North Central Province
උතුරු මැද පළාත
வட மத்திய மாகாணம்
Province
Flag of North Central Province
Flag
Location within Sri Lanka
Location within Sri Lanka
CountrySri Lanka
Created1873
Admitted14 November 1987
CapitalAnuradhapura
Largest CityAnuradhapura
Districts
List
Government
 • TypeProvincial council
 • BodyNorth Central Provincial Council
 • GovernorMaheepala Herath
Area
 • Total10,472 km2 (4,043 sq mi)
 • Rank1st (16.31% of total area)
Population
 (2011 census)
 • Total1,266,663
 • Rank7th (5.91% of total pop.)
 • Density120/km2 (310/sq mi)
Gross Regional Product
 (2010)[1]
 • TotalRs. 232 billion
 • Rank7th (4.8% of total)
Time zoneUTC+05:30 (Sri Lanka)
ISO 3166 codeLK-7
Vehicle registrationNC
Official LanguagesSinhalese
Tamil
Websitewww.nc.gov.lk

North Central Province (Sinhala: උතුරු මැද පළාත Uturumæda Paḷāta, Tamil: வட மத்திய மாகாணம் Wada Maththiya Mākāṇam) is one of the nine provinces of Sri Lanka. The province has an area of 10,472 km2, making it the largest province by area, and a population of 1,266,663, making it the 3rd least populated province.[1] The city of Anuradhapura is the capital of the province.

History

The North Central province is home to the ancient cities of Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa, both of which were historical capitals of Sri Lanka during ancient times. The two cities were the capitals of the Anuradhapura Kingdom (437 BCE–1017 CE) and the Polonnaruwa Kingdom (1070–1232) respectively.

The provinces of Sri Lanka were established by the British in 1833. In independent Sri Lanka, provinces did not have any legal status or power until 1987, when the 13th Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka established provincial councils.[2][3]

The centralised system of Sri Lanka, which is a unitary state, failed to satisfy the aspirations of the people. There was growing insistence on decentralisation of administrative processes to achieve rapid economic and social development of the country.

The North Central Provincial Council is the main administrative and control body in the North Central Province.

Geography

The province has an area of 10,472 km2 and a population of 1,266,663. It is the largest province by area, covering 16% of the total land area of Sri Lanka. The province consists two districts, Polonnaruwa and Anuradhapura; the Anuradhapura district is the largest district in Sri Lanka by area.

The province has a semi-arid climate and most forests situated in the province are Sri Lankan dry-zone dry evergreen forests.

The province is also referred to as Wew Bendi Rajje due to the sheer amount of medium and large scale tanks situated in the province, with more than 3000. More than 65% of the province’s population depend on basic agriculture and agricultural based industries.

The North Central province has innumerable potential for investors to start their businesses, specially agriculture, agricultural based industries and livestock sectors.

Demographics

Ethnicity

Ethnic groups in North Central province (2012 census)

  Sinhalese (90.87%)
  Moors (7.96%)
  Tamils (1.0%)
  Others (0.17%)
Ethnic group Population  %
Sinhalese 1,151,005 90.87%
Sri Lankan Moors 100,869 7.96%
Tamils1 12,667 1.0%
Others 2,122 0.17%
Total 1,266,663 100.00%

1 Sri Lankan Tamils and Indian Tamils.

Religion

Religion in North Central province (2012 census)[4]

  Buddhism (89.97%)
  Islam (8.05%)
  Christianity (1.17%)
  Hinduism (0.80%)
  Other religions/No religion (0.01%)
Religion in North Central Province (2012 Census)[5][6]
Religion Census 2012[7]
Population %
Buddhism1,139,59589.97%
Islam101,9588.05%
Christianity14,8751.17%
Hinduism10,1170.80%
Others/None1180.009%
Total1,266,663100%

Employment

Percentages of employed population (aged 15 years and above) by sector of employment and sex[8]
Employed PopulationTotalPercentage MalePercentage Female
Government employee 100,045 76.1 23.9
Semi government employee 9,737 69.4 30.6
Private sector employee 84,916 72.7 27.3
Employer 7,176 83.9 16.1
Own account worker 231,848 80.4 19.6
Unpaid family worker 50,975 28.9 71.1
Total 484,697 72.6 27.4

Administrative divisions

The North Central Province is divided into two districts and 29 divisional secretariats.

Districts

Administrative Districts of North Central Province
District Capital Area (km²) Population
Anuradhapura District Anuradhapura 7,128 856,232
Polonnaruwa District Polonnaruwa 3,293 403,335

Divisional secretariats

Divisional Secretariats of North Central Province, Sri Lanka
Administrative Divisions of North Central Province
Division District Population
(2001
census)[9]
Nuwaragam Palatha EastAnuradhapura69,590
Nuwaragam Palatha CentralAnuradhapura60,828
KekirawaAnuradhapura58,879
ThalawaAnuradhapura57,663
NochchiyagamaAnuradhapura49,730
MedawachchiyaAnuradhapura46,743
GalenbindunuwewaAnuradhapura46,527
ThambuttegamaAnuradhapura42,143
KahatagasdigiliyaAnuradhapura40,137
IpalogamaAnuradhapura38,688
HorowpothanaAnuradhapura36,714
RambewaAnuradhapura36,426
MihinthaleAnuradhapura35,160
GalnewaAnuradhapura34,718
PalagalaAnuradhapura33,740
RajanganayaAnuradhapura33,434
ThirappaneAnuradhapura26,962
NachchadoowaAnuradhapura25,569
PadaviyaAnuradhapura22,924
KebithigollewaAnuradhapura22,227
MahavilachchiyaAnuradhapura22,183
PalugaswewaAnuradhapura15,557
DimbulagalaPolonnaruwa79,661
ThamankaduwaPolonnaruwa68,526
MedirigiriyaPolonnaruwa65,575
HingurakgodaPolonnaruwa64,289
ElaheraPolonnaruwa43,915
LankapuraPolonnaruwa36,452
WelikandaPolonnaruwa33,770

Major population centres

Education

Anuradhapura
Polonnaruwa

See also

References

  1. 1 2 :.News Line : North, East record highest GDP growth rate Archived 2012-06-20 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ↑ "Provinces of Sri Lanka". Statoids.
  3. ↑ "Provincial Councils". Government of Sri Lanka.
  4. ↑ "A3 : Population by religion according to districts, 2012". Census of Population & Housing, 2011. Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka.
  5. ↑ "Population by religion and district, census 1981,2001,2012". Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka.
  6. ↑ "Census of Population and Housing of Sri Lanka, 2012 - Table A4: Population by district, religion and sex" (PDF). Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2014-12-29.
  7. ↑ "Census of Population and Housing of Sri Lanka, 2012 - Table A4: Population by district, religion and sex" (PDF). Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2014-12-29.
  8. ↑ "Sri Lanka Census of Population and Housing, 2011". Department of Census and Statistics, Sri Lanka. Department of Census and Statistics, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  9. ↑ "Population of principal towns by sex, census years" (PDF). Statistical Abstract 2011. Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka.
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