# Colombo District

Colombo District (Sinhala: කොළඹ දිස්ත්‍රික්කය kol̠am̆ba distrikkaya; Tamil: கொழும்பு மாவட்டம் Koḻumpu Māvaṭṭam) 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 Colombo. The district of Colombo was officially recorded in 2016 as having the highest income on average, per household.

## History

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.

## Geography

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

## Administrative units

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).
| DS Division | Main Town | Divisional Secretary | GN Divisions | Area (km$^2$) |
| Colombo | Colombo | N. H. Rathnayake | 35 | 18 |
| Dehiwala | Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia | K. Champa N. Perera | 15 | 8 |
| Homagama | Homagama | | 81 | 121 |
| Kaduwela | Kaduwela | M. S. P. Suriyapperuma | 57 | 88 |
| Kesbewa | Kesbewa | L. A. Kalukapuarachchi | 73 | 64 |
| Kolonnawa | Kolonnawa | U. W. Senarathna | 46 | 28 |
| Maharagama | Maharagama | K. M. Buddhi Tharanga Karunasena | 41 | 38 |
| Moratuwa | Moratuwa | K. C. Niroshan | 42 | 20 |
| Padukka | Padukka | S. H. Hewage | 46 | 110 |
| Ratmalana | Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia | Pradeep Ratnayaka | 13 | 13 |
| Seethawaka | Avissawella | P. D. S. Wijerathna | 68 | 150 |
| Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte | Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte | Amal J. S. S. Edirisooriya | 20 | 17 |
| Thimbirigasyaya | Colombo | Geethamani C. Karunaratne | 29 | 24 |
| Total | Total | Total | 566 | 699 |

## Cities and Towns

Largest cities or towns in Western Province,Sri Lanka As per the 2012 Census :
| | Rank | | Pop. | |
| Colombo Kaduwela | 1 | Colombo | 693,593 | Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia Maharagama |
| Colombo Kaduwela | 2 | Kaduwela | 252,041 | Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia Maharagama |
| Colombo Kaduwela | 3 | Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia | 233,290 | Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia Maharagama |
| Colombo Kaduwela | 4 | Maharagama | 196,423 | Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia Maharagama |
| Colombo Kaduwela | 5 | Moratuwa | 191,634 | Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia Maharagama |
| Colombo Kaduwela | 6 | Kesbewa | 185,122 | Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia Maharagama |
| Colombo Kaduwela | 7 | Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte | 125,270 | Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia Maharagama |
| Colombo Kaduwela | 8 | Boralesgamuwa | 60,110 | Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia Maharagama |
| Colombo Kaduwela | 9 | Kolonnawa | 60,044 | Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia Maharagama |
| Colombo Kaduwela | 10 | Avissawella | 30,308 | Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia Maharagama |

## Demographics
### 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

Population of Colombo District by ethnic group 1946 to 2012 :
| Year | Sinhalese | Sinhalese | Sri Lankan Moors | Sri Lankan Moors | Sri Lankan Tamil | Sri Lankan Tamil | Indian Tamil | Indian Tamil | Other | Other | Total No. |
| Year | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | Total No. |
| 1946 Census | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1,420,332 |
| 1953 Census | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1,708,726 |
| 1963 Census | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | 2,207,420 |
| 1971 Census | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | 2,672,620 |
| 1981 Census | 1,318,835 | 77.61% | 139,743 | 8.22% | 170,590 | 10.04% | 19,824 | 1.17% | 50,249 | 2.96% | 1,699,241 |
| 2001 Census | 1,724,459 | 76.60% | 202,731 | 9.01% | 247,739 | 11.00% | 24,821 | 1.10% | 51,524 | 2.29% | 2,251,274 |
| 2012 Census | 1,771,319 | 76.69% | 242,728 | 10.51% | 231,318 | 10.01% | 27,336 | 1.18% | 37,108 | 1.61% | 2,309,809 |
| DS Division | Population (2012 Census) | Population (2012 Census) | Population (2012 Census) | Population (2012 Census) | Population (2012 Census) | Population (2012 Census) | Population Density (/km$^2$) |
| DS Division | Sinhalese | Sri Lankan Moors | Sri Lankan Tamil | Indian Tamil | Other | Total | Population Density (/km$^2$) |
| Colombo | 79,468 | 126,345 | 97,690 | 8,635 | 5,910 | 318,048 | 17,669 |
| Dehiwala | 53,182 | 17,870 | 12,917 | 1,240 | 2,625 | 87,834 | 10,979 |
| Homagama | 231,878 | 508 | 1,907 | 460 | 1,426 | 236,179 | 1,952 |
| Kaduwela | 241,104 | 2,011 | 4,605 | 740 | 3,597 | 252,057 | 2,864 |
| Kesbewa | 237,781 | 1,114 | 2,403 | 439 | 2,325 | 244,062 | 3,813 |
| Kolonnawa | 128,623 | 40,412 | 15,934 | 2,101 | 3,747 | 190,817 | 6,815 |
| Maharagama | 187,363 | 1,369 | 3,107 | 529 | 2,987 | 195,355 | 5,141 |
| Moratuwa | 157,901 | 2,683 | 4,802 | 397 | 1,377 | 167,160 | 8,358 |
| Padukka | 62,472 | 998 | 1,238 | 334 | 125 | 65,167 | 592 |
| Ratmalana | 75,181 | 9,005 | 7,852 | 855 | 2,269 | 95,162 | 7,320 |
| Seethawaka | 100,046 | 838 | 5,007 | 7,285 | 301 | 113,477 | 757 |
| Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte | 91,268 | 5,207 | 7,503 | 801 | 2,729 | 107,508 | 6,324 |
| Thimbirigasyaya | 125,052 | 34,368 | 66,353 | 3,520 | 7,690 | 236,983 | 9,874 |
| Total | 1,771,319 | 242,728 | 231,318 | 27,336 | 37,108 | 2,309,809 | 3,304 |

### Religion

Religion in Colombo District (2011)
Population of Colombo District by religion 1981 to 2012 :
| Year | Buddhist | Buddhist | Muslim | Muslim | Christian | Christian | Hindu | Hindu | Other | Other | Total No. |
| Year | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | Total No. |
| 1981 Census | 1,196,964 | 70.44% | 168,863 | 9.94% | 200,545 | 11.80% | 130,215 | 7.66% | 2,654 | 0.16% | 1,699,241 |
| 2001 Census | 1,578,248 | 70.10% | 241,944 | 10.75% | 233,254 | 10.36% | 194,743 | 8.65% | 3,085 | 0.14% | 2,251,274 |
| 2012 Census | 1,631,999 | 70.66% | 271,719 | 11.76% | 220,711 | 9.56% | 182,342 | 7.89% | 3,038 | 0.13% | 2,309,809 |