Districts of Sri Lanka

Districts of Sri Lanka
CategorySecond level administrative division
LocationSri Lanka
Number25
Populations92,238–2,324,349
Areas699–7,179 km2
Government
  • District secretariat
Subdivisions

Districts (Sinhala: දිස්ත්‍රි‌ක්‌ක, romanized: Distrikka, Tamil: மாவட்டம், romanized: Māvaṭṭam) are the second level administrative divisions of Sri Lanka, preceded by provinces. Sri Lanka has 25 districts organized into 9 provinces.[1] Districts are further divided into a number of divisional secretariats (commonly known as D.S. divisions), which are in turn subdivided into 14,022 grama niladhari divisions.[2] There are 331 DS divisions in Sri Lanka.[3]

Each district is administered under a district secretary,[4] who is appointed by the central government.[5] The main tasks of the district secretariat involve coordinating communications and activities of the central government and divisional secretariats. The district secretariat is also responsible for implementing and monitoring development projects at the district level and assisting lower-level subdivisions in their activities,[6] as well as revenue collection and coordination of elections in the district.[7]

  1. ^ "At a Glance". Sri Lanka in Brief. Government of Sri Lanka. Archived from the original on 7 July 2009. Retrieved 21 July 2009.
  2. ^ "Identification of DS Divisions of Sri Lanka Vulnerable for food insecurity" (PDF). World Food Programme. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2011. Retrieved 21 July 2009.
  3. ^ "Grama Niladhari Administration Division". Archived from the original on 14 September 2016. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  4. ^ "Vision & Mission". District Secretariats Portal. Ministry of Public Administration & Home Affairs, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original on 13 May 2009. Retrieved 21 July 2009.
  5. ^ "Kilinochchi a brief look". Daily News (Sri Lanka). 27 April 2009. Archived from the original on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 1 August 2009.
  6. ^ "About Us". Vavuniya District Secretariat. Archived from the original on 12 November 2010. Retrieved 29 July 2009.
  7. ^ "Performs Report and Accounts—2008" (PDF). District and Divisional Secretariats Portal—Ministry of Public Administration and Home Affairs. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-10-03. Retrieved 2009-07-29.