Northern Province, Sri Lanka

Northern Province
வட மாகாணம்
උතුරු පළාත
Sunset over a lagoon
Sunset over a lagoon
Official logo of Northern Province
Location within Sri Lanka
Location within Sri Lanka
Districts of the Northern Province
Districts of the Northern Province
Coordinates: 09°12′N 80°25′E / 9.200°N 80.417°E / 9.200; 80.417
CountrySri Lanka
Created1 October 1833
Provincial council14 November 1987
CapitalJaffna
Largest CityVavuniya
Districts
Government
 • TypeProvincial council
 • BodyNorthern Provincial Council
 • GovernorNagalingam Vedanayagam
 • MPs
Area
 • Total8,884 km2 (3,430 sq mi)
 • Land8,290 km2 (3,200 sq mi)
 • Rank3rd (13.54% of total area)
Population
 (2012 census)[2]
 • Total1,058,762
 • Rank9th (5.22% of total pop.)
 • Density120/km2 (310/sq mi)
Ethnicity
(2012 census)[2]
 • Sri Lankan Tamil987,692 (93.29%)
 • Sri Lankan Moors32,364 (3.06%)
 • Sinhalese32,331 (3.05%)
 • Indian Tamil6,049 (0.57%)
 • Other326 (0.03%)
Religion
(2012 census)[3]
 • Hindu789,362 (74.56%)
 • Christian204,005 (19.27%)
 • Muslim34,040 (3.22%)
 • Buddhist30,387 (2.87%)
 • Other968 (0.09%)
Time zoneUTC+05:30 (Sri Lanka)
Post Codes
40000-45999
Telephone Codes021, 023, 024
ISO 3166 codeLK-4
Vehicle registrationNP
Official LanguagesTamil
Sinhalese
FlowerWhite Lotus (Nymphaea lotus)
TreeMaruthu (Terminalia arjuna)
BirdSeven sisters (Turdoides striata)
AnimalMale deer (axis axis)
Websitewww.np.gov.lk

The Northern Province (Tamil: வட மாகாணம் Vaṭa Mākāṇam; Sinhala: උතුරු පළාත Uturu Paḷāta) is one of the nine provinces of Sri Lanka.[4] The province has an area of 8,884 km2, making it the 3rd largest province by area, and a population of 1,061,315, making it the least populated province. Jaffna is the capital city of the province.

Between 1988 and 2006, the province was temporarily merged with the Eastern Province into one province, the North Eastern Province. Due to its large Tamil population, the Northern Province is sometimes referred to as "Sri Lanka's Tamil country".[5][6][7] The majority of the fighting in the Sri Lankan Civil War took place in the Northern province.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference area was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference 2012eth was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference 2012rel was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Provinces of Sri Lanka". Statoids.
  5. ^ "A trip to Sri Lanka's Tamil country". BBC News. 22 August 2009.
  6. ^ "Tamil leaders unite against invite to Sri Lanka for Modi's swearing-in". IBN Live. 23 May 2014. Archived from the original on 26 May 2014.
  7. ^ Chambers, Geoff (10 July 2014). "Asylum seekers returned home by Australian naval vessels complain the authorities took their iPhones, credit cards and cameras". The Daily Telegraph (Sydney).