Colombo District

Colombo District (Sinhala: කොළඹ දිස්ත්‍රික්කය kol̠am̆ba distrikkaya; Tamil: கொழும்பு மாவட்டம் Koḻumpu Māvaṭṭam) is one of the 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the second level administrative division of the country. 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 Colombo. The district of Colombo was officially recorded in 2016 as having the highest income on average, per household.^[4]

Colombo District කොළඹ දිස්ත්‍රික්කය கொழும்பு மாவட்டம்
Administrative District
Location within Sri Lanka
Coordinates: 06°52′N 80°01′E
Country	Sri Lanka
Province	Western
Capital	Colombo
DS Division	List Colombo Homagama Kaduwela Kesbewa Kolonnawa Maharagama Moratuwa Padukka Ratmalana Seethawaka Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte Thimbirigasyaya
Government
• District Secretary	Pradeep Yasaratne
Area [1]
• Total	699 km2 (270 sq mi)
• Land	676 km2 (261 sq mi)
• Water	23 km2 (9 sq mi)  3.29%
• Rank	25th (1.07% of total area)
Population  (2012 census)[2]
• Total	2,309,809
• Rank	1st (11.40% of total pop.)
• Density	3,300/km2 (8,600/sq mi)
Ethnicity (2012 census)[2]
• Sinhalese	1,771,319 (76.69%)
• Sri Lankan Moors	242,728 (10.51%)
• Sri Lankan Tamil	231,318 (10.01%)
• Indian Tamil	27,336 (1.18%)
• Other	37,108 (1.61%)
Religion (2012 census)[3]
• Buddhist	1,631,999 (70.66%)
• Muslim	271,719 (11.76%)
• Christian	220,711 (9.56%)
• Hindu	182,342 (7.89%)
• Other	3,038 (0.13%)
Time zone	UTC+05:30 (Sri Lanka)
Post Codes	00000-10999
Telephone Codes	011, 036
ISO 3166 code	LK-11
Vehicle registration	WP
Official Languages	Sinhala, Tamil
Website	Colombo District Secretariat

History

Colombo District was part of the pre-colonial Kingdom of Kotte. The district then came under Portuguese, Dutch and British control. In 1815 the British gained control of the entire island of Ceylon. They divided the island into three ethnic based administrative structures: Low Country Sinhalese, Kandyan Sinhalese and Tamil. Colombo District was part of the Low Country Sinhalese administration. In 1833, in accordance with the recommendations of the Colebrooke-Cameron Commission, the ethnic based administrative structures were unified into a single administration divided into five geographic provinces.^[5] Colombo District, together with Kalutara, Puttalam, Seven Korales (present day Kurunegala District), Three Korales, Four Korales and Lower Bulatgama (present day Kegalle District) formed the new Western Province.^[6] At the time that Ceylon gained independence, Colombo was one of the two districts located in the Western Province. Parts of the district were transferred to newly created Gampaha District in September 1978.

Geography

Colombo District is located in the south west of Sri Lanka and has an area of 699 square kilometres (270 sq mi).^[1]

Administrative units

Colombo District is divided into 13 Divisional Secretary's Division (DS Divisions), each headed by a Divisional Secretary (previously known as an Assistant Government Agent).^[7] The DS Divisions are further sub-divided into 566 Grama Niladhari Divisions (GN Divisions).^[7]

DS Division	Main Town	Divisional Secretary	GN Divisions [7]	Area (km2) [8]
Colombo	Colombo	N. H. Rathnayake	35	18
Dehiwala	Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia	K. Champa N. Perera	15	8
Homagama	Homagama		81	121
Kaduwela	Kaduwela	M. S. P. Suriyapperuma	57	88
Kesbewa	Kesbewa	L. A. Kalukapuarachchi	73	64
Kolonnawa	Kolonnawa	U. W. Senarathna	46	28
Maharagama	Maharagama	K. M. Buddhi Tharanga Karunasena	41	38
Moratuwa	Moratuwa	K. C. Niroshan	42	20
Padukka	Padukka	S. H. Hewage	46	110
Ratmalana	Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia	Pradeep Ratnayaka	13	13
Seethawaka	Avissawella	P. D. S. Wijerathna	68	150
Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte	Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte	Amal J. S. S. Edirisooriya	20	17
Thimbirigasyaya	Colombo	Geethamani C. Karunaratne	29	24
Total			566	699

Cities and Towns

Largest cities or towns in Western Province,Sri Lanka As per the 2012 Census[9][10]
Rank		Pop.
1	Colombo	693,593
2	Kaduwela	252,041
3	Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia	233,290
4	Maharagama	196,423
5	Moratuwa	191,634
6	Kesbewa	185,122
7	Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte	125,270
8	Boralesgamuwa	60,110
9	Kolonnawa	60,044
10	Avissawella	30,308

Demographics

Population

Colombo District's population was 2,309,809 in 2012.^[2] It has the highest population and population density in Sri Lanka. The majority of the population are Sinhalese, with a minority Sri Lankan Moor and Sri Lankan Tamil population.

Ethnicity

Population of Colombo District by ethnic group 1946 to 2012^[2][11][12]

Year	Sinhalese		Sri Lankan Moors		Sri Lankan Tamil		Indian Tamil		Other		Total No.
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
1946 Census	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	1,420,332
1953 Census	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	1,708,726
1963 Census	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	2,207,420
1971 Census	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	2,672,620
1981 Census[a]	1,318,835	77.61%	139,743	8.22%	170,590	10.04%	19,824	1.17%	50,249	2.96%	1,699,241
2001 Census	1,724,459	76.60%	202,731	9.01%	247,739	11.00%	24,821	1.10%	51,524	2.29%	2,251,274
2012 Census	1,771,319	76.69%	242,728	10.51%	231,318	10.01%	27,336	1.18%	37,108	1.61%	2,309,809

DS Division	Population (2012 Census)[13]						Population Density (/km2)
	Sinhalese	Sri Lankan Moors	Sri Lankan Tamil	Indian Tamil	Other	Total
Colombo	79,468	126,345	97,690	8,635	5,910	318,048	17,669
Dehiwala	53,182	17,870	12,917	1,240	2,625	87,834	10,979
Homagama	231,878	508	1,907	460	1,426	236,179	1,952
Kaduwela	241,104	2,011	4,605	740	3,597	252,057	2,864
Kesbewa	237,781	1,114	2,403	439	2,325	244,062	3,813
Kolonnawa	128,623	40,412	15,934	2,101	3,747	190,817	6,815
Maharagama	187,363	1,369	3,107	529	2,987	195,355	5,141
Moratuwa	157,901	2,683	4,802	397	1,377	167,160	8,358
Padukka	62,472	998	1,238	334	125	65,167	592
Ratmalana	75,181	9,005	7,852	855	2,269	95,162	7,320
Seethawaka	100,046	838	5,007	7,285	301	113,477	757
Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte	91,268	5,207	7,503	801	2,729	107,508	6,324
Thimbirigasyaya	125,052	34,368	66,353	3,520	7,690	236,983	9,874
Total	1,771,319	242,728	231,318	27,336	37,108	2,309,809	3,304

Religion

Religion in Colombo District (2011)^[14]

1. Buddhism (70.7%)
2. Islam (11.8%)
3. Christianity (9.60%)
4. Hinduism (7.90%)
5. Other (0.10%)

Population of Colombo District by religion 1981 to 2012^[3][15]

Year	Buddhist		Muslim		Christian[b]		Hindu		Other		Total No.
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
1981 Census	1,196,964	70.44%	168,863	9.94%	200,545	11.80%	130,215	7.66%	2,654	0.16%	1,699,241
2001 Census	1,578,248	70.10%	241,944	10.75%	233,254	10.36%	194,743	8.65%	3,085	0.14%	2,251,274
2012 Census	1,631,999	70.66%	271,719	11.76%	220,711	9.56%	182,342	7.89%	3,038	0.13%	2,309,809

Notes

1. Gampaha District was carved out of Colombo District in 1978.
2. Roman Catholic and Other Christian.