Matara ( Mātara distrikkaya; Māttaṛai māvaṭṭam) is a district in Southern Province, Sri Lanka. It is one of 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the second level administrative division 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.
Geography Matara District is located in the south west of Sri Lanka and has an area of .
It is represented in the Sri Lankan Parliament following the 2010 Sri Lankan parliamentary election by former Sri Lankan national cricketer Sanath Jayasuriya who stood for the United People's Freedom Alliance.
Administrative units Matara District is divided into 16 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 650 Grama Niladhari Divisions (GN Divisions), with 1,658 villages.
DS Division Main town Divisional SecretaryGNDivisions Area(km2) Population (2012 Census) Populationdensity(/km2)Sinhalese Sri Lankan Moors Sri LankanTamil IndianTamil Other TotalAkuressa Akuressa Mr. O. V. Chandana Tilakerathne 46 148.8 51,280 7 519 865 5 52,595 357Athuraliya Athuraliya Mr. T. G. S. Sarath Kumara 28 62.9 29,674 1,675 602 155 67 31,869 512Devinuwara Devinuwara Mr. D. D. K. Wickramarachchi 41 39.9 47,217 663 66 14 19 47,979 1,183Dickwella Dickwella Mr. B. S. Ranjitha 48 51.9 51,530 2,680 70 81 9 54,187 1,055Hakmana Hakmana Mr. Kusalaka Nanayakkara 34 47.7 30,465 977 16 1 5 31,892 -Kamburupitiya Kamburupitiya Mrs. N. M. M. W. W. N. Herath Kumari 39 60.9 40,738 10 28 17 10 39,438 676Kirinda Puhuwella Kirinda Puhuwella Mr. Chinthaka Abeywickrama 25 37.5 19,480 648 5 - 2 20,574 655Kotapola Kotapola Mr. Ganesha Amarasinghe 37 175.6 51,057 110 4,041 7,855 9 67,596 389Malimbada Malimbada Mrs. Deepika Kumari Gunarathne 66 44.7 34,180 476 51 21 7 33,289 753Matara Matara Mr. Ranjith Yapa 29 53.9 110,221 4,314 304 22 109 114,298 2,144Mulatiyana Mulatiyana Mr. Susantha Attanayake 48 115.2 49,689 1 192 61 - 48,645 427Pasgoda Pasgoda Mrs. Nadeeka Kaushalya Kumari 43 148.2 57,224 2 347 1,289 7 59,285 404Pitabeddara Pitabeddara Mr. Ravindra Jayanath 40 141.5 47,149 24 2,086 1,555 13 52,081 372Thihagoda Thihagoda Mrs. K. P. C. N. Mahindagnana 40 45.2 33,168 8 16 - 10 32,640 730Weligama Weligama Mr. K. P. G. Sumith Shantha 48 44.0 64,927 7,366 159 26 33 70,180 1,120Welipitiya Welipitiya Mrs. Tushari Sooriyarachchi 38 64.4 45,122 6,339 60 22 72 48,756 1,102Total 650 1,282.5 757,046 23,635 5,060 17,937 321 803,999 638
Major cities
Matara (Municipal Council)
Other towns
Aparekka Weligama (Weligama Urban Council) Akuressa Tihagoda Mirissa Deniyaya Pitabeddara Kamburupitiya Thelijjawila Malimbada Miella Welipitiya Denipitiya Welihinda Morawaka Nupe Devinuwara Gandara Hakmana Karaputugala
Demographics
Population vast Matara District's population was 803,999 in 2012. The majority of the population are Sinhalese, with a minority Sri Lankan Moor and Indian Tamil population.
Ethnicity
+ Population of Matara District by ethnic groupYear Sinhalese Sri Lankan MoorsSri Lankan Tamil Indian TamilOther TotalNo.No. % No. % No. % No. % No. %2012 Census 757,046 94.16% 23,635 2.94% 5,060 0.63% 17,937 2.23% 321 0.04% 803,999
Religion
+ Population of Matara District by religionYear BuddhistMuslim Christian HinduOther TotalNo.No. % No. % No. % No. % No. %2012 Census 756,098 94.0% 18,908 2.35% 25,982 3.23% 2,901 0.36% 110 0.01% 803,999
Notes
References
External links