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Jaffna District யாழ்ப்பாணம் மாவட்டம் යාපනය දිස්ත්‍රික්කය
Administrative District
Location within Sri Lanka
Coordinates: 09°40′N 80°10′E / 9.667°N 80.167°E / 9.667; 80.167
Country	Sri Lanka
Province	Northern
Capital	Jaffna
DS Division	List Delft Islands North Islands South Jaffna Karativu Nallur Thenmarachchi Vadamarachchi East Vadamarachchi North Vadamarachchi SW Valikamam East Valikamam North Valikamam South Valikamam SW Valikamam West
Government
• District Secretary	Kanapathipillai Mahesan
• MPs	List Silvestri Alantine Murugesu Chandrakumar Douglas Devananda Vijayakala Maheswaran Suresh Premachandran E. Saravanapavan Mavai Senathirajah S. Sritharan A. Vinayagamoorthy
• MPCs	List E. Arnold P. Ayngaranesan B. Gajatheepan K. Kamalendran Vinthan Kanagaratnam A. Paranjothy A. Ramanathan K. Sarveswaran Ananthi Sasitharan K. Sayanthan M. K. Shivajilingam D. Siddarthan C. V. K. Sivagnanam V. Sivayogan C. Sukirthan C. V. Vigneswaran
Area
• Total	1,025 km (396 sq mi)
• Land	929 km (359 sq mi)
• Water	96 km (37 sq mi)  9.37%
• Rank	24th (1.56% of total area)
Population
• Total	583,378
• Rank	16th (2.88% of total pop.)
• Density	570/km (1,500/sq mi)
Ethnicity
• Sri Lankan Tamil	577,246 (98.95%)
• Sinhalese	3,366 (0.58%)
• Sri Lankan Moors	2,139 (0.37%)
• Indian Tamil	499 (0.09%)
• Other	128 (0.02%)
Religion
• Hindu	483,900 (82.95%)
• Christian	94,146 (16.14%)
• Buddhist	2,533 (0.43%)
• Muslim	2,455 (0.42%)
• Other	344 (0.06%)
Time zone	UTC+05:30 (Sri Lanka)
Post Codes	40000-40999
Telephone Codes	021
ISO 3166 code	LK-41
Vehicle registration	NP
Official Languages	Tamil, Sinhala
Website	Jaffna District Secretariat

Jaffna District (Tamil: யாழ்ப்பாணம் மாவட்டம் Yāḻppāṇam Māvaṭṭam; Sinhala: යාපනය දිස්ත්‍රික්කය yāpanaya distrikkaya) is one of the 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. The capital of the district is the city of Jaffna.

History

Between the 5th century BC and the 13th century AD present day Jaffna District was part of various Kingdoms such as Pandya, Chola, Pallava, Kalinga, and Rajarata. Jaffna District was thereafter part of the pre-colonial Jaffna kingdom. 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. Jaffna District was part of the Tamil 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. Jaffna District, together with Mannar District and Vanni District, formed the new Northern Province. At the time that Ceylon gained independence, Jaffna was one of the three districts located in the Northern Province. Parts of the district were transferred to newly created Mullaitivu District in September 1978. Kilinochchi District was carved out of the southern part of Jaffna District in February 1984.

Geography

Jaffna District is located in the far north of Sri Lanka in the Northern Province and occupies most of the Jaffna Peninsula. It has an area of 1,025 square kilometres (396 sq mi). It is divided into four areas geographically:

• Thenmarachchi or Thenmaradchi
• Vadamarachchi or Vadamaradchi
• Valikamam
• Jaffna Islands

Administrative units

Jaffna District is divided into 15 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 435 Grama Niladhari Divisions (GN Divisions).

Demographics

Population

Jaffna District's population was 583,378 in 2012. It is one of the most densely populated districts of Sri Lanka. The population of the district is almost exclusively Sri Lankan Tamil.

The population of the district, like the rest of the north and east of Sri Lanka, has been heavily affected by the civil war. The war killed an estimated 100,000 people. Several hundred thousand Sri Lankan Tamils, possibly as much as one million, emigrated to the West during the war. Many Sri Lankan Tamils also moved to the relative safety of the capital Colombo. Most of the Sri Lankan Moors and Sinhalese who lived in the district fled to other parts of Sri Lanka or were forcibly expelled by the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

Ethnicity

Religion

Education

• Nagarkovil Maha Vidyalayam

Politics and government

Local government

Jaffna District has 17 local authorities of which one is a Municipal Council, three are Urban Councils and the remaining 13 are Divisional Councils (Pradesha Sabhai or Pradeshiya Sabha).

Twinned Regions

On 18 October 2016, Jaffna District twinned with the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames in London. This has been a milestone to build “greater understanding and sharing knowledge” in the fields of governance, healthcare and education.

Notes

1. Pre-1984 figures include Kilinochchi District which was carved out of the southern part of Jaffna district in February 1984.
2. Sri Lankan Tamil and Indian Tamil.
3. Sri Lankan Moors and Indian Moors.
4. 2001 Census was not carried out in Jaffna District.
5. Roman Catholic and Other Christian.
6. 2009 for Jaffna Municipal Council.
7. 2009 for Jaffna Municipal Council.
8. Includes TULF.

References

1. "District Secretary - Jaffna". Archived from the original on 6 May 2021. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
2. ^ "Area of Sri Lanka by province and district" (PDF). Statistical Abstract 2011. Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-11-13.
3. ^ "A2 : Population by ethnic group according to districts, 2012". Census of Population & Housing, 2011. Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original on 2017-04-28. Retrieved 2012-11-04.
4. ^ "A3 : Population by religion according to districts, 2012". Census of Population & Housing, 2011. Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original on 2019-01-07. Retrieved 2012-11-04.
5. de Silva, K. M. (1981). A History of Sri Lanka. New Delhi: Oxford University Press. p. xvii.
6. Mills, Lennox A. (1933). Ceylon Under British Rule (1795–1932). London: Oxford University Press. pp. 67–68.
7. Medis, G. C. (1946). Ceylon Under the British (2nd (revised) ed.). Colombo: The Colombo Apothecaries Co. pp. 39–40.
8. ^ "Statistical Information 2012". Northern Provincial Council.
9. "Land area by province, district and divisional secretariat division" (PDF). Statistical Abstract 2011. Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-11-13.
10. "A6 : Population by ethnicity and district according to Divisional Secretary's Division, 2012". Census of Population & Housing, 2011. Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original on 2016-11-01. Retrieved 2012-11-04.
11. "Up to 100,000 killed in Sri Lanka's civil war: UN". ABC News (Australia). 20 May 2009.
12. Harrison, Frances (23 July 2003). "Twenty years on – riots that led to war". BBC News.
13. "Basic Population Information on Jaffna District – 2007" (PDF). Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-11-23. Retrieved 2008-12-20.
14. "Statistical Information 2010" (PDF). Northern Provincial Council.
15. ^ "Enumeration of Vital Events 2011 – Northern Province" (PDF). Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-05-23. Retrieved 2012-03-28.
16. "Population by religion and district, Census 1981, 2001" (PDF). Statistical Abstract 2011. Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-11-13.
17. "Jaffna District in Facts and Figures". Balasundarapillay.P, Rupamoorthy.k. Teepam Institute. Retrieved 21 Oct 2013.
18. Jaffna District Statistical Information 2009. Jaffna District Secretariat. June 2009. p. 32.
19. Hammond, Michael. "International partnerships". www.kingston.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 22 December 2016. Retrieved 2016-12-21.
20. "New ties for borough as Kingston twins with Jaffna in Sri Lanka". Surrey Comet. Retrieved 2016-12-21.

External links

• Jaffna District Secretariat Archived 2018-09-19 at the Wayback Machine

v t e Districts of Sri Lanka
Central Province	Kandy Matale Nuwara Eliya
Eastern Province	Ampara Batticaloa Trincomalee
North Central Province	Anuradhapura Polonnaruwa
Northern Province	Jaffna Kilinochchi Mannar Mullaitivu Vavuniya
North Western Province	Kurunegala Puttalam
Sabaragamuwa Province	Kegalle Ratnapura
Southern Province	Galle Hambantota Matara
Uva Province	Badulla Monaragala
Western Province	Colombo Gampaha Kalutara

v t e Topics on Northern Province, Sri Lanka
History	Jaffna kingdom Vannimai Sri Lankan Tamil nationalism Militancy Tamil Eelam Burning of Jaffna library Civil War
Geography	Cities Divisional Secretariats Jaffna Peninsula National Parks Rivers Towns Vanni Districts Jaffna District Kilinochchi District Mannar District Mullaitivu District Vavuniya District
Politics	Chief Minister Government of the Northern Province Governor Jaffna Electoral District Northern Provincial Council Vanni Electoral District
Economy	Agriculture Buildings and Structures Tourism Transportation Airports Iranamadu Airport Jaffna International Airport Vavuniya Airport Highways A9 A14 A29 A30 A32 A34 A35 Railways Mannar Line Northern Line Yal Devi
Society	Culture Architecture Art Cinema (Sri Lankan Tamil cinema) Education Literature Music Sport Dance Cuisine Festivals Demographics Demographic history Language demographics Education List of schools University of Jaffna Healthcare List of hospitals Jaffna Teaching Hospital Religion Jaffna Diocese of the Church of South India Roman Catholic Diocese of Jaffna Roman Catholic Diocese of Mannar
Symbols	Flag Motto Coat of arms
Category

• Jaffna District
• Districts of Sri Lanka