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Ampara District

Coordinates: 07°05′N 81°45′E / 7.083°N 81.750°E / 7.083; 81.750
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Ampara District
அம்பாறை மாவட்டம்
අම්පාර දිස්ත්‍රික්කය
Administrative District
Paddy field in Oluvil
Paddy field in Oluvil
Location within Sri Lanka
Location within Sri Lanka
Coordinates: 07°05′N 81°45′E / 7.083°N 81.750°E / 7.083; 81.750
CountrySri Lanka
ProvinceEastern
CreatedApril 1961
CapitalAmpara
Largest CityKalmunai
DS Division
List
Government
 • District SecretaryD. M. L. Bandaranayake
 • MPs
List
Area
[1]
 • Total4,415 km2 (1,705 sq mi)
 • Land4,222 km2 (1,630 sq mi)
 • Water193 km2 (75 sq mi)  4.37%
 • Rank4th (6.73% of total area)
Population
 (2012 census)[2]
 • Total648,057
 • Rank14th (3.20% of total pop.)
 • Density150/km2 (380/sq mi)
Ethnicity
(2012 census)[2]
 • Moor282,484 (43.59%)
 • Sinhalese251,018 (38.73%)
 • Sri Lankan Tamil112,750 (17.40%)
 • Burgher849 (0.13%)
 • Other956 (0.15%)
Religion
(2012 census)[3]
 • Muslim282,746 (43.63%)
 • Buddhist250,213 (38.61%)
 • Hindu102,454 (15.81%)
 • Christian12,609 (1.95%)
 • Other35 (0.01%)
Time zoneUTC+05:30 (Sri Lanka)
Post Codes
32000-32999
Telephone Codes063, 067
ISO 3166 codeLK-52
Vehicle registrationEP
Official LanguagesTamil, Sinhala
WebsiteAmpara District Secretariat

Ampara District (Tamil: அம்பாறை மாவட்டம், romanized: Ampāṟai Māvaṭṭam; Sinhala: අම්පාර දිස්ත්‍රික්කය, romanized: Ampāra Distrikkaya) is one of the 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the second-level administrative divisions 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 town of Ampara. The district was carved out of the southern part of Batticaloa District in April 1961.[4][5]

Geography

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Ampara District is located in the south east of Sri Lanka in the Eastern Province. It has an area of 4,415 square kilometres (1,705 sq mi).[1] It is bounded by Batticaloa and Polonnaruwa districts from north, Indian Ocean from east, Hambantota District from south, Badulla and Matale districts from northwest and by the Monaragala District from west and southeast.[4]

The north-western panhandle of Ampara District (Dehiyattakandiya D.S. Division) is separated from the rest of the district and Eastern Province by the Maduru Oya Reservoir.

Demographics

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Population

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Ampara District's population was 648,057 in 2012.[2] The district is one of the most diverse in Sri Lanka, both ethnically and religiously.

The population of the district, like the rest of the east and north, was affected by the civil war. The war killed an estimated 100,000 people.[6] Several hundred thousand Sinhalese move to west side of the country. Many Sri Lankan Tamils also moved to the relative safety of the capital Colombo. The war also caused many people from all ethnic and religious groups who lived in the district to flee to other parts of Sri Lanka, though most of them have returned to the district since the end of the civil war.

Ethnicity

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Population of Ampara District by ethnic group 1963 to 2012[2][7]
Year Sri Lankan Moor Sinhalese Sri Lankan Tamil Indian Tamil Other Total
No.
No. % No. % No. % No. % No. %
1963 Census 97,621 46.11% 61,996 29.28% 49,185 23.23% 1,312 0.62% 1,618 0.76% 211,732
1971 Census 126,365 46.35% 82,280 30.18% 60,519 22.20% 1,771 0.65% 1,670 0.61% 272,605
1981 Census 161,568 41.54% 146,943 37.78% 77,826 20.01% 1,411 0.36% 1,222 0.31% 388,970
2001 Census 244,620 41.25% 236,583 39.90% 109,188 18.41% 715 0.12% 1,891 0.32% 592,997
2007 Enumeration 268,630 43.99% 228,938 37.49% 111,948 18.33% 58 0.01% 1,145 0.19% 610,719
2012 Census 282,484 43.59% 251,018 38.73% 112,750 17.40% 165 0.03% 1,640 0.25% 648,057

Religion

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Population of Ampara District by religion 1981 to 2012[3][8]
Year Islam Buddhist Hindu Christian[a] Others Total
No.
No. % No. % No. % No. % No. %
1981 Census 162,140 41.68% 145,687 37.45% 72,809 18.72% 8,030 2.06% 304 0.08% 388,970
2001 Census 245,179 41.35% 235,652 39.74% 100,213 16.90% 11,785 1.99% 168 0.03% 592,997
2012 Census 282,746 43.63% 250,213 38.61% 102,454 15.81% 12,609 1.95% 35 0.01% 648,057

Politics and government

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Administrative units of Ampara District in 2006

Local government

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Ampara District has 20 local authorities of which two are Municipal Councils, one is an Urban Council and the remaining 17 are Divisional Councils (Pradesha Sabhai or Pradeshiya Sabha).

Local Authority Area Population Registered
Electors
(2011) 		Elected Members (2011)
UPFA[b] SLMC UNP TNA Other Total
Addalaichchenai Divisional Council 94.50 43,499 25,510 2 7 0 0 0 9
Akkaraipattu Divisional Council 64.22 39,148 4,074 6 1 0 0 0 7
Akkaraipattu Municipal Council 20,971 8 1 0 0 0 9
Alayadivembu Divisional Council 129.20 26,175 15,358 2 0 0 5 2 9
Ampara Urban Council 13,523 6 0 3 0 0 9
Damana Divisional Council 23,899 7 0 2 0 0 9
Dehiattakandiya Divisional Council 40,099 12 0 7 0 2 21
Irakkamam Divisional Council 8,185 2 5 0 0 0 7
Kalmunai Municipal Council 22.80 100,427 68,198 3 11 1 4 0 19
Karaitivu Divisional Council 8.60 18,435 12,044 0 1 0 4 0 5
Lahugala Divisional Council 5,861 4 0 7 0 0 11
Maha Oya Divisional Council 697.80 17,801 12,607 7 0 3 0 0 10
Namal Oya Divisional Council 105.10 16,715 6 0 3 0 0 9
Navithanveli Divisional Council 12,799 1 1 0 4 1 7
Nintavur Divisional Council 42.90 28,247 19,124 1 6 0 0 0 7
Padiyatalawa Divisional Council 11,686 7 0 3 0 1 11
Pottuvil Divisional Council 269.00 31,995 21,398 2 6 0 1 0 9
Sammanthurai Divisional Council 198.40 75,257 37,469 5 3 1 0 0 9
Thirukkovil Divisional Council 212.12 29,860 18,076 1 0 1 7 0 9
Uhana Divisional Council 415.00 60,071 40,694 9 0 5 0 1 15
Total 428,290 91 42 36 25 7 201

Administrative units

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Ampara District is divided into 20 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 507 Grama Niladhari Divisions (GN Divisions).

DS Division Main Town Divisional Secretary GN
Divisions
 Area
(km2)
[9] 		Population (2012 Census)[10] Population
Density
(/km2)
Sri Lankan Moors Sinhalese Sri Lankan
Tamil		 Burgher Other Total
Addalaichchenai Addalaichchenai I. M. Haniffa 32 62 38,948 2,218 942 30 27 42,165
Akkaraipattu Akkaraipattu M. Y. Saleem 28 60 39,016 165 35 7 0 39,223
Alayadivembu Alayadivembu V. Jahadeesan 22 90 22 228 22,014 129 18 22,411
Ampara (Namal Oya) Ampara M. M. S. K. Bandara Mapa 22 174 133 43,177 172 45 193 43,720
Damana Damana S. K. Kulathunga Mudali 33 542 137 38,302 28 5 17 38,489
Dehiattakandiya Dehiattakandiya W. G. M.Hemantha Kumara 14 394 108 58,948 67 0 505 59,628
Irakkamam (Eragama) Irakkamam M. M. Nazeer 12 13,084 938 350 0 1 14,373
Kalmunai (Muslim) Kalmunai J. Likayath Ali 28 22 44,306 124 66 1 12 44,509
Kalmunai (Tamil) Kalmunai K. Lavanathan 29 2,376 231 26,564 490 52 29,713
Karaitivu Karaitivu S. Jegarajan 17 7 6,753 13 9,891 123 1 16,781
Lahugala Lahugala L. A. Somarathna 12 815 1 8,253 645 0 1 8,900
Maha Oya Maha Oya A. M. Wickramarachchi 17 667 42 20,655 15 2 1 20,715
Navithanveli Navithanveli S. Garan 20 6,399 153 12,101 9 10 18,672
Nintavur Nintavur R U. Abdul Jaleel 25 35 25,347 8 969 2 3 26,329
Padiyathalawa Padiyathalawa K. G. S. Nishantha 20 379 87 18,091 28 0 3 18,209
Pottuvil Pottuvil M. I. M. Thawfieek 27 265 27,213 881 6,581 3 71 34,749
Sainthamaruthu Sainthamaruthu A. L. Mohamed Saleem 17 6 25,389 5 17 0 1 25,412
Sammanthurai Sammanthurai A. Mansoor 51 229 53,114 297 7,178 1 6 60,596
Thirukkovil Thirukkovil M. Gopakaretnam 22 184 2 100 25,055 1 29 25,187
Uhana Uhana U. P. Indika Anurudda Piyadasa 59 485 7 58,231 32 1 5 58,276
Total 507 4,415 282,484 251,018 112,750 849 956 648,057 147

Notes

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  1. ^ Roman Catholic and Other Christian.
  2. ^ Includes National Congress.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Area of Sri Lanka by province and district" (PDF). Statistical Abstract 2011. Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-11-13.
  2. ^ a b c d "A2 : Population by ethnic group according to districts, 2012". Census of Population & Housing, 2011. Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original on 2017-04-28. Retrieved 2013-01-06.
  3. ^ a b "A3 : Population by religion according to districts, 2012". Census of Population & Housing, 2011. Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original on 2019-01-07. Retrieved 2013-01-06.
  4. ^ a b "Overview". Ampara District Secretariat. Archived from the original on 2013-12-24. Retrieved 2013-12-22.
  5. ^ Mohideen, M. I. M. (27 December 2007). "Sinhalisation of East: A reply to Minister Champika Ranawaka". The Island (Sri Lanka).
  6. ^ "Up to 100,000 killed in Sri Lanka's civil war: UN". ABC News (Australia). 20 May 2009.
  7. ^ "Special Enumeration 2007, Ampara" (PDF). Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2008-12-24.
  8. ^ "Population by religion and district, Census 1981, 2001" (PDF). Statistical Abstract 2011. Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-11-13.
  9. ^ "Land area by province, district and divisional secretariat division" (PDF). Statistical Abstract 2011. Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-11-13.
  10. ^ "A6 : Population by ethnicity and district according to Divisional Secretary's Division, 2012". Census of Population & Housing, 2011. Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original on 2016-11-01. Retrieved 2013-01-06.
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