Matara District

Matara (Sinhala: මාතර දිස්ත්‍රික්කය Mātara distrikkaya; Tamil: மாத்தறை மாவட்டம் Māttaṛai māvaṭṭam) is a district in Southern Province, Sri Lanka. It is one of 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.

This article is about the district in Sri Lanka. For the town, see Matara, Sri Lanka.
Matara District
Administrative District
Map of Sri Lanka with Matara District highlighted
Coordinates: 6°10′N 80°30′E
CountrySri Lanka
ProvinceSouthern Province
Largest CityMatara
Divisions
List
Government
 • District SecretaryPradeep Ratnayaka
 • Local
Area
 • Total1,282.5 km2 (495.2 sq mi)
Population
 (2012)[1]
 • Total809,344
 • Density630/km2 (1,600/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+05:30 (Sri Lanka)
ISO 3166 codeLK-32
Websitematara.dist.gov.lk/

Geography

Matara District is located in the south west of Sri Lanka and has an area of 1,282.5 square kilometres (495.2 sq mi).[2]

It is represented in the Sri Lankan Parliament following the 2010 Sri Lankan parliamentary election by former Sri Lankan national Cricketer Sanath Jayasuriya who stood for the United People's Freedom Alliance.

Administrative units

Matara District is divided into 16 Divisional Secretary's Division (DS Divisions), each headed by a Divisional Secretary (previously known as an Assistant Government Agent).[3] The DS Divisions are further sub-divided into 650 Grama Niladhari Divisions (GN Divisions),[3] with 1,658 villages.

DS Division Main Town Divisional Secretary GN
Divisions
[3]		 Area
(km2)
[4]		 Population (2012 Census)[5] Population
Density
(/km2)
SinhaleseSri Lankan MoorsSri Lankan
Tamil		Indian
Tamil		OtherTotal
AkuressaAkuressaMr. O.V.Chandana Tilakerathne46148.851,2807519865552,595357
AthuraliyaAthuraliyaMr. T.G.S.Sarath Kumara2862.929,6741,6756021556731,869512
DevinuwaraDevinuwaraMr. D.D.K.Wickramarachchi4139.947,21766366141947,9791,183
DickwellaDickwellaMr. B.S. Ranjitha4851.951,5302,6807081954,1871,055
HakmanaHakmanaMr. Kusalaka Nanayakkara3447.730,465977161531,892-
KamburupitiyaKamburupitiyaMrs. N.M.M.W.W.N.Herath Kumari3960.940,7381028171039,438676
Kirinda PuhuwellaKirinda PuhuwellaMr. Chinthaka Abeywickrama2537.519,4806485-220,574655
KotapolaKotapolaMr. Ganesha Amarasinghe37175.651,0571104,0417,855967,596389
MalimbadaMalimbadaMrs. Deepika Kumari Gunarathne6644.734,1804765121733,289753
MataraMataraMr. Ranjith Yapa2953.9110,2214,31430422109114,2982,144
MulatiyanaMulatiyanaMr. Susantha Attanayake48115.249,689119261-48,645427
PasgodaPasgodaMrs. Nadeeka Kaushalya Kumari43148.257,22423471,289759,285404
PitabeddaraPitabeddaraMr. Ravindra Jayanath40141.547,149242,0861,5551352,081372
ThihagodaThihagodaMrs. K.P.C.N.Mahindagnana4045.233,168816-1032,640730
WeligamaWeligamaMr. K.P.G.Sumith Shantha4844.064,9277,366159263370,1801,120
WelipitiyaWelipitiyaMrs. Tushari Sooriyarachchi.3864.445,1226,33960227248,7561,102
Total6501,282.5757,04623,6355,06017,937321803,999638

Major cities

Other towns

Demographics

Population

Matara District's population was 803,999 in 2012.[6] The majority of the population are Sinhalese, with a minority Sri Lankan Moor and Indian Tamil population.

Ethnicity
Population of Matara District by ethnic group[6]
Year Sinhalese Sri Lankan Moors Sri Lankan Tamil Indian Tamil Other Total
No.
No.%No.%No.%No.%No.%
2012 Census757,04694.16%23,6352.94%5,0600.63%17,9372.23%3210.04%803,999

Religion

Religions in Matara District (2011)[1]

  Buddhism (94.2%)
  Islam (3.2%)
  Hinduism (2.0%)
  Christianity (0.7%)
Population of Matara District by religion[7]
Year Buddhist Muslim Christian[lower-alpha 1] Hindu Other Total
No.
No.%No.%No.%No.%No.%
2012 Census756,09894.0%18,9082.35%25,9823.23%2,9010.36%1100.01%803,999

Notes
  1. Roman Catholic and Other Christian.

References
  1. Department of Census and Statistics,The Census of Population and Housing of Sri Lanka-2011
  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.
  3. "Grama Niladhari Divisions". Matara District Secretariat.
  4. "Land area by province, district and divisional secretariat division" (PDF). Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka.
  5. "A6 : Population by ethnicity and district according to Divisional Secretary's Division, 2012". Census of Population & Housing, 2011. Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka.
  6. "A2 : Population by ethnic group according to districts, 2012". Census of Population & Housing, 2011. Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka.
  7. "A3 : Population by religion according to districts, 2012". Census of Population & Housing, 2011. Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka.
  • Kaut, Christoph; International Labour Office (2007). Matara district book : facts & figures and economic development. International Labour Office. ISBN 978-92-2-120189-2.
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