North Central Province ( Uturumæda Paḷāta, Vada Mattiya Mākāṇam) is one of the nine provinces of Sri Lanka. The province has an area of 10,472 km<sup>2</sup>, making it the largest province by area, and a population of 1,266,663, making it the 3rd least populated province.
The provinces of Sri Lanka were established by the British in 1833. In independent Sri Lanka, provinces did not have any legal status or power until 1987, when the 13th Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka established provincial councils. The North Central Provincial Council is the main administrative and control body in the North Central Province.
Geography
The province has an area of 10,472 km<sup>2</sup> and a population of 1,266,663. It is the largest province by area, covering 16% of the total land area of Sri Lanka. The province consists two districts, Polonnaruwa and Anuradhapura; the Anuradhapura district is the largest district in Sri Lanka by area.
The province has a semi-arid climate and most forests situated in the province are Sri Lankan dry-zone dry evergreen forests.
The province is also referred to as Wew Bendi Rajje due to the many tanks (reservoirs) situated in the province, with more than 3000. More than 65% of the province’s population depend on basic agriculture and agricultural based industries.
Demographics
In 2024, the North Central province has a population of 1,407,610.
Ethnicity
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Ethnic group
! Population
! %
|-
| Sinhalese
| 1,151,005
| 90.87%
|-
| Sri Lankan Moors
| 100,869
| 7.96%
|-
| Tamils<sup>1</sup>
| 12,667
| 1.0%
|-
| Others
| 2,122
| 0.17%
|-
| Total
| 1,266,663
| 100.00%
|}
<small><sup>1</sup> Sri Lankan Tamils and Indian Tamils.</small>
Religion
{| class="wikitable"
|+Religion in North Central Province (2012 Census)
! rowspan="2" | Religion
! colspan="2" | Census 2012
|-
!Population
!%
|-
| Buddhism||1,139,595||89.97%
|-
| Islam||101,958||8.05%
|-
| Christianity||14,875||1.17%
|-
| Hinduism||10,117||0.80%
|-
| Others/None||118||0.009%
|-
! Total ||1,266,663||100%
|}
Employment
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Percentages of employed population (aged 15 years and above) by sector of employment and sex
|-
! Employed Population !! Total !! Percentage Male !! Percentage Female
|-
| Government employee
| 100,045
| 76.1
| 23.9
|-
| Semi government employee
| 9,737
| 69.4
| 30.6
|-
| Private sector employee
| 84,916
| 72.7
| 27.3
|-
| Employer
| 7,176
| 83.9
| 16.1
|-
| Own account worker
| 231,848
| 80.4
| 19.6
|-
| Unpaid family worker
| 50,975
| 28.9
| 71.1
|-
! Total
! 484,697
! 72.6
! 27.4
|}
Administrative divisions
The North Central Province is divided into two districts and 29 divisional secretariats.
Districts
{| class="wikitable"
|-
|+ Administrative Districts of North Central Province
|-
! District
! Capital
! Area (km²)
! Population
|-
| Anuradhapura District
| Anuradhapura
| 7,128
| 856,232
|-
| Polonnaruwa District
| Polonnaruwa
| 3,293
| 403,335
|}
Divisional secretariats
200px|thumb|right|Divisional Secretariats of North Central Province, Sri Lanka
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:left;"
|- style="vertical-align:bottom;"
|-
|+ Administrative Divisions of North Central Province
|-
! Division
! District
! <small>Population<br>(2001<br>census)</small>
|-
| Nuwaragam Palatha East || Anuradhapura || align=right|69,590
|-
| Nuwaragam Palatha Central || Anuradhapura || align=right|60,828
|-
| Kekirawa || Anuradhapura || align=right|58,879
|-
| Thalawa || Anuradhapura || align=right|57,663
|-
| Nochchiyagama || Anuradhapura || align=right|49,730
|-
| Medawachchiya || Anuradhapura || align=right|46,743
|-
| Galenbindunuwewa || Anuradhapura || align=right|46,527
|-
| Thambuttegama || Anuradhapura || align=right|42,143
|-
| Kahatagasdigiliya || Anuradhapura || align=right|40,137
|-
| Ipalogama || Anuradhapura || align=right|38,688
|-
| Horowpothana || Anuradhapura || align=right|36,714
|-
| Rambewa || Anuradhapura || align=right|36,426
|-
| Mihinthale || Anuradhapura || align=right|35,160
|-
| Galnewa || Anuradhapura || align=right|34,718
|-
| Palagala || Anuradhapura || align=right|33,740
|-
| Rajanganaya || Anuradhapura || align=right|33,434
|-
| Thirappane || Anuradhapura || align=right|26,962
|-
| Nachchadoowa || Anuradhapura || align=right|25,569
|-
| Padaviya || Anuradhapura || align=right|22,924
|-
| Kebithigollewa || Anuradhapura || align=right|22,227
|-
| Mahavilachchiya || Anuradhapura || align=right|22,183
|-
| Palugaswewa || Anuradhapura || align=right|15,557
|-
| Dimbulagala || Polonnaruwa || align=right|79,661
|-
| Thamankaduwa || Polonnaruwa || align=right|68,526
|-
| Medirigiriya || Polonnaruwa || align=right|65,575
|-
| Hingurakgoda || Polonnaruwa || align=right|64,289
|-
| Elahera || Polonnaruwa || align=right|43,915
|-
| Lankapura || Polonnaruwa || align=right|36,452
|-
| Welikanda || Polonnaruwa || align=right|33,770
|}
Major population centres
- Aralaganwila
- Bakamuna
- Eppawala
- Giritale
- Habarana
- Hingurakgoda
- Horowpothana
- Kahatagasdigiliya
- Kebithigollewa
- Kekirawa
- Mahailuppallama
- Manampitiya
- Maradankadawala
- Medawachchiya
- Mihintale
- Minneriya
- Nochchiyagama
- Padaviya
- Polonnaruwa-Kaduruwela
- Rambewa
- Thalawa
- Thambuttegama
- Welikanda
Education
;Anuradhapura
- Anuradhapura Central College
- Anuradhapura Walisinghe Harischandra college
- Niwaththaka Chethiya National School. Anuradhapura
- Anuradhapura Technical College
- Buddhsravaka Bhiksu University
- K. B. Rathnayake MW
- Open University of Sri Lanka
- Rajarata University of Sri Lanka
- Sri Lanka Institute of Advanced Technological Education
- St. Joseph's College
- Teachers Training School
- University College of Anuradhapura (University of Vocational Technology)
;Polonnaruwa
- Polonnaruwa Royal Central College
- Pulathisipura National College of Education
- Technical College-Polonnaruwa
See also
- Provinces of Sri Lanka
- Districts of Sri Lanka
References
External links
- North Central Province Provincial Council
- Cities in North Central province