  8. "Land area by province, district and divisional secretariat division" (PDF). Statistical Abstract 2011. Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka.
  9. "A6 : Population by ethnicity and district according to Divisional Secretary's Division, 2012". Census of Population & Housing, 2011. Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka.
  10. "Census of Population Sri Lanka 1971 - General Report". Census of Population & Housing, 1971. Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka. p. 29.
  11. "Population by ethnic group and district, Census 1981, 2001" (PDF). Statistical Abstract 2011. Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-12-15.
  12. Department of Census and Statistics,The Census of Population and Housing of Sri Lanka-2011
  13. "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.
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