Western Province බස්නාහිර පළාත மேல் மாகாணம் | |
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 Location within Sri Lanka | |
| Coordinates:06°50′N80°05′E / 6.833°N 80.083°E /6.833; 80.083 | |
| Country | Sri Lanka |
| Created | 1 October 1833 |
| Provincial council | 14 November 1987 |
| Capital | Colombo |
| Largest City | Colombo |
| Major Cities | |
| Districts | |
| Government | |
| • Type | Provincial council |
| • Body | Western Provincial Council |
| • Governor | Hanif Yusuf |
| Area | |
• Total | 3,684 km2 (1,422 sq mi) |
| • Land | 3,593 km2 (1,387 sq mi) |
| • Rank | 9th (5.61% of total area) |
| Population (2021 census)[2] | |
• Total | 6,219,000 |
| • Rank | 1st (28.73% of total pop.) |
| • Density | 1,731/km2 (4,483/sq mi) |
| Ethnicity (2012 census)[2] | |
| • Sinhalese | 4,905,425 (84.26%) |
| • Sri Lankan Moors | 450,505 (7.74%) |
| • Sri Lankan Tamil | 335,751 (5.77%) |
| • Indian Tamil | 61,826 (1.06%) |
| • Other | 68,203 (1.17%) |
| Religion (2012 census)[3] | |
| • Buddhism | 4,288,797 (73.67%) |
| • Catholicism | 752,993 (12.93%) |
| • Islam | 500,992 (8.61%) |
| • Hinduism | 274,336 (4.71%) |
| • Other | 4,592 (0.08%) |
| Time zone | UTC+05:30 (Sri Lanka) |
| Post Codes | 00000-19999 |
| Telephone Codes | 011, 031, 033, 034, 036, 038 |
| ISO 3166 code | LK-1 |
| Vehicle registration | WP |
| Official Languages | Sinhalese,English,Tamil |
| Flower | White Lotus (Nymphaea lotus) |
| Butterfly | Ceylon Blue Glassy Tiger (Ideopsis similis) |
| Website | www |
TheWestern Province (Sinhala:බස්නාහිර පළාතBasnāhira Paḷāta;Tamil:மேல் மாகாணம்Mael Mākāṇam) is one of the nineprovinces of Sri Lanka, the first leveladministrative division of the country. The provinces have existed since the 19th century but did not have any legal status until 1987 when the13th Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka establishedprovincial councils.[4][5] Western Province is the most densely populated province in the country and is home to the legislative capitalSri Jayawardenepura Kotte as well as toColombo, the nation's administrative and business center.
Parts of present-day Western Province were part of the pre-colonialKingdom of Kotte. The province then came underPortuguese,Dutch andBritish control. In 1815 the British gained control of the entire island ofCeylon. They divided the island into three ethnic based administrative structures: Low Country Sinhalese, Kandyan Sinhalese and Tamil. The Western Province was part of the Low Country Sinhalese administration. In 1833, in accordance with the recommendations of theColebrooke-Cameron Commission, the ethnic based administrative structures were unified into a single administration divided into five geographic provinces.[6] The districts of Chilaw,Colombo,Kalutara,Puttalam, Seven Korales (present dayKurunegala District), Three Korales, Four Korales and Lower Bulatgama (present dayKegalle District) formed the new Western Province.[7] Chilaw District, Puttalam District and Seven Korales were transferred to the newly createdNorth Western Province in 1845.[8] Three Korales, Four Korales and Lower Bulatgama were transferred to the newly createdSabaragamuwa Province in 1889.[9]
It is planned to create a planned Megacity under theWestern Region Megapolis Plan in the Western Province designed bySurbana. Originally initiated in 2004 byRanil Wickremesinghe it was stopped after his election defeat and was restarted again after his return to power in 2015. The project plans to merge Colombo, Gampaha and Kalutara districts and introducezoning.[10][11]
Western Province is located in the southwest of Sri Lanka. It has an area of 3,684 square kilometres (1,422 sq mi), making it the smallest of the country's nine provinces.[1] The province is surrounded by theLaccadive Sea to the west,North Western Province to the north,Sabaragamuwa Province to the east and theSouthern Province to the south.
The Western Province is vulnerable to recurrent flooding as a result of an increase in average rainfall coupled with heavier rainfall events, with knock-on impacts on the infrastructure, utility supply, and the urban economy of the Province. As the most urbanised province in Sri Lanka, these climate events pose a number of problems due to the rapid urban growth the province has undergone.[12]
The Western Province is divided into threeadministrative districts, 40Divisional Secretary's Divisions (DS Divisions) and 2,505Grama Niladhari Divisions (GN Divisions).
| District | Capital | District Secretary | DS Divisions | GN Divisions [13][14][15] | Total Area (km2)[1] | Land Area (km2)[1] | Population (2012 Census)[2] | Population Density (/km2) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sinhalese | Sri Lankan Moors | Sri Lankan Tamil | Indian Tamil | Other | Total | ||||||||
| Colombo | Colombo | Sunil Kannangara | 13 | 566 | 699 | 676 | 1,771,319 | 242,728 | 231,318 | 27,336 | 37,108 | 2,309,809 | 3,304 |
| Gampaha | Gampaha | J. J. Rathnasiri | 13 | 1,177 | 1,387 | 1,341 | 2,079,115 | 95,501 | 80,071 | 10,879 | 29,075 | 2,294,641 | 1,654 |
| Kalutara | Kalutara | U. D. C. Jayalal | 14 | 762 | 1,598 | 1,576 | 1,054,991 | 112,276 | 24,362 | 23,611 | 2,020 | 1,217,260 | 762 |
| Total | 40 | 2,505 | 3,684 | 3,593 | 4,905,425 | 450,505 | 335,751 | 61,826 | 68,203 | 5,821,710 | 1,580 | ||
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| Rank | District | Pop. | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Colombo | Colombo | 639,818 | ||||||
| 2 | Kaduwela | Colombo | 252,041 | ||||||
| 3 | Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia | Colombo | 219,827 | ||||||
| 4 | Maharagama | Colombo | 196,423 | ||||||
| 5 | Moratuwa | Colombo | 185,031 | ||||||
| 6 | Kesbewa | Colombo | 245,232 | ||||||
| 7 | Negombo | Gampaha | 137,223 | ||||||
| 8 | Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte | Colombo | 115,826 | ||||||
| 9 | Gampaha | Gampaha | 9,350 | ||||||
| 10 | Katunayake | Gampaha | 84,643 | ||||||
The Western Province's population was 6,219,000 in 2021.[18] The majority of the population areSinhalese, with a minoritySri Lankan Moor andSri Lankan Tamil population.
| Year | Sinhalese | Sri Lankan Moors | Sri Lankan Tamil | Indian Tamil | Other | Total No. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | ||
| 1981 Census | 3,321,830 | 84.74% | 238,728 | 6.09% | 228,516 | 5.83% | 59,402 | 1.51% | 71,331 | 1.82% | 3,919,807 |
| 2001 Census | 4,530,918 | 84.20% | 374,729 | 6.96% | 325,706 | 6.05% | 61,337 | 1.14% | 88,507 | 1.64% | 5,381,197 |
| 2012 Census | 4,905,425 | 84.26% | 450,505 | 7.74% | 335,751 | 5.77% | 61,826 | 1.06% | 68,203 | 1.17% | 5,821,710 |
| Year | Buddhist | Christian[a] | Muslim | Hindu | Other | Total No. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | ||
| 1981 Census | 2,885,789 | 73.62% | 556,581 | 14.20% | 279,639 | 7.13% | 194,000 | 4.95% | 3,798 | 0.10% | 3,919,807 |
| 2001 Census | 3,942,171 | 73.26% | 721,115 | 13.40% | 441,397 | 8.20% | 271,777 | 5.05% | 4,737 | 0.09% | 5,381,197 |
| 2012 Census | 4,288,797 | 73.67% | 752,993 | 12.93% | 500,992 | 8.61% | 274,336 | 4.71% | 4,592 | 0.08% | 5,821,710 |
The Western province provides the highest contribution to theGross Domestic Product contributing 41.2% of the Provincial Gross Domestic Product(PGDP) and has a nominal PGDP growth rate of 5.8% as of 2015.Agriculture only made up 1.7% of the GDP the lowest among the nine provinces whileIndustrial sector made up 34.6% the highest in the country andservice sector represented 56.5%.[21]
The province is undergoing rapid development with several of the largest infrastructure development projects happening in the province such as theColombo International Financial City(CIFC) which is an International Financial Zone and theWestern Region Megapolis Planning Project(WRMPP)[22][23][24][25] Western province is also undergoing a major real estate and construction boom with residential and commercial buildings and skyscrapers changing the skylines of cities such as Colombo andRajagiriya. Several majorresidential,office andhotel buildings as well asresorts andmalls are either proposed or under construction.[26][27][28]
TheColombo Harbour is also a major driver of economic growth being the busiest port inSouth Asia. It has both privately run and state owned terminals and is being expanded.[29][30]
Almost all the premier educational institutions in the island are located in the Western Province. Universities in the province includes theUniversity of Colombo,University of Kelaniya,University of Moratuwa,University of Sri Jayewardenepura,Open University, Sri Lanka,Buddhist and Pali University of Sri Lanka,General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University,National Institute of Business Management and theSri Lanka Institute of Information Technology. Having the highest population in all the provinces, Western Province has the largest number of schools in the country, which includesnational, provincial,private and international schools.
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2021eth was invoked but never defined (see thehelp page).
Places adjacent to Western Province, Sri Lanka | |
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