Administrative divisions

Administrative divisions

Provinces

Provinces  have existed in Sri Lanka since the 19th century. But they didn't have any legal status until 1987 when the 13th Amendment to the 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka established provincial councils following several decades of increasing demand for a decentralisation of the Government of Sri Lanka. The provincial council is an autonomous body and is not under any Ministry. It undertakes activities which had earlier been undertaken by the Central Government Ministries, Departments, Corporations and Statutory Authorities. But importantly, land and police authorities are not given to provincial councils in practice. Between 1988 and 2006, the Northern and Eastern provinces were temporarily merged to form the North-East Province Prior to 1987, all administrative tasks were handled by a district-based civil service which had been in place since colonial times. Now each province is administered by a directly elected provincial council:
 

Administrative Divisions of Sri Lanka
Province	Capital	Area (km²)	Area (sq mi)	Population
Central	Kandy	5,674	2,191	2,556,774
Eastern	Trincomalee	9,996	3,859	1,547,377
North Central	Anuradhapura	10,714	4,137	1,259,421
Northern	Jaffna	8,884	3,430	1,060,023
North Western	Kurunegala	7,812	3,016	2,372,185
Sabaragamuwa	Ratnapura	4,902	1,893	1,919,478
Southern	Galle	5,559	2,146	2,465,626
Uva	Badulla	8,488	3,277	1,259,419
Western	Colombo	3,709	1,432	5,837,294