Colombo District ( si, කොළඹ දිස්ත්රික්කය ''kol̠am̆ba distrikkaya''; ta, கொழும்பு மாவட்டம் ''Koḻumpu Māvaṭṭam'') is one of the 25
districts of
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
, the second level
administrative division
Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...
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
Capital may refer to:
Common uses
* Capital city, a municipality of primary status
** List of national capital cities
* Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences
* Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used fo ...
of the district is the city of
Colombo
Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...
. The district of Colombo was officially recorded in 2016 as having the highest income on average, per household.
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
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
. 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. Colombo District, together with
Kalutara,
Puttalam, Seven Korales (present day
Kurunegala District
Kurunegala is a district in North Western Province, Sri Lanka. Consists of and consists 30 Divisional Secretariats, 1610 Grama Niladari Divisions and 4476 total Villages. It consists of 14 Electorate Divisions, 02 Municipal Council, 19 Urban C ...
), Three Korales, Four Korales and Lower Bulatgama (present day
Kegalle District
Kegalle is a district in Sabaragamuwa Province, Sri Lanka. It is one of 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 (pr ...
) formed the new
Western Province.
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
Gampaha District ( si, ගම්පහ දිස්ත්රික්කය ''gampaha distrikkaya'', ta, கம்பஹா மாவட்டம் ''Kampahā Māvaṭṭam'') is one of the 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the second level adminis ...
in September 1978.
Geography
Colombo District is located in the south west of Sri Lanka and has an area of .
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).
The DS Divisions are further sub-divided into 566
Grama Niladhari Divisions (GN Divisions).
[
]
Cities and Towns
Demographics
Population
Colombo District's population was 2,309,809 in 2012.[ 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
Sri Lankan Tamils ( or ), also known as Ceylon Tamils or Eelam Tamils, are Tamils native to the South Asian island state of Sri Lanka. Today, they constitute a majority in the Northern Province, live in significant numbers in the Eastern P ...
population.
Ethnicity
Religion
Notes
References
External links
Colombo District Secretariat
{{Authority control
Districts of Sri Lanka