Colombo District

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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 city of Colombo. The district of Colombo was officially recorded in 2016 as having the highest income on average, per household.

Colombo District කොළඹ දිස්ත්‍රික්කය கொழும்பு மாவட்டம்
Administrative District
Location within Sri Lanka
Coordinates: 06°52′N 80°01′E / 6.867°N 80.017°E / 6.867; 80.017
Country	Sri Lanka
Province	Western
Capital	Colombo
DS Division	List Colombo Homagama Kaduwela Kesbewa Kolonnawa Maharagama Moratuwa Padukka Ratmalana Seethawaka Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte Thimbirigasyaya
Government
• District Secretary	Pradeep Yasaratne
Area
• Total	699 km2 (270 sq mi)
• Land	676 km2 (261 sq mi)
• Water	23 km2 (9 sq mi)  3.29%
• Rank	25th (1.07% of total area)
Population  (2012 census)
• Total	2,309,809
• Rank	1st (11.40% of total pop.)
• Density	3,300/km2 (8,600/sq mi)
Ethnicity (2012 census)
• Sinhalese	1,771,319 (76.69%)
• Sri Lankan Moors	242,728 (10.51%)
• Sri Lankan Tamil	231,318 (10.01%)
• Indian Tamil	27,336 (1.18%)
• Other	37,108 (1.61%)
Religion (2012 census)
• Buddhist	1,631,999 (70.66%)
• Muslim	271,719 (11.76%)
• Christian	220,711 (9.56%)
• Hindu	182,342 (7.89%)
• Other	3,038 (0.13%)
Time zone	UTC+05:30 (Sri Lanka)
Post Codes	00000-10999
Telephone Codes	011, 036
ISO 3166 code	LK-11
Vehicle registration	WP
Official Languages	Sinhala, Tamil
Website	Colombo District Secretariat

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. 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), Three Korales, Four Korales and Lower Bulatgama (present day Kegalle District) 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 in September 1978.

Colombo District is located in the south west of Sri Lanka and has an area of 699 square kilometres (270 sq mi).

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).

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 population.

Ethnicity

Religion

 

Wiki Commons has media related to Colombo District.

• Colombo District Secretariat Archived 2018-08-14 at the Wayback Machine