Hambantota District

This article is about the district in Sri Lanka. For the town, see Hambantota.
Hambantota District
District

Map of Sri Lanka with Hambantota District highlighted
Coordinates: 6°15′N 81°10′E / 6.250°N 81.167°E / 6.250; 81.167Coordinates: 6°15′N 81°10′E / 6.250°N 81.167°E / 6.250; 81.167
Country Sri Lanka
Province Southern Province
Largest Town Hambantota
Divisions
List
Government
 • District Secretary W.H. Karunarathne
 • Local
Area
 • Total 2,609 km2 (1,007 sq mi)
 • Land 2,496 km2 (964 sq mi)
 • Water 113 km2 (44 sq mi)
Population (2011)
 • Total 596,617
 • Density 230/km2 (590/sq mi)
Time zone Sri Lanka (UTC+05:30)
ISO 3166 code LK-33
Website hambantota.dist.gov.lk/

Hambantota District (Sinhalese: හම්බන්තොට දිස්ත්‍රික්කය hambantoṭa distrikkaya; Tamil: அம்பாந்தோட்டை மாவட்டம் Ampāntōṭṭai 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.

Hambantota District is located on the southeastern coast of Sri Lanka. It has an area of 2,593 km² and a very dry climate. The district capital is Hambantota town; the administrative headquarters are there as well as the center of salt production. Other prominent towns include Tangalle, Ambalantota, Tissamaharama, and Beliatta.

Before modern development took place after the country gained independence in 1948, the agriculture in the district was characterised by swidden cultivation (chena or slash-and-burn) and, to some extent, paddy cultivation on non-irrigated land. In the highlands, kurakkan — a grain used to make an eatable paste — was cultivated with other grains such as corn. Leonard Woolf's Village in the Jungle provides a highly interesting and insightful account of the people, the land and issues of concern during the British Colonial period as he worked as an assistant government agent for Hambantota.

Demographics

Ethnic groups
Sinhalese 579,032 (97.05%)
Sri Lankan Tamil 2,111 (0.35%)
Sri Lankan Moor 6,556 (1.1%)
Indian Tamil 136 (0.02%)
Burgher 138 (0.02%)
Sri Lankan Malay 8,210 (1.38%)
Other 434 (0.07%)
Religions
Buddhism 577,284 (96.76%)
Hinduism 1,243 (0.21%)
Islam 15,163 (2.54%)
Roman Catholic 1,098 (0.18%)
Other Christian 1,511 (0.25%)
Other 318 (0.05%)

Religion in Hambantota District (2011)[1]

  Buddhism (96.8%)
  Islam (2.5%)
  Christianity (0.5%)
  Hinduism (0.2%)

Hambantota District has a population of 596,617 (2011) of whom 96% are considered rural residents. Some 13.4% of the labor force of 244,847 is unemployed — in comparison to the national average of 8.3%. Of those employed, 42.2% are in the agricultural sector, 23.3% in industry with the remaining 34.5% working in the services sector.[2]

Big Towns

Other Towns

References

  1. ↑ Department of Census and Statistics,The Census of Population and Housing of Sri Lanka-2011
  2. ↑ Source: Department of Census & Statistics - Sri Lanka
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