The Southern Province ( ''Dakuṇu Paḷāta'', ''Theṉ Mākāṇam'') of

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

is one of the nine

provinces of Sri Lanka Provinces (; ) are the first level administrative division, administrative divisions of Sri Lanka. Currently, Sri Lanka is divided into 9 provinces. Each province is further divided into Districts of Sri Lanka, districts, which are further divi ...

, the first level

administrative division Administrative divisions (also administrative units, administrative regions, subnational entities, or constituent states, as well as many similar generic terms) are geographical areas into which a particular independent sovereign state is divi ...

of the country. The provinces have existed since the 19th century but did not have any legal status until 1987 when the

13th Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka The Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka (13A) is amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka, passed in 1987, which created Provincial Councils in Sri Lanka. This amendment also made Sinhala and Tamil the official languages o ...

established

provincial councils A province is a geographic region within Gaelic games, consisting of several counties of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and originally based on the historic four provinces of Ireland as they were set in 1610. Provincial councils A provin ...

. It is the 7th largest province by area and is home to 2.5 million people, the 3rd most populated province. The province is bordered by

Sabaragamuwa Province The Sabaragamuwa Province (, , ) is one of the nine provinces of Sri Lanka, provinces of Sri Lanka. Ratnapura is the capital of the province. History The provinces of Sri Lanka were created by the British Empire, British in the 19th century, but ...

and

Uva Province The Uva Province (, , ) is one of the nine provinces of Sri Lanka. The province has an area of 8,500 km2 and a population of 1,266,463, making it the 2nd least populated province. The provincial capital is Badulla. Uva is bordered by the East ...

to the North, Eastern Province to the Northeast,

Western Province Western Province or West Province may refer to: *Western Province, Cameroon *Western Province, Rwanda *Western Province (Kenya) *Western Province (Papua New Guinea) *Western Province (Solomon Islands) *Western Province, Sri Lanka *Western Provinc ...

to the Northwest and the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

to the South, West and East. The Province's capital is

Galle Galle (, ; , ) (formerly ) is a major city on the southwestern tip of Sri Lanka, south of Colombo. Galle is the provincial capital and largest city of Southern Province, Sri Lanka and is the capital of Galle District. Galle was known as ''Gi ...

. The Southern Province is a geographic area consisting of the districts of

, Matara and

Hambantota Hambantota (, ) is the main city in Hambantota District, Southern Province, Sri Lanka, Southern Province, Sri Lanka. This area was hit hard by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and underwent a number of maj ...

. Subsistence farming and fishing is the main source of income for the vast majority of the people of this region. Government School education is primarily handled by th
Southern Provincial Education Department

Administrative divisions

Southern Province is divided into 3

districts A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

and 47 divisional secretariats.

Divisional Secretariats

The

of the

are divided into administrative sub-units known as divisional secretariats. These were originally based on the feudal

counties A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

, the s and s. They were formerly known as 'D.R.O. Divisions' after the 'Divisional Revenue Officer'. Later the D.R.O.s became 'Assistant Government Agents' and the divisions were known as 'A.G.A. Divisions'. Currently, the divisions are administered by a 'Divisional Secretary', and are known as a 'D.S. Divisions'. There are 47 divisional secretariats in the Southern Province, with 19 in

Galle District Galle ( ''gālla distrikkaya''; ''Kāli māvattam'') is a Districts of Sri Lanka, district in Southern Province, Sri Lanka, Southern Province, Sri Lanka. It is one of 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the second level administrative division of the co ...

, 12 in

Hambantota District Hambantota District ( ''hambantoṭa distrikkaya''; ''Ampāntōṭṭai māvaṭṭam'') is a Districts of Sri Lanka, district in Southern Province, Sri Lanka. It is one of 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the second level administrative division of t ...

and 16 in

Matara District Matara ( ''Mātara distrikkaya''; ''Māttaṛai māvaṭṭam'') is a district in Southern 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 Di ...

Major population centres

Landmarks

Important landmarks of the Southern Province include the wildlife sanctuaries of the Yala and

Udawalawe Udawalawe (also known as Udawalawa) is a small town located in the southern part of the Ratnapura District in Sri Lanka. It is situated in close to the district's boundary with the Hambantota District and Monaragala District. The town is the ma ...

National Parks. Ussangoda in

Ambalantota Ambalantota is a coastal town in southern Sri Lanka. It is located in Southern Province in Hambantota District between Matara and Hambantota. The Valave River meets the sea near Ambalantota. The Ambalantota is famous for its ancient ruins of ...

is a panoramic view of the beach and the sea, and the holy city of

Kataragama Kataragama ( , ) is a pilgrimage town sacred to Buddhist, Hindu and indigenous Vedda people of Sri Lanka. People from South India also go there to worship. The town has the Kataragama temple, a shrine dedicated to Skanda Kumara also known as ...

, and the ancient cities of

Tissamaharama Tissamaharama ( , ) is a town in Hambantota District, Southern Province, Sri Lanka. History It was the capital of the Kingdom of Ruhuna as early as the 3rd century B.C. Few buildings from that period survived. The presence of early Tamils in T ...

, Kirinda and

. (Although Galle is an ancient city, almost nothing survives from before the Portuguese invasion.) During the Portuguese period there were two famous Sinhalese poets called Andare who was from

Dickwella Dikwella, also known as Dickwella and as Dikwella South, is a small coastal market town in the Matara district in Southern Province of Sri Lanka. It is located east of the city of Matara. Dikwella is noted for its long sandy beach which is pro ...

and Gajaman Nona who was from Denipitiya in Matara District, composing poems on common man. The Southern Province was seriously affected by the tsunami in 2004. The province is going through a rebuilding process.

Administrative divisions

Divisional Secretariats

Major population centres

Landmarks

See also

References

External links