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North Central Province, Sri Lanka

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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
 • GovernorWasantha Kumara Wimalasiri
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 Vada Mattiya 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

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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

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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

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Ethnicity

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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

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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 %
Buddhism 1,139,595 89.97%
Islam 101,958 8.05%
Christianity 14,875 1.17%
Hinduism 10,117 0.80%
Others/None 118 0.009%
Total 1,266,663 100%

Employment

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Percentages of employed population (aged 15 years and above) by sector of employment and sex[8]
Employed Population Total Percentage Male Percentage 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

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Main articles: Districts of Sri Lanka, Divisional Secretariats of Sri Lanka, and List of cities in Sri Lanka

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

Districts

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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

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Divisional Secretariats of North Central Province, Sri Lanka
Main article: Divisional Secretariats of North Central Province, Sri Lanka
Administrative Divisions of North Central Province
Division District Population
(2001
census)[9]
Nuwaragam Palatha East Anuradhapura 69,590
Nuwaragam Palatha Central Anuradhapura 60,828
Kekirawa Anuradhapura 58,879
Thalawa Anuradhapura 57,663
Nochchiyagama Anuradhapura 49,730
Medawachchiya Anuradhapura 46,743
Galenbindunuwewa Anuradhapura 46,527
Thambuttegama Anuradhapura 42,143
Kahatagasdigiliya Anuradhapura 40,137
Ipalogama Anuradhapura 38,688
Horowpothana Anuradhapura 36,714
Rambewa Anuradhapura 36,426
Mihinthale Anuradhapura 35,160
Galnewa Anuradhapura 34,718
Palagala Anuradhapura 33,740
Rajanganaya Anuradhapura 33,434
Thirappane Anuradhapura 26,962
Nachchadoowa Anuradhapura 25,569
Padaviya Anuradhapura 22,924
Kebithigollewa Anuradhapura 22,227
Mahavilachchiya Anuradhapura 22,183
Palugaswewa Anuradhapura 15,557
Dimbulagala Polonnaruwa 79,661
Thamankaduwa Polonnaruwa 68,526
Medirigiriya Polonnaruwa 65,575
Hingurakgoda Polonnaruwa 64,289
Elahera Polonnaruwa 43,915
Lankapura Polonnaruwa 36,452
Welikanda Polonnaruwa 33,770

Major population centres

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Main article: List of settlements in North Central Province (Sri Lanka)

Education

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Main article: List of schools in North Central Province, Sri Lanka
Anuradhapura
Polonnaruwa

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b :.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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