Editing Sri Lanka (section)

=== Provinces ===
Provinces in Sri Lanka have existed since the 19th century, but they had no legal status until 1987 when the 13th Amendment of the 1978 constitution established provincial councils after several decades of increasing demand for a [[Devolution|decentralisation]] of the government.<ref name="official">{{cite web |url=http://www.priu.gov.lk/ProvCouncils/ProvicialCouncils.html |title=Provincial Councils |work=The Official Website of the Government of Sri Lanka |date=3 September 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090707214924/http://www.priu.gov.lk/ProvCouncils/ProvicialCouncils.html |archive-date=7 July 2009 }}</ref> Each provincial council is an autonomous body not under the authority of any ministry. Some of its functions had been undertaken by central government ministries, departments, corporations, and statutory authorities,<ref name="official" /> but authority over land and police is not as a rule given to provincial councils.<ref name="landpolc">{{cite news |url=http://www.indianexpress.com/news/lanka-heads-for-collision-course-with-india/802524/ |title=Lanka heads for collision course with India: Report |newspaper=The Indian Express |date=12 June 2011}}</ref><ref name="landpolc2">{{cite web |url=http://www.peace-srilanka.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=296:accepting-reality-and-building-trust&catid=1:latest&Itemid=121 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101006012934/http://www.peace-srilanka.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=296%3Aaccepting-reality-and-building-trust&catid=1%3Alatest&Itemid=121 |url-status=dead |archive-date=6 October 2010 |title=Accepting reality and building trust |work=Jehan Perera |publisher=peace-srilanka.org |date=14 September 2010 }}</ref> Between 1989 and 2006, the Northern and Eastern provinces were temporarily merged to form the [[North Eastern Province, Sri Lanka|North-East Province]].<ref name="lnpx">{{cite web |url=http://www.lankanewspapers.com/news/2006/10/8947.html |title=North-East merger illegal: SC |publisher=LankaNewspapers.com |date=17 October 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090524142033/http://www.lankanewspapers.com/news/2006/10/8947.html |archive-date=24 May 2009 }}</ref><ref name="norteastn">{{cite web |url=http://southasiaanalysis.org/%5Cnotes4%5Cnote344.html |title=North East De-merger-At What Cost? Update No. 107 |work=Hariharan, R. |publisher=southasiaanalysis.org |date=19 October 2010 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100613022544/http://southasiaanalysis.org/notes4/note344.html |archive-date=13 June 2010}}</ref> Prior to 1987, all administrative tasks for the provinces 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:

{{Sri Lankan Provinces and districts|float=left}}
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{| class="sortable wikitable" style="text-align:left; font-size:85%;"
|- style="font-size:100%; text-align:right;"
! style="width:160px;"| [[Provinces of Sri Lanka|Province]] !! style="width:85px;" | Capital !! style="width:75px;" | Area<br />(km<sup>2</sup>) !! style="width:70px;" | Population (2024)<ref>{{cite web |title=Population|url=https://www.statistics.gov.lk//Resource/en/Population/CPH_2024/CPH2024_Preliminary_Report.pdf |website=www.statistics.gov.lk |publisher=Department of Census and Statistics|access-date=17 May 2025 |date=2024 }}</ref> !! style="width:100px;"| Density<br />(Persons per km<sup>2</sup>) !! style="width:100px;" | Provincial GDP share (%) (2023)<ref>{{cite web |title=Provincial Gross Domestic Product (PGDP) - 2023 |url=https://www.cbsl.gov.lk/sites/default/files/cbslweb_documents/press/pr/press_20241220_pgdp_2023_e.pdf |website=cbsl.gov.lk |publisher=Central Bank of Sri Lanka |access-date=12 February 2025 |date=2024 }}</ref> !! style="width:100px;" | Sri Lanka Prosperity Index (2021)<ref>{{cite web |title=Sri Lanka Prosperity Index - 2021 |url=https://www.cbsl.gov.lk/sites/default/files/cbslweb_documents/press/pr/press_20221230_sri_lanka_prosperity_index_2021_e.pdf |website=cbsl.gov.lk |publisher=Central Bank of Sri Lanka |access-date=26 September 2023 |date=2022 |archive-date=30 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230330010354/https://www.cbsl.gov.lk/sites/default/files/cbslweb_documents/press/pr/press_20221230_sri_lanka_prosperity_index_2021_e.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
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| [[Central Province, Sri Lanka|Central]] || [[Kandy]] || style="text-align:right"|5,674 || style="text-align:right"|2,712,804 || style="text-align:right"| 453 || style="text-align:right"|10.3 || style="text-align:right"|0.559
|-
| [[Eastern Province, Sri Lanka|Eastern]] || [[Trincomalee]] || style="text-align:right"|9,996 || style="text-align:right"|1,782,050 || style="text-align:right"| 155 || style="text-align:right"|4.7 || style="text-align:right"|0.519
|-
| [[North Central Province, Sri Lanka|North Central]] || [[Anuradhapura]] || style="text-align:right"|10,714 || style="text-align:right"|1,406,890 || style="text-align:right"| 118 || style="text-align:right"|4.8 || style="text-align:right"|0.521
|-
| [[North Western Province, Sri Lanka|North Western]] || [[Kurunegala]] || style="text-align:right"|7,812 || style="text-align:right"|2,578,894 || style="text-align:right"| 305 || style="text-align:right"|10.9 || style="text-align:right"|0.541
|-
| [[Northern Province, Sri Lanka|Northern]] || [[Jaffna]] || style="text-align:right"|8,884 || style="text-align:right"|1,149,240 || style="text-align:right"| 119 || style="text-align:right"|4.5 || style="text-align:right"|0.564
|-
| [[Sabaragamuwa Province|Sabaragamuwa]] || [[Ratnapura]] || style="text-align:right"|4,902 || style="text-align:right"|2,015,039 || style="text-align:right"| 393 || style="text-align:right"|7.0 || style="text-align:right"|0.499
|-
| [[Southern Province, Sri Lanka|Southern]] || [[Galle]] || style="text-align:right"|5,559 || style="text-align:right"|2,605,506 || style="text-align:right"| 446 || style="text-align:right"|9.3 || style="text-align:right"|0.582
|-
| [[Uva Province|Uva]] || [[Badulla]] || style="text-align:right"|8,488 || style="text-align:right"|1,399,049 || style="text-align:right"| 149 || style="text-align:right"|4.7 || style="text-align:right"|0.468
|-
| [[Western Province, Sri Lanka|Western]] || [[Colombo]] || style="text-align:right"|3,709 || style="text-align:right"|6,113,698 || style="text-align:right"| 1,578 || style="text-align:right"|43.7|| style="text-align:right"|0.802
|-
| Sri Lanka || [[Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte]] and [[Colombo]] || style="text-align:right" |65,610 || style="text-align:right"|21,763,170 || style="text-align:right"| 310 || style="text-align:right"|100 || style="text-align:right"|0.796
|}
|}
{{clear}}