North Central Province, Sri Lanka


North Central Province is one of the nine provinces of Sri Lanka. The province has an area of 10,472 km2, making it the largest province by area, and a population of 1,266,663, making it the 3rd least populated province. Anuradhapura is the capital city of the province.
WWW ncp.gov.lk

History

The North Central province is home to the ancient cities of Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa, both of which were historical capitals of Sri Lanka during ancient times. The two cities were the capitals of the Anuradhapura kingdom and the Polonnaruwa kingdom respectively.
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 km2 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 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

Ethnic groupPopulation%
Sinhalese1,151,00590.87%
Sri Lankan Moors100,8697.96%
Tamils112,6671.0%
Others2,1220.17%
Total1,266,663100.00%

1 Sri Lankan Tamils and Indian Tamils.

Administrative divisions

The North Central Province is divided into two districts and 29 divisional secretariats.

Divisional secretariats

DivisionDistrictPopulation
Nuwaragam Palatha EastAnuradhapura69,590
Nuwaragam Palatha CentralAnuradhapura60,828
KekirawaAnuradhapura58,879
ThalawaAnuradhapura57,663
NochchiyagamaAnuradhapura49,730
MedawachchiyaAnuradhapura46,743
GalenbindunuwewaAnuradhapura46,527
ThambuttegamaAnuradhapura42,143
KahatagasdigiliyaAnuradhapura40,137
IpalogamaAnuradhapura38,688
HorowpothanaAnuradhapura36,714
RambewaAnuradhapura36,426
MihinthaleAnuradhapura35,160
GalnewaAnuradhapura34,718
PalagalaAnuradhapura33,740
RajanganayaAnuradhapura33,434
ThirappaneAnuradhapura26,962
NachchadoowaAnuradhapura25,569
PadaviyaAnuradhapura22,924
KebithigollewaAnuradhapura22,227
MahavilachchiyaAnuradhapura22,183
PalugaswewaAnuradhapura15,557
DimbulagalaPolonnaruwa79,661
ThamankaduwaPolonnaruwa68,526
MedirigiriyaPolonnaruwa65,575
HingurakgodaPolonnaruwa64,289
ElaheraPolonnaruwa43,915
LankapuraPolonnaruwa36,452
WelikandaPolonnaruwa33,770

Major population centres

Education

;Anuradhapura
;Polonnaruwa