Sabaragamuwa Province
සබරගමුව පළාත
சப்ரகமுவ மாகாணம்
Province
Flag of Sabaragamuwa Province
Flag
Location within Sri Lanka
Location within Sri Lanka
Coordinates: 6°40′N 80°24′E / 6.667°N 80.400°E / 6.667; 80.400
CountrySri Lanka
Created1889
Admitted14 November 1987
CapitalRatnapura
Largest cityRatnapura
Districts
List
Government
 • TypeProvincial council
 • BodySabaragamuwa Provincial Council
 • GovernorNavin Dissanayake
Area
 • Total4,968 km2 (1,918 sq mi)
 • Rank8th (7.46% of total area)
Population
 (2011 census)
 • Total1,918,880
 • Rank5th (9.63% of total pop.)
 • Density390/km2 (1,000/sq mi)
Ethnicity
(2012 census)[1]
 • Sinhalese1,666,180 (86.4%)
 • Indian Tamil105,872 (5.49%)
 • Sri Lankan Moors82,343 (4.27%)
 • Sri Lankan Tamil72,298 (3.75%)
 • Other1,962 (0.09%)
Religion
(2012 census)[2]
 • Buddhist1,653,381 (85.73%)
 • Hindu156,312 (8.1%)
 • Muslim85,610 (4.44%)
 • Christian33,219 (1.72%)
 • Other/None133 (0.006%)
Time zoneUTC+05:30 (Sri Lanka)
ISO 3166 codeLK-9
Vehicle registrationSG
Official LanguagesSinhala, Tamil
FlowerVesak flower (Dendrobium Maccarthiae)
Literacy (2012)94.8% Increase [3]
Computer literacy (2020)32% Increase [4]
Websitewww.sg.gov.lk

The Sabaragamuwa Province (Sinhala: සබරගමුව පළාත Sabaragamuwa Paḷāta, Tamil: சபரகமுவ மாகாணம் Sabaragamuwa Mākāṇam) is one of the nine provinces of Sri Lanka. The city of Ratnapura is the capital of the province.

History

The provinces of Sri Lanka were created by the British in the 19th century, but did not have any legal status until 1987 when the 13th Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka established provincial councils.[5][6]

The province is named after its former indigenous inhabitants, namely the Sabara, an Indic term for hunter-gatherer tribes, a term seldom used in ancient Sri Lanka.

The Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka is located in the town of Belihuloya, and was founded in 1991.

Geography

The province has an area of 4,968 km2 and a population of 1,918,880. Major towns include Ratnapura and Kegalle.

Demographics

Ethnic groups

Ethnic groups in Sabaragamuwa province (2012 census)[7]

  Sinhalese (86.4%)
  Indian Tamils (5.49%)
  Moors (4.27%)
  Sri Lankan Tamils (3.75%)
  Burghers (0.03%)
  Malays (0.02%)
  Others (0.04%)

The Sinhalese are the majority ethnic group of the Sabaragamuwa province. Additionally, there are sizeable minority populations of Indian Tamils, Moors and Sri Lankan Tamils.

Ethnic group Population  %
Sinhalese 1,666,180 86.4%
Indian Tamils 105,872 5.49%
Sri Lankan Moors 82,343 4.27%
Sri Lankan Tamils 72,298 3.75%
Others 1,962 0.09%
Total 1,918,880 100.00%

Religion

Religion in Sabaragamuwa province (2012 census)[8]

  Buddhism (85.73%)
  Hinduism (8.1%)
  Islam (4.44%)
  Christianity (1.72%)
  Other religions/No religion (0.01%)
Religion in Sabaragamuwa Province 1981–2012[9][10]
Religion Census 1981[11] Census 2001[12] Census 2012[13]
Population % Population % Population %
Buddhism1,259,39684.98%1,547,76985.77%1,653,38185.73%
Hinduism146,0109.86%148,4008.2%156,3128.1%
Islam51,2483.46%73,5764%85,6104.44%
Christianity24,8921.67%30,9942%33,2191.72%
Others/None4850.03%5920.03%1330.006%
Total1,482,031100%1,801,331100%1,928,655100%

Administrative divisions

Sabaragamuwa is divided into two districts and 28 divisional secretariats.

Districts

Administrative Divisions of Sabaragamuwa Province
District Capital Area (km2) Population
Kegalle District Kegalle 1,693 837,179
Ratnapura District Ratnapura 3,275 1,088,007

Major population centres

See also

References

  1. ↑ "A2 : Population by ethnic group according to districts, 2012". Census of Population & Housing, 2011. Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka.
  2. ↑ "A3 : Population by religion according to districts, 2012". Census of Population & Housing, 2011. Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka.
  3. ↑ "Sri Lanka.pdf" (PDF). Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka.
  4. ↑ "Computer Literacy Statistics-2020 (Annual)" (PDF). Department of Census and Statistics, Sri Lanka.
  5. ↑ "Provinces of Sri Lanka". Statoids.
  6. ↑ "Provincial Councils". Government of Sri Lanka. Archived from the original on 2009-07-07.
  7. ↑ "South Asia: Sri Lanka". CIA. 22 September 2021.
  8. ↑ "A3 : Population by religion according to districts, 2012". Census of Population & Housing, 2011. Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka.
  9. ↑ "Population by religion and district, census 1981,2001,2012". Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka.
  10. ↑ "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.
  11. ↑ "Population by religion and district, census 1981,2001,2012". Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka.
  12. ↑ "Population by religion and district, census 1981,2001,2012". Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka.
  13. ↑ "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.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.