Polonnaruwa District (Sinhala: පොළොන්නරුව දිස්ත්‍රික්කය; Tamil: பொலன்னறுவை மாவட்டம்) is one of the 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the second level administrative division of the country. It is also one of the two districts of North Central Province and has an area of 3,293 km2.[7]

Polonnaruwa District
පොළොන්නරුව දිස්ත්‍රික්කය
பொலன்னறுவை மாவட்டம்
Map of Sri Lanka with Polonnaruwa District highlighted
Map of Sri Lanka with Polonnaruwa District highlighted
Coordinates: 8°00′N 81°00′E / 8.000°N 81.000°E / 8.000; 81.000
CountrySri Lanka
ProvinceNorth Central Province
Largest TownPolonnaruwa
DS Division[1]
List
  • Dimbulagala
  • Elahera
  • Hingurakgoda
  • Lankapura
  • Medirigiriya
  • Thamankaduwa
  • Welikanda
Government
 • District SecretaryW. A. Dharmasiri
 • MPs
 • MPCs[2]
List
Area
 • Total
3,293 km2 (1,271 sq mi)
 • Land3,077 km2 (1,188 sq mi)
 • Water216 km2 (83 sq mi)  6.55%
 • Rank5th (5.01% of total area)
Population
 (2012)[4]
 • Total
403,335
 • Density120/km2 (320/sq mi)
Ethnicity
 • Sinhalese365,476 (90.6%)
 • Moors29,060 (7.2%)
 • Sri Lankan Tamil7,356 (1.8%)
 • Indian Tamil1,190 (0.3%)
 • Other253 (0.06%)
Religion
 • Buddhist361,920 (89.7%)
 • Muslim30,427 (7.5%)
 • Hindu6,835 (1.7%)
 • Christian4,090 (1.00%)
 • Other63 (0.01%)
Time zoneUTC 05:30 (Sri Lanka)
Post Codes
51000
Telephone Codes027
ISO 3166 codeLK-72
Vehicle registrationNC
Official LanguagesSinhala, Tamil

The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a District Secretary (previously known as a Government Agent) appointed by the central government of Sri Lanka. The capital of the district is the city of Polonnaruwa.

Administrative Units

edit
DS Division Main Town Divisional Secretary GN
Divisions
Area
(km2)
Population
Thamankaduwa Polonnaruwa Mr.H.S.K.J Bandara 55 468.78 94254
Hingurakgoda Hingurakgoda Mr.H.S.K.J Bandara(Acting) 53 709.04 77202
Medirigiriya Medirigiriya Mr.W.M.I Karunarathne 45 574.04 78654
Lankapura Thalpotha Miss.R.W.R.M.C Ranawarna 27 184 43365
Welikanda Welikanda Mrs.M.M Hairunnisha 29 548 42700
Dimbulagala Manampitiya Mr.P.T.M Irfan 56 581.83 95807
Elahera Bakamuna Mr.C.M Karunarathne 28 227.31 49924

Demographics

edit

Ethnicity

edit

The majority of the population are Sinhalese with a minority Sri Lankan Moor and Sri Lankan Tamil population.[8]

Ethnicity in Polonnaruwa District[9]
Population Percent
Sinhalese
90.6%
Sri Lankan Moor
7.2%
Sri Lankan Tamil
1.8%
Indian Tamils
0.3%

Religion

edit
Religion in Polonnaruwa District (2011)[10]
Population Percent
Buddhism
89.7%
Islam
7.5%
Hinduism
1.7%
Christianity
1.0%

According to the 2011 census[10] 89.7% of the population were Buddhists, 7.5% Muslim, 1.7% Hindu and 1% Christian.

Politics and government

edit

Local government

edit
Local Authority Registered
Electors
Elected Members
SLPP SLFP UNP JVP Other Total
Dimbulagala Divisional Council 64142 7 7 6 1 0 21
Elahera Divisional Council 36567 9 4 4 0 1 18
Hingurakgoda Divisional Council 50546 13 10 8 2 0 33
Lankapura Divisional Council 28369 6 8 7 1 2 24
Medirigiriya Divisional Council 52530 14 9 9 2 0 34
Polonnaruwa Divisional Council 38459 5 8 3 1 0 17
Polonnaruwa Municipal Council 24809 3 5 2 1 0 11
Welikanda Divisional Council 21182 5 6 5 0 0 16
Total 316604 62 57 44 8 3 174

Education

edit

Following are some of the schools in the Polonnaruwa District.

  • Royal Central College, Polonnaruwa
  • Thopawewa National School, Polonnaruwa
  • Polonnaruwa Muslim Central College,Kaduruwela
  • Ananda Balika National School, Hingurakgoda
  • Minneriya National School, Minneriya
  • Medirigiriya National School, Medirigiriya
  • Diulankadawala Central College, Diulankadawala
  • Mahasen National School, Bakamuna
  • Vilayaya Nationala School, Aralaganwila
  • Polonnaruwa Sungavil Muslim Maha Vidyalaya
  • PL/Onegama Muslim Kanista Vidayala

Towns

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ "Sri Lanka: Administrative Division (Districts and Divisional Secretariats) - Population Statistics, Charts and Map".
  2. ^ "North Central Provincial Council - Provincial Cabinet". Archived from the original on 2017-05-19. Retrieved 2017-04-26.
  3. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). www.statistics.gov.lk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 November 2012. Retrieved 12 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. ^ "Census of Population and Housing 2011".
  5. ^ "Census of Population and Housing 2011".
  6. ^ "Census of Population and Housing 2011".
  7. ^ "25 Districts in 9 Provinces of Sri Lanka".
  8. ^ "Census of Population and Housing 2011".
  9. ^ "Census of Population and Housing 2011".
  10. ^ a b Department of Census and Statistics,The Census of Population and Housing of Sri Lanka-2011