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<span>Geography</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Geography-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Administrative_units,_cities_and_towns" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Administrative_units,_cities_and_towns"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3</span> <span>Administrative units, cities and towns</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Administrative_units,_cities_and_towns-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Administrative units, cities and towns subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Administrative_units,_cities_and_towns-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Administrative_units" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Administrative_units"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.1</span> <span>Administrative units</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Administrative_units-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Major_cities_and_towns" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Major_cities_and_towns"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.2</span> <span>Major cities and towns</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Major_cities_and_towns-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Demographics" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Demographics"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4</span> <span>Demographics</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Demographics-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Demographics subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Demographics-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Population" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Population"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.1</span> <span>Population</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Population-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Ethnicity" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Ethnicity"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.2</span> <span>Ethnicity</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Ethnicity-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Religion" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Religion"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.3</span> <span>Religion</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Religion-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Economy" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Economy"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5</span> <span>Economy</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Economy-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Government_and_politics" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Government_and_politics"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6</span> <span>Government and politics</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Government_and_politics-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Government and politics subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Government_and_politics-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Provincial_council" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Provincial_council"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6.1</span> <span>Provincial council</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Provincial_council-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-See_also" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#See_also"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">7</span> <span>See also</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-See_also-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Notes" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Notes"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">8</span> <span>Notes</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Notes-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-References" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#References"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">9</span> <span>References</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-References-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-External_links" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#External_links"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">10</span> <span>External links</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-External_links-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="mw-content-container"> <main id="content" class="mw-body"> <header class="mw-body-header vector-page-titlebar"> <nav aria-label="Contents" class="vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-titlebar-toc vector-button-flush-left" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Toggle the table of contents" > <label id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-label" for="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-listBullet mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-listBullet"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Toggle the table of contents</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <h1 id="firstHeading" class="firstHeading mw-first-heading"><span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern Province, Sri Lanka</span></h1> <div id="p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown mw-portlet mw-portlet-lang" > <input type="checkbox" id="p-lang-btn-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox mw-interlanguage-selector" aria-label="Go to an article in another language. Available in 32 languages" > <label id="p-lang-btn-label" for="p-lang-btn-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--action-progressive mw-portlet-lang-heading-32" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-language-progressive mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-language-progressive"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">32 languages</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ar mw-list-item"><a href="https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%AD%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%B8%D8%A9_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D8%B1%D9%82%D9%8A%D8%A9_(%D8%B3%D8%B1%D9%8A%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%83%D8%A7)" title="المحافظة الشرقية (سريلانكا) – Arabic" lang="ar" hreflang="ar" data-title="المحافظة الشرقية (سريلانكا)" data-language-autonym="العربية" data-language-local-name="Arabic" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>العربية</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-bn mw-list-item"><a href="https://bn.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A6%AA%E0%A7%82%E0%A6%B0%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%AC%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%9E%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%9A%E0%A6%B2_%E0%A6%AA%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%B0%E0%A6%A6%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%B6,_%E0%A6%B6%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%B0%E0%A7%80%E0%A6%B2%E0%A6%99%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%95%E0%A6%BE" title="পূর্বাঞ্চল প্রদেশ, শ্রীলঙ্কা – Bangla" lang="bn" hreflang="bn" data-title="পূর্বাঞ্চল প্রদেশ, শ্রীলঙ্কা" data-language-autonym="বাংলা" data-language-local-name="Bangla" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>বাংলা</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-bg mw-list-item"><a href="https://bg.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%98%D0%B7%D1%82%D0%BE%D1%87%D0%BD%D0%B0_%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%BD%D1%86%D0%B8%D1%8F_(%D0%A8%D1%80%D0%B8_%D0%9B%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%BA%D0%B0)" title="Източна провинция (Шри Ланка) – Bulgarian" lang="bg" hreflang="bg" data-title="Източна провинция (Шри Ланка)" data-language-autonym="Български" data-language-local-name="Bulgarian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Български</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ceb mw-list-item"><a href="https://ceb.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Province_(lalawigan_sa_Sri_Lanka)" title="Eastern Province (lalawigan sa Sri Lanka) – Cebuano" lang="ceb" hreflang="ceb" data-title="Eastern Province (lalawigan sa Sri Lanka)" data-language-autonym="Cebuano" data-language-local-name="Cebuano" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Cebuano</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-de mw-list-item"><a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ostprovinz_(Sri_Lanka)" title="Ostprovinz (Sri Lanka) – German" lang="de" hreflang="de" data-title="Ostprovinz (Sri Lanka)" data-language-autonym="Deutsch" data-language-local-name="German" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Deutsch</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-es mw-list-item"><a href="https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provincia_Oriental_(Sri_Lanka)" title="Provincia Oriental (Sri Lanka) – Spanish" lang="es" hreflang="es" data-title="Provincia Oriental (Sri Lanka)" data-language-autonym="Español" data-language-local-name="Spanish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Español</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-eo mw-list-item"><a href="https://eo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orienta_Provinco_(Srilanko)" title="Orienta Provinco (Srilanko) – Esperanto" lang="eo" hreflang="eo" data-title="Orienta Provinco (Srilanko)" data-language-autonym="Esperanto" data-language-local-name="Esperanto" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Esperanto</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fa mw-list-item"><a href="https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%A7%D9%86_%D8%B4%D8%B1%D9%82%DB%8C_(%D8%B3%D8%B1%DB%8C%E2%80%8C%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%86%DA%A9%D8%A7)" title="استان شرقی (سری‌لانکا) – Persian" lang="fa" hreflang="fa" data-title="استان شرقی (سری‌لانکا)" data-language-autonym="فارسی" data-language-local-name="Persian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>فارسی</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fr mw-list-item"><a href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Province_de_l%27Est_(Sri_Lanka)" title="Province de l'Est (Sri Lanka) – French" lang="fr" hreflang="fr" data-title="Province de l'Est (Sri Lanka)" data-language-autonym="Français" data-language-local-name="French" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Français</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ko mw-list-item"><a href="https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%EB%8F%99%EB%B6%80%EC%A3%BC_(%EC%8A%A4%EB%A6%AC%EB%9E%91%EC%B9%B4)" title="동부주 (스리랑카) – Korean" lang="ko" hreflang="ko" data-title="동부주 (스리랑카)" data-language-autonym="한국어" data-language-local-name="Korean" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>한국어</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-hi mw-list-item"><a href="https://hi.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A4%AA%E0%A5%82%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B5%E0%A5%80_%E0%A4%AA%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%A8%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%A4,_%E0%A4%B6%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%80%E0%A4%B2%E0%A4%82%E0%A4%95%E0%A4%BE" title="पूर्वी प्रान्त, श्रीलंका – Hindi" lang="hi" hreflang="hi" data-title="पूर्वी प्रान्त, श्रीलंका" data-language-autonym="हिन्दी" data-language-local-name="Hindi" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>हिन्दी</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-id mw-list-item"><a href="https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provinsi_Timur,_Sri_Lanka" title="Provinsi Timur, Sri Lanka – Indonesian" lang="id" hreflang="id" data-title="Provinsi Timur, Sri Lanka" data-language-autonym="Bahasa Indonesia" data-language-local-name="Indonesian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Bahasa Indonesia</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-it mw-list-item"><a href="https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provincia_Orientale_(Sri_Lanka)" title="Provincia Orientale (Sri Lanka) – Italian" lang="it" hreflang="it" data-title="Provincia Orientale (Sri Lanka)" data-language-autonym="Italiano" data-language-local-name="Italian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Italiano</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ka mw-list-item"><a href="https://ka.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E1%83%90%E1%83%A6%E1%83%9B%E1%83%9D%E1%83%A1%E1%83%90%E1%83%95%E1%83%9A%E1%83%94%E1%83%97%E1%83%98_%E1%83%9E%E1%83%A0%E1%83%9D%E1%83%95%E1%83%98%E1%83%9C%E1%83%AA%E1%83%98%E1%83%90_(%E1%83%A8%E1%83%A0%E1%83%98-%E1%83%9A%E1%83%90%E1%83%9C%E1%83%99%E1%83%90)" title="აღმოსავლეთი პროვინცია (შრი-ლანკა) – Georgian" lang="ka" hreflang="ka" data-title="აღმოსავლეთი პროვინცია (შრი-ლანკა)" data-language-autonym="ქართული" data-language-local-name="Georgian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>ქართული</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-mr mw-list-item"><a href="https://mr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A4%AA%E0%A5%82%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B5_%E0%A4%AA%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%82%E0%A4%A4,_%E0%A4%B6%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%80%E0%A4%B2%E0%A4%82%E0%A4%95%E0%A4%BE" title="पूर्व प्रांत, श्रीलंका – Marathi" lang="mr" hreflang="mr" data-title="पूर्व प्रांत, श्रीलंका" data-language-autonym="मराठी" data-language-local-name="Marathi" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>मराठी</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-nl mw-list-item"><a href="https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oostelijke_Provincie" title="Oostelijke Provincie – Dutch" lang="nl" hreflang="nl" data-title="Oostelijke Provincie" data-language-autonym="Nederlands" data-language-local-name="Dutch" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Nederlands</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ne mw-list-item"><a href="https://ne.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A4%AA%E0%A5%82%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B5%E0%A5%80_%E0%A4%AA%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%A6%E0%A5%87%E0%A4%B6_(%E0%A4%B6%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%80%E0%A4%B2%E0%A4%99%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%95%E0%A4%BE)" title="पूर्वी प्रदेश (श्रीलङ्का) – Nepali" lang="ne" hreflang="ne" data-title="पूर्वी प्रदेश (श्रीलङ्का)" data-language-autonym="नेपाली" data-language-local-name="Nepali" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>नेपाली</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ja mw-list-item"><a href="https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%9D%B1%E9%83%A8%E5%B7%9E_(%E3%82%B9%E3%83%AA%E3%83%A9%E3%83%B3%E3%82%AB)" title="東部州 (スリランカ) – Japanese" lang="ja" hreflang="ja" data-title="東部州 (スリランカ)" data-language-autonym="日本語" data-language-local-name="Japanese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>日本語</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-frr mw-list-item"><a href="https://frr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uast_Prowins_(Sri_Lanka)" title="Uast Prowins (Sri Lanka) – Northern Frisian" lang="frr" hreflang="frr" data-title="Uast Prowins (Sri Lanka)" data-language-autonym="Nordfriisk" data-language-local-name="Northern Frisian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Nordfriisk</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pl mw-list-item"><a href="https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prowincja_Wschodnia_(Sri_Lanka)" title="Prowincja Wschodnia (Sri Lanka) – Polish" lang="pl" hreflang="pl" data-title="Prowincja Wschodnia (Sri Lanka)" data-language-autonym="Polski" data-language-local-name="Polish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Polski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pt mw-list-item"><a href="https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prov%C3%ADncia_Oriental_(Seri_Lanca)" title="Província Oriental (Seri Lanca) – Portuguese" lang="pt" hreflang="pt" data-title="Província Oriental (Seri Lanca)" data-language-autonym="Português" data-language-local-name="Portuguese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Português</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ru mw-list-item"><a href="https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%92%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%82%D0%BE%D1%87%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%8F_%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%BD%D1%86%D0%B8%D1%8F_(%D0%A8%D1%80%D0%B8-%D0%9B%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%BA%D0%B0)" title="Восточная провинция (Шри-Ланка) – Russian" lang="ru" hreflang="ru" data-title="Восточная провинция (Шри-Ланка)" data-language-autonym="Русский" data-language-local-name="Russian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Русский</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-si mw-list-item"><a href="https://si.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B6%B1%E0%B7%90%E0%B6%9C%E0%B7%99%E0%B6%B1%E0%B7%84%E0%B7%92%E0%B6%BB_%E0%B6%B4%E0%B7%85%E0%B7%8F%E0%B6%AD,_%E0%B7%81%E0%B7%8A%E2%80%8D%E0%B6%BB%E0%B7%93_%E0%B6%BD%E0%B6%82%E0%B6%9A%E0%B7%8F%E0%B7%80" title="නැගෙනහිර පළාත, ශ්‍රී ලංකාව – Sinhala" lang="si" hreflang="si" data-title="නැගෙනහිර පළාත, ශ්‍රී ලංකාව" data-language-autonym="සිංහල" data-language-local-name="Sinhala" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>සිංහල</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-simple mw-list-item"><a href="https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Province,_Sri_Lanka" title="Eastern Province, Sri Lanka – Simple English" lang="en-simple" hreflang="en-simple" data-title="Eastern Province, Sri Lanka" data-language-autonym="Simple English" data-language-local-name="Simple English" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Simple English</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fi mw-list-item"><a href="https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sri_Lankan_it%C3%A4inen_provinssi" title="Sri Lankan itäinen provinssi – Finnish" lang="fi" hreflang="fi" data-title="Sri Lankan itäinen provinssi" data-language-autonym="Suomi" data-language-local-name="Finnish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Suomi</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sv mw-list-item"><a href="https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%96stprovinsen,_Sri_Lanka" title="Östprovinsen, Sri Lanka – Swedish" lang="sv" hreflang="sv" data-title="Östprovinsen, Sri Lanka" data-language-autonym="Svenska" data-language-local-name="Swedish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Svenska</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ta mw-list-item"><a href="https://ta.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%AE%95%E0%AE%BF%E0%AE%B4%E0%AE%95%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%95%E0%AF%81_%E0%AE%AE%E0%AE%BE%E0%AE%95%E0%AE%BE%E0%AE%A3%E0%AE%AE%E0%AF%8D,_%E0%AE%87%E0%AE%B2%E0%AE%99%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%95%E0%AF%88" title="கிழக்கு மாகாணம், இலங்கை – Tamil" lang="ta" hreflang="ta" data-title="கிழக்கு மாகாணம், இலங்கை" data-language-autonym="தமிழ்" data-language-local-name="Tamil" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>தமிழ்</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-uk mw-list-item"><a href="https://uk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A1%D1%85%D1%96%D0%B4%D0%BD%D0%B0_%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B2%D1%96%D0%BD%D1%86%D1%96%D1%8F_(%D0%A8%D1%80%D1%96-%D0%9B%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%BA%D0%B0)" title="Східна провінція (Шрі-Ланка) – 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data-mw-ve-target-container> <div class="vector-body-before-content"> <div class="mw-indicators"> <div id="mw-indicator-coordinates" class="mw-indicator"><div class="mw-parser-output"><span id="coordinates"><a href="/wiki/Geographic_coordinate_system" title="Geographic coordinate system">Coordinates</a>: <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1156832818">.mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct,.mw-parser-output .geo-inline-hidden{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}</style><span class="plainlinks nourlexpansion"><a class="external text" href="https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=Eastern_Province,_Sri_Lanka&params=07_55_N_81_30_E_region:LK_type:adm1st"><span class="geo-default"><span class="geo-dms" title="Maps, aerial photos, and other data for this location"><span class="latitude">07°55′N</span> <span class="longitude">81°30′E</span></span></span><span class="geo-multi-punct"> / </span><span class="geo-nondefault"><span class="geo-dec" title="Maps, aerial photos, and other data for this location">7.917°N 81.500°E</span><span style="display:none"> / <span class="geo">7.917; 81.500</span></span></span></a></span></span></div></div> </div> <div id="siteSub" class="noprint">From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</div> </div> <div id="contentSub"><div id="mw-content-subtitle"></div></div> <div id="mw-content-text" class="mw-body-content"><div class="mw-content-ltr mw-parser-output" lang="en" dir="ltr"><div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none">Province in Sri Lanka</div> <div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none">Province in Sri Lanka</div><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1257001546">.mw-parser-output .infobox-subbox{padding:0;border:none;margin:-3px;width:auto;min-width:100%;font-size:100%;clear:none;float:none;background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .infobox-3cols-child{margin:auto}.mw-parser-output .infobox .navbar{font-size:100%}@media screen{html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data:not(.notheme)>div:not(.notheme)[style]{background:#1f1f23!important;color:#f8f9fa}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data:not(.notheme) div:not(.notheme){background:#1f1f23!important;color:#f8f9fa}}@media(min-width:640px){body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table{display:table!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table>caption{display:table-caption!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table>tbody{display:table-row-group}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table tr{display:table-row!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table th,body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table td{padding-left:inherit;padding-right:inherit}}</style><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1043192559">.mw-parser-output .ib-settlement{width:23em;border-collapse:collapse;line-height:1.2em}.mw-parser-output .ib-settlement td,.mw-parser-output .ib-settlement th{border-top:1px solid #a2a9b1;padding:0.4em 0.6em 0.4em 0.6em}.mw-parser-output .ib-settlement .mergedtoprow .infobox-full-data,.mw-parser-output .ib-settlement .mergedtoprow .infobox-header,.mw-parser-output .ib-settlement .mergedtoprow .infobox-data,.mw-parser-output .ib-settlement .mergedtoprow .infobox-label,.mw-parser-output .ib-settlement .mergedtoprow .infobox-below{border-top:1px solid #a2a9b1;padding:0.4em 0.6em 0.2em 0.6em}.mw-parser-output .ib-settlement .mergedrow .infobox-full-data,.mw-parser-output .ib-settlement .mergedrow .infobox-data,.mw-parser-output .ib-settlement .mergedrow .infobox-label{border:0;padding:0 0.6em 0.2em 0.6em}.mw-parser-output .ib-settlement .mergedbottomrow .infobox-full-data,.mw-parser-output .ib-settlement .mergedbottomrow .infobox-data,.mw-parser-output .ib-settlement .mergedbottomrow .infobox-label{border-top:0;border-bottom:1px solid #a2a9b1;padding:0 0.6em 0.4em 0.6em}.mw-parser-output .ib-settlement .maptable{border:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .ib-settlement .infobox-header,.mw-parser-output .ib-settlement .infobox-below{text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .ib-settlement .infobox-above{font-size:125%;line-height:1.3em}.mw-parser-output .ib-settlement .infobox-subheader{background-color:#cddeff;font-weight:bold}.mw-parser-output .ib-settlement-native{font-weight:normal;padding-top:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .ib-settlement-other-name{font-size:78%}.mw-parser-output .ib-settlement-official{font-weight:bold}.mw-parser-output .ib-settlement-caption{padding:0.3em 0 0 0}.mw-parser-output .ib-settlement-caption-link{padding:0.2em 0}.mw-parser-output .ib-settlement-nickname{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .ib-settlement-fn{font-weight:normal;display:inline}</style><table class="infobox ib-settlement vcard"><tbody><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-above"><div class="fn org">Eastern Province</div> <div class="nickname ib-settlement-native"><span title="Tamil-language text"><span lang="ta">கிழக்கு மாகாணம்</span></span><br /><span title="Sinhala-language text"><span lang="si">නැගෙනහිර පළාත</span></span></div></th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-subheader"><div class="category"><a href="/wiki/Provinces_of_Sri_Lanka" title="Provinces of Sri Lanka">Province</a></div></td></tr><tr class="mergedtoprow"><td colspan="2" class="infobox-full-data"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Batticaloa_lagoon,_sunset.jpg" class="mw-file-description" title="Sunset over Batticaloa Lagoon"><img alt="Sunset over Batticaloa Lagoon" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f7/Batticaloa_lagoon%2C_sunset.jpg/250px-Batticaloa_lagoon%2C_sunset.jpg" decoding="async" width="250" height="167" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f7/Batticaloa_lagoon%2C_sunset.jpg/375px-Batticaloa_lagoon%2C_sunset.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f7/Batticaloa_lagoon%2C_sunset.jpg/500px-Batticaloa_lagoon%2C_sunset.jpg 2x" data-file-width="3000" data-file-height="2000" /></a></span><div class="ib-settlement-caption">Sunset over <a href="/wiki/Batticaloa_Lagoon" title="Batticaloa Lagoon">Batticaloa Lagoon</a></div></td></tr><tr class="mergedtoprow"><td colspan="2" class="infobox-full-data maptable"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1028600610">.mw-parser-output .ib-settlement-cols{text-align:center;display:table;width:100%}.mw-parser-output .ib-settlement-cols-row{display:table-row}.mw-parser-output .ib-settlement-cols-cell{display:table-cell;vertical-align:middle}.mw-parser-output .ib-settlement-cols-cellt{display:table-cell;vertical-align:top}</style> <div class="ib-settlement-cols"> <div class="ib-settlement-cols-row"><div class="ib-settlement-cols-cell"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Eastern_Province_Flag_(SRI_LANKA).png" class="mw-file-description" title="Flag of Eastern Province"><img alt="Flag of Eastern Province" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dd/Eastern_Province_Flag_%28SRI_LANKA%29.png/100px-Eastern_Province_Flag_%28SRI_LANKA%29.png" decoding="async" width="100" height="63" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dd/Eastern_Province_Flag_%28SRI_LANKA%29.png/150px-Eastern_Province_Flag_%28SRI_LANKA%29.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dd/Eastern_Province_Flag_%28SRI_LANKA%29.png/200px-Eastern_Province_Flag_%28SRI_LANKA%29.png 2x" data-file-width="813" data-file-height="509" /></a></span><div class="ib-settlement-caption-link"><a href="/wiki/Flag_of_Eastern_Province,_Sri_Lanka" title="Flag of Eastern Province, Sri Lanka">Flag</a></div></div></div></div></td></tr><tr class="mergedtoprow"><td colspan="2" class="infobox-full-data"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Sri_Lanka_Eastern_Province_locator_map.svg" class="mw-file-description" title="Location within Sri Lanka"><img alt="Location within Sri Lanka" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9d/Sri_Lanka_Eastern_Province_locator_map.svg/250px-Sri_Lanka_Eastern_Province_locator_map.svg.png" decoding="async" width="250" height="324" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9d/Sri_Lanka_Eastern_Province_locator_map.svg/375px-Sri_Lanka_Eastern_Province_locator_map.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9d/Sri_Lanka_Eastern_Province_locator_map.svg/500px-Sri_Lanka_Eastern_Province_locator_map.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="612" data-file-height="792" /></a></span><div class="ib-settlement-caption">Location within Sri Lanka</div></td></tr><tr class="mergedbottomrow"><td colspan="2" class="infobox-full-data">Coordinates: <span class="geo-inline"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1156832818">.mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct,.mw-parser-output .geo-inline-hidden{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}</style><span class="plainlinks nourlexpansion"><a class="external text" href="https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=Eastern_Province,_Sri_Lanka&params=07_55_N_81_30_E_region:LK_type:adm1st"><span class="geo-default"><span class="geo-dms" title="Maps, aerial photos, and other data for this location"><span class="latitude">07°55′N</span> <span class="longitude">81°30′E</span></span></span><span class="geo-multi-punct"> / </span><span class="geo-nondefault"><span class="geo-dec" title="Maps, aerial photos, and other data for this location">7.917°N 81.500°E</span><span style="display:none"> / <span class="geo">7.917; 81.500</span></span></span></a></span></span></td></tr><tr class="mergedtoprow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Country</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/wiki/Sri_Lanka" title="Sri Lanka">Sri Lanka</a></td></tr><tr class="mergedtoprow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Created</th><td class="infobox-data">1 October 1833</td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><a href="/wiki/Provincial_councils_of_Sri_Lanka" class="mw-redirect" title="Provincial councils of Sri Lanka">Provincial council</a></th><td class="infobox-data">14 November 1987</td></tr><tr class="mergedtoprow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Capital</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/wiki/Trincomalee" title="Trincomalee">Trincomalee</a></td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Largest City</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/wiki/Kalmunai" title="Kalmunai">Kalmunai</a></td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Cities & Towns</th><td class="infobox-data"><div class="collapsible-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="text-align: left;"> <div style="line-height: 1.6em; font-weight: bold;"><div>List</div></div> <ul class="mw-collapsible-content" style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0; line-height: inherit; list-style: none; margin-left: 0;"><li style="line-height: inherit; margin: 0"> * <a href="/wiki/Batticaloa" title="Batticaloa">Batticaloa</a> </li><li style="line-height: inherit; margin: 0"> * <a href="/wiki/Ampara" title="Ampara">Ampara</a> </li><li style="line-height: inherit; margin: 0"> * <a href="/wiki/Kattankudy" title="Kattankudy">Kattankudy</a> </li><li style="line-height: inherit; margin: 0"> * <a href="/wiki/Eravur" title="Eravur">Eravur</a> </li><li style="line-height: inherit; margin: 0"> * <a href="/wiki/Akkaraipattu" title="Akkaraipattu">Akkaraipattu</a> </li><li style="line-height: inherit; margin: 0"> * <a href="/wiki/Pottuvil" title="Pottuvil">Pottuvil</a> </li><li style="line-height: inherit; margin: 0"> * <a href="/wiki/Sammanthurai" title="Sammanthurai">Sammanthurai</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><a href="/wiki/Districts_of_Sri_Lanka" title="Districts of Sri Lanka">Districts</a></th><td class="infobox-data"><div class="collapsible-list mw-collapsible" style="text-align: left;"> <div style="line-height: 1.6em; font-weight: bold;"><div>List</div></div> <ul class="mw-collapsible-content" style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0; line-height: inherit; list-style: none; margin-left: 0;"><li style="line-height: inherit; margin: 0"><a href="/wiki/Ampara_District" title="Ampara District">Ampara</a></li><li style="line-height: inherit; margin: 0"><a href="/wiki/Batticaloa_District" title="Batticaloa District">Batticaloa</a></li><li style="line-height: inherit; margin: 0"><a href="/wiki/Trincomalee_District" title="Trincomalee District">Trincomalee</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr class="mergedtoprow"><th colspan="2" class="infobox-header">Government<div class="ib-settlement-fn"></div></th></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"> • Type</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/wiki/Provincial_council_(Sri_Lanka)" class="mw-redirect" title="Provincial council (Sri Lanka)">Provincial council</a></td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"> • Body</th><td class="infobox-data agent"><a href="/wiki/Eastern_Provincial_Council" title="Eastern Provincial Council">Eastern Provincial Council</a></td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"> • <a href="/wiki/List_of_Governors_of_Eastern_Province" class="mw-redirect" title="List of Governors of Eastern Province">Governor</a></th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/wiki/Jayantha_Lal_Ratnasekera" title="Jayantha Lal Ratnasekera">Jayantha Lal Ratnasekera</a></td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"> • <a href="/wiki/Parliament_of_Sri_Lanka" title="Parliament of Sri Lanka">MPs</a></th><td class="infobox-data"><div class="collapsible-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="text-align: left;"> <div style="line-height: 1.6em; font-weight: bold;"><div>List</div></div> <ul class="mw-collapsible-content" style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0; line-height: inherit; list-style: none; margin-left: 0;"><li style="line-height: inherit; margin: 0"> <a href="/wiki/P._Ariyanethiran" title="P. Ariyanethiran">P. Ariyanethiran</a> </li><li style="line-height: inherit; margin: 0"> <a href="/wiki/S._M._M._Muszhaaraff" title="S. M. M. Muszhaaraff">S. M. M. Muszhaaraff</a> </li><li style="line-height: inherit; margin: 0"> <a href="/wiki/A._L._M._Athaullah" title="A. L. M. Athaullah">A. L. M. Athaullah</a> </li><li style="line-height: inherit; margin: 0"> <a href="/wiki/P._Dayaratna" title="P. Dayaratna">P. Dayaratna</a> </li><li style="line-height: inherit; margin: 0"> <a href="/wiki/Cassim_Faizal" title="Cassim Faizal">Cassim Faizal</a> </li><li style="line-height: inherit; margin: 0"> M. K. A. S. Gunawardena </li><li style="line-height: inherit; margin: 0"> <a href="/wiki/H._M._M._Harees" title="H. M. M. Harees">H. M. M. Harees</a> </li><li style="line-height: inherit; margin: 0"> <a href="/wiki/M._L._A._M._Hisbullah" class="mw-redirect" title="M. L. A. M. Hisbullah">M. L. A. M. Hisbullah</a> </li><li style="line-height: inherit; margin: 0"> <a href="/wiki/Podiappuhamy_Piyasena" title="Podiappuhamy Piyasena">Podiappuhamy Piyasena</a> </li><li style="line-height: inherit; margin: 0"> <a href="/wiki/Susantha_Punchinilame" title="Susantha Punchinilame">Susantha Punchinilame</a> </li><li style="line-height: inherit; margin: 0"> <a href="/wiki/R._Sampanthan" title="R. Sampanthan">R. Sampanthan</a> </li><li style="line-height: inherit; margin: 0"> <a href="/wiki/Basheer_Segu_Dawood" title="Basheer Segu Dawood">Basheer Segu Dawood</a> </li><li style="line-height: inherit; margin: 0"> <a href="/wiki/P._Selvarasa" title="P. Selvarasa">P. Selvarasa</a> </li><li style="line-height: inherit; margin: 0"> <a href="/wiki/M._S._Thowfeek" title="M. S. Thowfeek">M. S. Thowfeek</a> </li><li style="line-height: inherit; margin: 0"> <a href="/wiki/Imran_Maharoof" title="Imran Maharoof">Imran Maharoof</a> </li><li style="line-height: inherit; margin: 0"> <a href="/wiki/Sriyani_Wijewickrama" title="Sriyani Wijewickrama">Sriyani Wijewickrama</a> </li><li style="line-height: inherit; margin: 0"> <a href="/wiki/S._Yogeswaran" title="S. Yogeswaran">S. Yogeswaran</a> </li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr class="mergedtoprow"><th colspan="2" class="infobox-header">Area<div class="ib-settlement-fn"><sup id="cite_ref-area_1-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-area-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></div></th></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><div style="white-space:nowrap;"> • Total</div></th><td class="infobox-data">9,996 km<sup>2</sup> (3,859 sq mi)</td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"> • Land</th><td class="infobox-data">9,361 km<sup>2</sup> (3,614 sq mi)</td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"> • Water</th><td class="infobox-data">635 km<sup>2</sup> (245 sq mi)  6.35%</td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"> • Rank</th><td class="infobox-data">2nd (15.24% of total area)</td></tr><tr class="mergedtoprow"><th colspan="2" class="infobox-header">Population<div class="ib-settlement-fn"><span class="nowrap"> </span>(2012 census)<sup id="cite_ref-2012eth_2-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2012eth-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></div></th></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><div style="white-space:nowrap;"> • Total</div></th><td class="infobox-data">1,551,381</td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"> • Rank</th><td class="infobox-data">6th (7.66% of total pop.)</td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"> • Density</th><td class="infobox-data">160/km<sup>2</sup> (400/sq mi)</td></tr><tr class="mergedtoprow"><th colspan="2" class="infobox-header"><a href="/wiki/Demographics_of_Sri_Lanka#People" title="Demographics of Sri Lanka">Ethnicity</a><div class="ib-settlement-fn">(2012 census)<sup id="cite_ref-2012eth_2-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2012eth-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></div></th></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"> • <a href="/wiki/Sri_Lankan_Tamil_people" class="mw-redirect" title="Sri Lankan Tamil people">Sri Lankan Tamil</a></th><td class="infobox-data">609,584 (39.29%)</td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"> • <a href="/wiki/Sri_Lankan_Moors" title="Sri Lankan Moors">Sri Lankan Moors</a></th><td class="infobox-data">569,182 (36.69%)</td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"> • <a href="/wiki/Sinhalese_people" title="Sinhalese people">Sinhalese</a></th><td class="infobox-data">359,136 (23.15%)</td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"> • <a href="/wiki/Indian_Tamils_of_Sri_Lanka" title="Indian Tamils of Sri Lanka">Indian Tamil</a></th><td class="infobox-data">7,711 (0.50%)</td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"> • Other</th><td class="infobox-data">5,768 (0.37%)</td></tr><tr class="mergedtoprow"><th colspan="2" class="infobox-header"><a href="/wiki/Religion_in_Sri_Lanka" title="Religion in Sri Lanka">Religion</a><div class="ib-settlement-fn">(2012 census)<sup id="cite_ref-2012rel_3-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2012rel-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></div></th></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"> • <a href="/wiki/Islam_in_Sri_Lanka" title="Islam in Sri Lanka">Muslim</a></th><td class="infobox-data">575,936 (37.12%)</td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"> • <a href="/wiki/Hinduism_in_Sri_Lanka" title="Hinduism in Sri Lanka">Hindu</a></th><td class="infobox-data">539,570 (34.78%)</td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"> • <a href="/wiki/Buddhism_in_Sri_Lanka" title="Buddhism in Sri Lanka">Buddhist</a></th><td class="infobox-data">354,772 (22.87%)</td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"> • <a href="/wiki/Christianity_in_Sri_Lanka" title="Christianity in Sri Lanka">Christian</a></th><td class="infobox-data">80,801 (5.21%)</td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"> • Other</th><td class="infobox-data">302 (0.02%)</td></tr><tr class="mergedtoprow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><a href="/wiki/Time_zone" title="Time zone">Time zone</a></th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/wiki/UTC%2B05:30" title="UTC+05:30">UTC+05:30</a> (Sri Lanka)</td></tr><tr class="mergedtoprow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><a href="/wiki/Postal_codes_in_Sri_Lanka" title="Postal codes in Sri Lanka">Post Codes</a></th><td class="infobox-data adr"><div class="postal-code">30000-32999</div></td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><a href="/wiki/List_of_Sri_Lanka_telephone_codes" class="mw-redirect" title="List of Sri Lanka telephone codes">Telephone Codes</a></th><td class="infobox-data">026, 063, 065, 067</td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><a href="/wiki/ISO_3166" title="ISO 3166">ISO 3166 code</a></th><td class="infobox-data nickname">LK-5</td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><a href="/wiki/Vehicle_registration_plate" title="Vehicle registration plate">Vehicle registration</a></th><td class="infobox-data">EP</td></tr><tr class="mergedtoprow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Official Languages</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/wiki/Tamil_language" title="Tamil language">Tamil</a>, <a href="/wiki/Sinhalese_language" class="mw-redirect" title="Sinhalese language">Sinhalese</a></td></tr><tr class="mergedtoprow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Website</th><td class="infobox-data"><span class="url"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.ep.gov.lk">www<wbr />.ep<wbr />.gov<wbr />.lk</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table> <p>The <b>Eastern Province</b> (<a href="/wiki/Tamil_language" title="Tamil language">Tamil</a>: <span lang="ta">கிழக்கு மாகாணம்</span> <i>Kiḻakku Mākāṇam</i>; <a href="/wiki/Sinhala_language" title="Sinhala language">Sinhala</a>: <span lang="si">නැගෙනහිර පළාත</span> <i>Næ̆gĕnahira Paḷāta</i>) is one of the nine <a href="/wiki/Provinces_of_Sri_Lanka" title="Provinces of Sri Lanka">provinces of Sri Lanka</a>, the first level <a href="/wiki/Administrative_division" title="Administrative division">administrative division</a> of the country. The provinces have existed since the 19th century but did not have any <a href="/wiki/Legal_status" title="Legal status">legal status</a> until 1987 when the <a href="/wiki/13th_Amendment_to_the_Constitution_of_Sri_Lanka" class="mw-redirect" title="13th Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka">13th Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka</a> established <a href="/wiki/Provincial_Councils_(Sri_Lanka)" class="mw-redirect" title="Provincial Councils (Sri Lanka)">provincial councils</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-GOSL_5-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-GOSL-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Between 1988 and 2006 the province was temporarily <a href="/wiki/Merger_(politics)" title="Merger (politics)">merged</a> with the <a href="/wiki/Northern_Province,_Sri_Lanka" title="Northern Province, Sri Lanka">Northern Province</a> to form the <a href="/wiki/North_Eastern_Province,_Sri_Lanka" title="North Eastern Province, Sri Lanka">North Eastern Province</a>. The <a href="/wiki/Capital_city" title="Capital city">capital</a> of the province is <a href="/wiki/Trincomalee" title="Trincomalee">Trincomalee</a>. <a href="/wiki/Kalmunai" title="Kalmunai">Kalmunai</a> is the largest and most populous city of Eastern Province. </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="History">History</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Eastern_Province,_Sri_Lanka&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: History"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Batticaloa_Portuguese_(dutch)_fort.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c3/Batticaloa_Portuguese_%28dutch%29_fort.jpg/250px-Batticaloa_Portuguese_%28dutch%29_fort.jpg" decoding="async" width="250" height="151" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c3/Batticaloa_Portuguese_%28dutch%29_fort.jpg/375px-Batticaloa_Portuguese_%28dutch%29_fort.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c3/Batticaloa_Portuguese_%28dutch%29_fort.jpg/500px-Batticaloa_Portuguese_%28dutch%29_fort.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1500" data-file-height="904" /></a><figcaption><a href="/wiki/Batticaloa_Fort" class="mw-redirect" title="Batticaloa Fort">Batticaloa Fort</a>, built by the Portuguese in 1628</figcaption></figure> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Batticaloa_-_Polonnaruwa_Road_(near_Punanai).JPG" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b7/Batticaloa_-_Polonnaruwa_Road_%28near_Punanai%29.JPG/220px-Batticaloa_-_Polonnaruwa_Road_%28near_Punanai%29.JPG" decoding="async" width="220" height="147" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b7/Batticaloa_-_Polonnaruwa_Road_%28near_Punanai%29.JPG/330px-Batticaloa_-_Polonnaruwa_Road_%28near_Punanai%29.JPG 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b7/Batticaloa_-_Polonnaruwa_Road_%28near_Punanai%29.JPG/440px-Batticaloa_-_Polonnaruwa_Road_%28near_Punanai%29.JPG 2x" data-file-width="1500" data-file-height="1000" /></a><figcaption>Developed Batticaloa-Polonnaruwa Road</figcaption></figure> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Ottamavadi_Bridge_-_inside_view.JPG" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ab/Ottamavadi_Bridge_-_inside_view.JPG/220px-Ottamavadi_Bridge_-_inside_view.JPG" decoding="async" width="220" height="147" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ab/Ottamavadi_Bridge_-_inside_view.JPG/330px-Ottamavadi_Bridge_-_inside_view.JPG 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ab/Ottamavadi_Bridge_-_inside_view.JPG/440px-Ottamavadi_Bridge_-_inside_view.JPG 2x" data-file-width="1500" data-file-height="1000" /></a><figcaption>New Oddamavadi Bridge</figcaption></figure> <p>In 1815 the British gained control of the entire island of <a href="/wiki/Ceylon" class="mw-redirect" title="Ceylon">Ceylon</a>. They divided the island into three ethnic based administrative structures: Low Country Sinhalese, Kandyan Sinhalese and <a href="/wiki/Tamils" title="Tamils">Tamil</a>. The Eastern Province was part of the Tamil administration. In 1833, in accordance with the recommendations of the <a href="/wiki/Colebrooke-Cameron_Commission" class="mw-redirect" title="Colebrooke-Cameron Commission">Colebrooke-Cameron Commission</a>, the ethnic based administrative structures were unified into a single administration divided into five geographic provinces.<sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The districts of <a href="/wiki/Batticaloa_District" title="Batticaloa District">Batticaloa</a>, Bintenna (part of present-day <a href="/wiki/Badulla_District" title="Badulla District">Badulla District</a>), Tamankaduva (present day <a href="/wiki/Polonnaruwa_District" title="Polonnaruwa District">Polonnaruwa District</a>) and <a href="/wiki/Trincomalee_District" title="Trincomalee District">Trincomalee</a> formed the new Eastern Province.<sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Tamankaduva was transferred to the newly created <a href="/wiki/North_Central_Province,_Sri_Lanka" title="North Central Province, Sri Lanka">North Central Province</a> in 1873 and Bintenna was transferred to the newly created <a href="/wiki/Uva_Province" title="Uva Province">Uva Province</a> in 1886.<sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-GOSL_5-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-GOSL-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The <a href="/wiki/Indo-Sri_Lanka_Accord" title="Indo-Sri Lanka Accord">Indo-Lanka Accord</a> signed on 29 July 1987 required the <a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Sri_Lanka" title="Politics of Sri Lanka">Sri Lankan government</a> to <a href="/wiki/Devolve" class="mw-redirect" title="Devolve">devolve</a> powers to the provinces and, in the interim, to <a href="/wiki/Merger_(politics)" title="Merger (politics)">merge</a> the Northern and Eastern provinces into one <a href="/wiki/Administrative_division" title="Administrative division">administrative unit</a>. The accord required a <a href="/wiki/Referendum" title="Referendum">referendum</a> to be held by 31 December 1988 in the Eastern Province to decide whether the merger should be permanent. Crucially, the accord allowed the <a href="/wiki/President_of_Sri_Lanka" title="President of Sri Lanka">Sri Lankan president</a> to postpone the referendum at his discretion.<sup id="cite_ref-9" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>On 14 November 1987 the <a href="/wiki/Sri_Lankan_Parliament" class="mw-redirect" title="Sri Lankan Parliament">Sri Lankan Parliament</a> passed the 13th <a href="/wiki/Constitutional_amendment" title="Constitutional amendment">Amendment</a> to the <a href="/wiki/Constitution_of_Sri_Lanka" title="Constitution of Sri Lanka">1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka</a> and the Provincial Councils Act No 42 of 1987, establishing provincial councils.<sup id="cite_ref-GOSL_5-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-GOSL-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-10" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-10"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>10<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> On September 2 and 8 1988 <a href="/wiki/Junius_Richard_Jayewardene" class="mw-redirect" title="Junius Richard Jayewardene">President Jayewardene</a> issued <a href="/wiki/Proclamations" class="mw-redirect" title="Proclamations">proclamations</a> enabling the Northern and Eastern provinces to be one administrative unit administered by one elected Council.<sup id="cite_ref-LNP_11-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-LNP-11"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The <a href="/wiki/North_Eastern_Province,_Sri_Lanka" title="North Eastern Province, Sri Lanka">North-East Province</a> was born. </p><p>The proclamations were only meant to be a temporary measure until a referendum was held in the Eastern Province on a permanent merger between the two provinces. However, the referendum was never held and successive Sri Lankan presidents issued proclamations annually extending the life of the "temporary" entity.<sup id="cite_ref-12" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-12"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>12<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The merger was bitterly opposed by Sri Lankan nationalists. The combined North-East Province occupied one fourth of Sri Lanka. The thought of the rebel <a href="/wiki/Liberation_Tigers_of_Tamil_Eelam" title="Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam">Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam</a> controlling this province, directly or indirectly, alarmed them greatly. On 14 July 2006, after a long campaign against the merger, the <a href="/wiki/Janatha_Vimukthi_Peramuna" title="Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna">Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna</a> political party filed three separate petitions with the <a href="/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_Sri_Lanka" title="Supreme Court of Sri Lanka">Supreme Court</a> requesting a separate <a href="/wiki/Provincial_council_(Sri_Lanka)" class="mw-redirect" title="Provincial council (Sri Lanka)">provincial council</a> for the East.<sup id="cite_ref-LNP_11-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-LNP-11"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> On 16 October 2006 the Supreme Court ruled that the proclamations issued by President Jayewardene were null and void and had no legal effect.<sup id="cite_ref-LNP_11-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-LNP-11"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The North-East Province was formally de-merged into the Northern and Eastern provinces on 1 January 2007. </p><p>Much of the Eastern Province was under the control of rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam for many years during the <a href="/wiki/Sri_Lankan_civil_war" title="Sri Lankan civil war">civil war</a>. The entire province was recaptured by the <a href="/wiki/Sri_Lankan_military" class="mw-redirect" title="Sri Lankan military">Sri Lankan military</a> in 2007. Many community members blamed Pro-Government Tamil groups such as the <a href="/wiki/Tamil_Makkal_Viduthalai_Pulikal" title="Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal">Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal</a> (TMVP).<sup id="cite_ref-13" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-13"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>13<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In 2008 due to the indiscriminate firearm use by various Tamil factions government planned to disarm Tamil Paramilitary groups.<sup id="cite_ref-14" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-14"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>14<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> However the TMVP kept arms due to threat of LTTE and denied they were active in Civilian areas.<sup id="cite_ref-15" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-15"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>15<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> TMVP was finally disarmed in 2009 after the LTTE was defeated.<sup id="cite_ref-16" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-16"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>16<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The Eastern Province has received at least $500 million from international <a href="/wiki/Donation" title="Donation">donors</a> since coming under the control of the government of Sri Lanka in 2007, according to the <a href="/wiki/International_Crisis_Group" title="International Crisis Group">International Crisis Group</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-17" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-17"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>17<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Since the end of the war the Eastern Province has seen considerable development under the <i>Nagenahira Navodaya</i> (Eastern Revival) program which include various agricultural, infrastructural and Social development projects. These include the construction and repairing of roads, schools, hospitals, resettlement of <a href="/wiki/Internally_displaced_person" title="Internally displaced person">IDPs</a> and construction of Nanasala ICT centers.<sup id="cite_ref-18" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-18"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>18<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> There are currently 88 Nanasala ICT education centers in the Eastern Province.<sup id="cite_ref-19" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-19"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>19<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Other Projects include reconstructing the Walai Iravu bridge which was destroyed by the LTTE, developing the Weber stadium in the Batticaloa town, increasing agricultural production, construction of <a href="/wiki/Manmunai_Bridge" title="Manmunai Bridge">Manmunai</a>, Vavunativu and <a href="/wiki/Oddamavadi_Bridge" title="Oddamavadi Bridge">New Oddamavadi</a> bridges, carpeting roads, constructing 48,000 houses in the Eastern province for the people who live below the poverty line,<sup id="cite_ref-20" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-20"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>20<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> developing the <a href="/wiki/Trincomalee_Harbour" title="Trincomalee Harbour">Trincomalee Harbour</a>, construction of the <a href="/wiki/Sampur_Power_Station" title="Sampur Power Station">Sampur Power Station</a>, Development of Maritime park and a Maritime Museum in Trincomalee, creation of the Sampur industrial zone,<sup id="cite_ref-21" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-21"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>21<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-22" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-22"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>22<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> development of bus stands, canals and the <a href="/wiki/Oluvil_Harbour" title="Oluvil Harbour">Oluvil Harbour</a> in Ampara district.<sup id="cite_ref-23" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-23"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>23<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-24" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-24"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>24<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Geography">Geography</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Eastern_Province,_Sri_Lanka&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Geography"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Batticaloa_lagoon,_fishing_boats.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/26/Batticaloa_lagoon%2C_fishing_boats.jpg/250px-Batticaloa_lagoon%2C_fishing_boats.jpg" decoding="async" width="250" height="168" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/26/Batticaloa_lagoon%2C_fishing_boats.jpg/375px-Batticaloa_lagoon%2C_fishing_boats.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/26/Batticaloa_lagoon%2C_fishing_boats.jpg/500px-Batticaloa_lagoon%2C_fishing_boats.jpg 2x" data-file-width="2980" data-file-height="2000" /></a><figcaption>Fishing boats on Batticaloa lagoon</figcaption></figure> <p>Eastern province has an area of 9,996 square kilometres (3,859 sq mi).<sup id="cite_ref-area_1-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-area-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The province is surrounded by the <a href="/wiki/Northern_Province,_Sri_Lanka" title="Northern Province, Sri Lanka">Northern Province</a> to the north, the <a href="/wiki/Bay_of_Bengal" title="Bay of Bengal">Bay of Bengal</a> to the east, the <a href="/wiki/Southern_Province,_Sri_Lanka" title="Southern Province, Sri Lanka">Southern Province</a> to the south, and the <a href="/wiki/Uva_Province,_Sri_Lanka" class="mw-redirect" title="Uva Province, Sri Lanka">Uva</a>, <a href="/wiki/Central_Province,_Sri_Lanka" title="Central Province, Sri Lanka">Central</a> and <a href="/wiki/North_Central_Province,_Sri_Lanka" title="North Central Province, Sri Lanka">North Central</a> provinces to the west. </p><p>The province's coast is dominated by <a href="/wiki/Lagoons" class="mw-redirect" title="Lagoons">lagoons</a>, the largest being <a href="/wiki/Batticaloa_Lagoon" title="Batticaloa Lagoon">Batticaloa Lagoon</a>, <a href="/wiki/Kokkilai_lagoon" class="mw-redirect" title="Kokkilai lagoon">Kokkilai lagoon</a>, <a href="/wiki/Upaar_Lagoon" title="Upaar Lagoon">Upaar Lagoon</a> and <a href="/wiki/Ullackalie_Lagoon" title="Ullackalie Lagoon">Ullackalie Lagoon</a>. </p> <div style="clear:left;" class=""></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Administrative_units,_cities_and_towns"><span id="Administrative_units.2C_cities_and_towns"></span>Administrative units, cities and towns</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Eastern_Province,_Sri_Lanka&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Administrative units, cities and towns"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Administrative_units">Administrative units</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Eastern_Province,_Sri_Lanka&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Administrative units"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The Eastern Province is divided into 3 <a href="/wiki/Districts_of_Sri_Lanka" title="Districts of Sri Lanka">administrative districts</a>, 45 <a href="/wiki/Divisional_Secretary%27s_Division" class="mw-redirect" title="Divisional Secretary's Division">Divisional Secretary's Divisions</a> (DS Divisions) and 1,085 <a href="/wiki/Grama_Niladhari" title="Grama Niladhari">Grama Niladhari</a> Divisions (GN Divisions). </p> <table class="wikitable" style="text-align:right;"> <tbody><tr> <th style="vertical-align:bottom;" rowspan="2"><a href="/wiki/Districts_of_Sri_Lanka" title="Districts of Sri Lanka">District</a> </th> <th style="vertical-align:bottom;" rowspan="2"><a href="/wiki/Capital_city" title="Capital city">Capital</a> </th> <th style="vertical-align:bottom;" rowspan="2"><a href="/wiki/District_Secretary" class="mw-redirect" title="District Secretary">District Secretary</a> </th> <th style="vertical-align:bottom;" rowspan="2"><a href="/wiki/Divisional_Secretary%27s_Division" class="mw-redirect" title="Divisional Secretary's Division">DS<br />Divisions</a> </th> <th style="vertical-align:bottom;" rowspan="2"><a href="/wiki/Grama_Niladhari" title="Grama Niladhari">GN</a><br />Divisions </th> <th style="vertical-align:bottom;" rowspan="2">Total<br />Area<br />(km<sup>2</sup>)<sup id="cite_ref-area_1-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-area-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </th> <th style="vertical-align:bottom;" rowspan="2">Land<br />Area<br />(km<sup>2</sup>)<sup id="cite_ref-area_1-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-area-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </th> <th colspan="6">Population (2012 Census)<sup id="cite_ref-2012eth_2-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2012eth-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </th> <th style="vertical-align:bottom;" rowspan="2">Population<br />Density<br />(/km<sup>2</sup>) </th></tr> <tr> <th style="width:70px;"><a href="/wiki/Sri_Lankan_Tamil_people" class="mw-redirect" title="Sri Lankan Tamil people">Sri Lankan Tamil</a></th> <th style="width:70px;"><a href="/wiki/Sri_Lankan_Moors" title="Sri Lankan Moors">Sri Lankan Moors</a></th> <th style="vertical-align:bottom; width:70px;"><a href="/wiki/Sinhalese_people" title="Sinhalese people">Sinhalese</a></th> <th style="width:70px;"><a href="/wiki/Indian_Tamils_of_Sri_Lanka" title="Indian Tamils of Sri Lanka">Indian Tamil</a></th> <th style="vertical-align:bottom; width:70px;">Other</th> <th style="vertical-align:bottom; width:70px;">Total </th></tr> <tr> <td align="left"><a href="/wiki/Ampara_District" title="Ampara District">Ampara</a></td> <td align="left"><a href="/wiki/Ampara" title="Ampara">Ampara</a></td> <td align="left">Thusitha P Wanigasinghe</td> <td>20</td> <td>507</td> <td>4,415</td> <td>4,222</td> <td>112,750</td> <td>282,484</td> <td>251,018</td> <td>165</td> <td>1,640</td> <td><b>648,057</b></td> <td>147 </td></tr> <tr> <td align="left"><a href="/wiki/Batticaloa_District" title="Batticaloa District">Batticaloa</a></td> <td align="left"><a href="/wiki/Batticaloa" title="Batticaloa">Batticaloa</a></td> <td align="left">P. S. M. Charles</td> <td>14</td> <td>348</td> <td>2,854</td> <td>2,610</td> <td>381,285</td> <td>133,844</td> <td>6,127</td> <td>1,015</td> <td>2,871</td> <td><b>525,142</b></td> <td>184 </td></tr> <tr> <td align="left"><a href="/wiki/Trincomalee_District" title="Trincomalee District">Trincomalee</a></td> <td align="left"><a href="/wiki/Trincomalee" title="Trincomalee">Trincomalee</a></td> <td align="left">T. Thissa Ranjith de Silva</td> <td>11</td> <td>230</td> <td>2,727</td> <td>2,529</td> <td>115,549</td> <td>152,854</td> <td>101,991</td> <td>6,531</td> <td>1,257</td> <td><b>378,182</b></td> <td>139 </td></tr> <tr style="font-weight:bold"> <td align="left" colspan="3">Total</td> <td>45</td> <td>1,085</td> <td>9,996</td> <td>9,361</td> <td>609,584</td> <td>569,182</td> <td>359,136</td> <td>7,711</td> <td>5,768</td> <td>1,551,381</td> <td>155 </td></tr></tbody></table> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Major_cities_and_towns">Major cities and towns</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Eastern_Province,_Sri_Lanka&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Major cities and towns"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236090951">.mw-parser-output .hatnote{font-style:italic}.mw-parser-output div.hatnote{padding-left:1.6em;margin-bottom:0.5em}.mw-parser-output .hatnote i{font-style:normal}.mw-parser-output .hatnote+link+.hatnote{margin-top:-0.5em}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .hatnote{display:none!important}}</style><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">See also: <a href="/wiki/List_of_towns_in_Eastern_Province,_Sri_Lanka" class="mw-redirect" title="List of towns in Eastern Province, Sri Lanka">List of towns in Eastern Province, Sri Lanka</a></div> <table class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:left;"> <tbody><tr> <th valign="bottom">City/town </th> <th valign="bottom"><a href="/wiki/Districts_of_Sri_Lanka" title="Districts of Sri Lanka">District</a> </th> <th><small>Population<br />(2012<br />est)</small><sup id="cite_ref-25" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-25"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>25<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </th></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Kalmunai" title="Kalmunai">Kalmunai</a></td> <td><a href="/wiki/Ampara_District" title="Ampara District">Ampara</a></td> <td align="right">106,783 </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Trincomalee" title="Trincomalee">Trincomalee</a></td> <td><a href="/wiki/Trincomalee_District" title="Trincomalee District">Trincomalee</a></td> <td align="right">99,135 </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Batticaloa" title="Batticaloa">Batticaloa</a></td> <td><a href="/wiki/Batticaloa_District" title="Batticaloa District">Batticaloa</a></td> <td align="right">92,332 </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Kattankudy" title="Kattankudy">Kattankudy</a></td> <td><a href="/wiki/Batticaloa_District" title="Batticaloa District">Batticaloa</a></td> <td align="right">40,883 </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Eravur" title="Eravur">Eravur</a></td> <td><a href="/wiki/Batticaloa_District" title="Batticaloa District">Batticaloa</a></td> <td align="right">25,582 </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Ampara" title="Ampara">Ampara</a></td> <td><a href="/wiki/Ampara_District" title="Ampara District">Ampara</a></td> <td align="right">20,309 </td></tr></tbody></table> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Demographics">Demographics</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Eastern_Province,_Sri_Lanka&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Demographics"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Population">Population</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Eastern_Province,_Sri_Lanka&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: Population"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The Eastern province's population was 1,551,381 in 2012.<sup id="cite_ref-2012eth_2-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2012eth-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The province is the most diverse in Sri Lanka, both ethnically and religiously. </p><p>The population of the province, like that of the Northern Province, was heavily affected by the <a href="/wiki/Sri_Lankan_civil_war" title="Sri Lankan civil war">civil war</a>. The war killed an estimated 100,000 people.<sup id="cite_ref-26" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-26"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>26<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Several hundred thousand Sri Lankan Tamils, possibly as much as one million, <a href="/wiki/Sri_Lankan_Tamil_diaspora" title="Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora">emigrated</a> to the <a href="/wiki/Western_world" title="Western world">West</a> during the war.<sup id="cite_ref-27" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-27"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>27<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Many Sri Lankan Tamils also moved to the relative safety of the capital <a href="/wiki/Colombo" title="Colombo">Colombo</a>. The conflict has also caused some of the Tamils, Moors and Sinhalese who lived in the province to flee to other parts of Sri Lanka, though most of them have returned to the province since the end of the civil war. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Ethnicity">Ethnicity</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Eastern_Province,_Sri_Lanka&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: Ethnicity"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <table class="wikitable" style="text-align:right;"> <caption>Population of Eastern Province by ethnic group 1881 to 2012<sup id="cite_ref-2012eth_2-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2012eth-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-2007enuamp_28-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2007enuamp-28"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>28<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-2007enubat_29-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2007enubat-29"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>29<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-2007enutri_30-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2007enutri-30"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>30<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-31" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-31"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>31<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </caption> <tbody><tr> <th style="vertical-align:bottom;" rowspan="2">Year </th> <th colspan="2"><a href="/wiki/Tamil_people" class="mw-redirect" title="Tamil people">Tamil</a><sup id="cite_ref-32" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-32"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>a<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </th> <th colspan="2"><a href="/wiki/Islam_in_Sri_Lanka" title="Islam in Sri Lanka">Muslim</a><sup id="cite_ref-33" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-33"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>b<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </th> <th colspan="2"><a href="/wiki/Sinhalese_people" title="Sinhalese people">Sinhalese</a> </th> <th colspan="2">Other </th> <th style="vertical-align:bottom;" rowspan="2"><b>Total</b><br /><b>No.</b> </th></tr> <tr> <th style="width:60px;">No.</th> <th style="width:50px;">%</th> <th style="width:60px;">No.</th> <th style="width:50px;">%</th> <th style="width:60px;">No.</th> <th style="width:50px;">%</th> <th style="width:60px;">No.</th> <th style="width:50px;">% </th></tr> <tr> <td align="left">1881 Census</td> <td>75,318</td> <td>58.96%</td> <td>43,001</td> <td>33.66%</td> <td>5,947</td> <td>4.66%</td> <td>3,489</td> <td>2.73%</td> <td><b>127,755</b> </td></tr> <tr> <td align="left">1891 Census</td> <td>86,701</td> <td>58.41%</td> <td>51,206</td> <td>34.50%</td> <td>7,508</td> <td>5.06%</td> <td>3,029</td> <td>2.04%</td> <td><b>148,444</b> </td></tr> <tr> <td align="left">1901 Census</td> <td>96,917</td> <td>55.83%</td> <td>62,448</td> <td>35.97%</td> <td>8,778</td> <td>5.06%</td> <td>5,459</td> <td>3.14%</td> <td><b>173,602</b> </td></tr> <tr> <td align="left">1911 Census</td> <td>101,181</td> <td>55.08%</td> <td>70,395</td> <td>38.32%</td> <td>6,909</td> <td>3.76%</td> <td>5,213</td> <td>2.84%</td> <td><b>183,698</b> </td></tr> <tr> <td align="left">1921 Census</td> <td>103,245</td> <td>53.54%</td> <td>75,992</td> <td>39.41%</td> <td>8,744</td> <td>4.53%</td> <td>4,840</td> <td>2.51%</td> <td><b>192,821</b> </td></tr> <tr> <td align="left">1946 Census</td> <td>136,059</td> <td>48.75%</td> <td>109,024</td> <td>39.06%</td> <td>23,456</td> <td>8.40%</td> <td>10,573</td> <td>3.79%</td> <td><b>279,112</b> </td></tr> <tr> <td align="left">1953 Census</td> <td>167,898</td> <td>47.37%</td> <td>135,322</td> <td>38.18%</td> <td>46,470</td> <td>13.11%</td> <td>4,720</td> <td>1.33%</td> <td><b>354,410</b> </td></tr> <tr> <td align="left">1963 Census</td> <td>246,059</td> <td>45.03%</td> <td>184,434</td> <td>33.75%</td> <td>108,636</td> <td>19.88%</td> <td>7,345</td> <td>1.34%</td> <td><b>546,474</b> </td></tr> <tr> <td align="left">1971 Census</td> <td>315,566</td> <td>43.98%</td> <td>247,178</td> <td>34.45%</td> <td>148,572</td> <td>20.70%</td> <td>6,255</td> <td>0.87%</td> <td><b>717,571</b> </td></tr> <tr> <td align="left">1981 Census</td> <td>410,156</td> <td>42.06%</td> <td>315,436</td> <td>32.34%</td> <td>243,701</td> <td>24.99%</td> <td>5,988</td> <td>0.61%</td> <td><b>975,251</b> </td></tr> <tr> <td align="left">2001 Census<sup id="cite_ref-34" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-34"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>c<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></td> <td>n/a</td> <td>n/a</td> <td>n/a</td> <td>n/a</td> <td>n/a</td> <td>n/a</td> <td>n/a</td> <td>n/a</td> <td><b>n/a</b> </td></tr> <tr> <td align="left">2007 Enumeration</td> <td>590,132</td> <td>40.39%</td> <td>549,857</td> <td>37.64%</td> <td>316,101</td> <td>21.64%</td> <td>4,849</td> <td>0.33%</td> <td><b>1,460,939</b> </td></tr> <tr> <td align="left">2012 Census</td> <td>617,295</td> <td>39.79%</td> <td>569,738</td> <td>36.72%</td> <td>359,136</td> <td>23.15%</td> <td>5,212</td> <td>0.34%</td> <td><b>1,551,381</b> </td></tr></tbody></table> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Religion">Religion</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Eastern_Province,_Sri_Lanka&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: Religion"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p><a href="/wiki/Islam" title="Islam">Islam</a> is the plurality religion in Eastern Province. </p> <table class="wikitable" style="text-align:right;"> <caption>Population of Eastern Province by religion 1981 to 2012<sup id="cite_ref-2012rel_3-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2012rel-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-35" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-35"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>32<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </caption> <tbody><tr> <th style="vertical-align:bottom;" rowspan="2">Year </th> <th style="vertical-align:bottom;" colspan="2"><a href="/wiki/Islam_in_Sri_Lanka" title="Islam in Sri Lanka">Muslim</a> </th> <th style="vertical-align:bottom;" colspan="2"><a href="/wiki/Hinduism_in_Sri_Lanka" title="Hinduism in Sri Lanka">Hindu</a> </th> <th style="vertical-align:bottom;" colspan="2"><a href="/wiki/Buddhism_in_Sri_Lanka" title="Buddhism in Sri Lanka">Buddhist</a> </th> <th style="vertical-align:bottom;" colspan="2"><a href="/wiki/Christianity_in_Sri_Lanka" title="Christianity in Sri Lanka">Christian</a><sup id="cite_ref-36" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-36"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>d<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </th> <th style="vertical-align:bottom;" colspan="2">Other </th> <th style="vertical-align:bottom;" rowspan="2"><b>Total</b><br /><b>No.</b> </th></tr> <tr> <th style="width:60px;">No.</th> <th style="width:50px;">%</th> <th style="width:60px;">No.</th> <th style="width:50px;">%</th> <th style="width:60px;">No.</th> <th style="width:50px;">%</th> <th style="width:60px;">No.</th> <th style="width:50px;">%</th> <th style="width:60px;">No.</th> <th style="width:50px;">% </th></tr> <tr> <td align="left">1981 Census</td> <td>317,354</td> <td>32.54%</td> <td>372,464</td> <td>38.19%</td> <td>237,416</td> <td>24.34%</td> <td>47,112</td> <td>4.83%</td> <td>905</td> <td>0.09%</td> <td><b>975,251</b> </td></tr> <tr> <td align="left">2012 Census</td> <td>575,936</td> <td>37.12%</td> <td>539,570</td> <td>34.78%</td> <td>354,772</td> <td>22.87%</td> <td>80,801</td> <td>5.21%</td> <td>302</td> <td>0.02%</td> <td><b>1,551,381</b> </td></tr></tbody></table> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Economy">Economy</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Eastern_Province,_Sri_Lanka&action=edit&section=10" title="Edit section: Economy"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:TrincomaleeHabour.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/67/TrincomaleeHabour.jpg/220px-TrincomaleeHabour.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="165" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/67/TrincomaleeHabour.jpg/330px-TrincomaleeHabour.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/67/TrincomaleeHabour.jpg/440px-TrincomaleeHabour.jpg 2x" data-file-width="3648" data-file-height="2736" /></a><figcaption>The Trincomalee Harbour which plays a huge role in Province's economy</figcaption></figure> <p>The Eastern Province has a primarily agriculture-based economy and is commonly known as the "Granary of Sri Lanka". It contributes 25% of national paddy production, 17% of national milk production, and 21% of national fish production. <a href="/wiki/Maize" title="Maize">Maize</a> cultivation is expanding, large scale maize cultivation with hybrid seeds and contractual marketing has increased production significantly and it is targeted to produce 25 per cent of the country's maize requirement. The industrial sector contributed 34% of the Province's GDP and export processing zones like the Trincomalee EPZ and Sampur Heavy Industrial Zone have been developed to boost the industrial sector alongside the <a href="/wiki/Trincomalee_Harbour" title="Trincomalee Harbour">Trincomalee Harbour</a>, which is being developed for <a href="/wiki/Break_bulk_cargo" class="mw-redirect" title="Break bulk cargo">Break bulk</a>, <a href="/wiki/Bulk_cargo" title="Bulk cargo">Bulk cargo</a> and industrial activities including heavy industries.<sup id="cite_ref-37" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-37"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>33<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-38" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-38"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>34<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-39" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-39"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>35<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-:0_40-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-:0-40"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>36<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The province benefits from a large <a href="/wiki/Tourism_industry" class="mw-redirect" title="Tourism industry">tourism industry</a> with many <a href="/wiki/Seaside_resort" title="Seaside resort">seaside resorts</a> and <a href="/wiki/Hotel" title="Hotel">hotels</a> situated mainly in lagoons as well as beaches such as <a href="/wiki/Pasikudah" title="Pasikudah">Pasikudah</a>, <a href="/wiki/Nilaveli" title="Nilaveli">Nilaveli</a>, <a href="/wiki/Uppuveli" title="Uppuveli">Uppuveli</a> and <a href="/wiki/Kalkudah" title="Kalkudah">Kalkudah</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-:0_40-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-:0-40"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>36<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Historic sites and other natural attractions such as <a href="/wiki/Pigeon_Island_National_Park" title="Pigeon Island National Park">Pigeon Island</a>, coral reefs contribute to the industry.<sup id="cite_ref-41" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-41"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>37<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-42" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-42"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>38<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-43" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-43"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>39<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-44" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-44"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>40<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Government_and_politics">Government and politics</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Eastern_Province,_Sri_Lanka&action=edit&section=11" title="Edit section: Government and politics"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Provincial_council">Provincial council</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Eastern_Province,_Sri_Lanka&action=edit&section=12" title="Edit section: Provincial council"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Eastern_Provincial_Council" title="Eastern Provincial Council">Eastern Provincial Council</a></div> <p>The 13th <a href="/wiki/Constitutional_amendment" title="Constitutional amendment">Amendment</a> to the <a href="/wiki/Constitution_of_Sri_Lanka" title="Constitution of Sri Lanka">1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka</a> established provincial councils. The first <a href="/wiki/Elections" class="mw-redirect" title="Elections">elections</a> for provincial councils took place on 28 April 1988 in <a href="/wiki/North_Central_Province,_Sri_Lanka" title="North Central Province, Sri Lanka">North Central</a>, <a href="/wiki/North_Western_Province,_Sri_Lanka" title="North Western Province, Sri Lanka">North Western</a>, <a href="/wiki/Sabaragamuwa_Province" title="Sabaragamuwa Province">Sabaragamuwa</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Uva_Province" title="Uva Province">Uva</a> provinces.<sup id="cite_ref-45" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-45"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>41<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p><a href="/wiki/November_1988_Sri_Lankan_Provincial_Council_elections" class="mw-redirect" title="November 1988 Sri Lankan Provincial Council elections">Elections</a> in the newly merged <a href="/wiki/North_Eastern_Province,_Sri_Lanka" title="North Eastern Province, Sri Lanka">North-East Province</a> were scheduled for 19 November 1988. However, the <a href="/wiki/Indian_Peace_Keeping_Force" title="Indian Peace Keeping Force">Indian Peace Keeping Force</a> (IPKF), which at that time occupied the North-East Province, rigged the elections in the north so that the <a href="/wiki/Eelam_People%27s_Revolutionary_Liberation_Front" title="Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front">Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front</a> (EPRLF) and <a href="/wiki/Eelam_National_Democratic_Liberation_Front" title="Eelam National Democratic Liberation Front">Eelam National Democratic Liberation Front</a> (ENDLF), two <a href="/wiki/India" title="India">Indian</a> backed <a href="/wiki/Paramilitary" title="Paramilitary">paramilitary</a> groups, won all of the 36 seats in the north uncontested.<sup id="cite_ref-at_46-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-at-46"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>42<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> However, elections did take place for the 35 seats in the east. The <a href="/wiki/Sri_Lanka_Muslim_Congress" title="Sri Lanka Muslim Congress">Sri Lanka Muslim Congress</a> won 17 seats, EPRLF 12 seats, ENDLF 5 seats and the <a href="/wiki/United_National_Party" title="United National Party">United National Party</a> 1 seat. On 10 December 1988 Annamalai Varatharajah Perumal of the EPRLF became the first Chief Minister of the North-East Provincial Council.<sup id="cite_ref-at_46-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-at-46"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>42<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>On 1 March 1990, just as the IPKF were preparing to withdraw from Sri Lanka, Permual moved a motion in the North-East Provincial Council <a href="/wiki/Declaration_of_independence" title="Declaration of independence">declaring</a> an <a href="/wiki/Independence" title="Independence">independent</a> <a href="/wiki/Tamil_Eelam" title="Tamil Eelam">Eelam</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-47" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-47"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>43<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> <a href="/wiki/Ranasinghe_Premadasa" title="Ranasinghe Premadasa">President Premadasa</a> reacted to Permual's UDI by dissolving the provincial council and imposing direct rule on the province. </p><p>The north-east was ruled directly from <a href="/wiki/Colombo" title="Colombo">Colombo</a> until May 2008 when <a href="/wiki/2008_Sri_Lanka_Eastern_Provincial_Council_elections" class="mw-redirect" title="2008 Sri Lanka Eastern Provincial Council elections">elections</a> were held in the demerged Eastern Province (the Northern Province continued to be governed from Colombo). </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Eastern_Province,_Sri_Lanka&action=edit&section=13" title="Edit section: See also"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_settlements_in_Eastern_Province_(Sri_Lanka)" title="List of settlements in Eastern Province (Sri Lanka)">List of settlements in Eastern Province (Sri Lanka)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Provinces_of_Sri_Lanka" title="Provinces of Sri Lanka">Provinces of Sri Lanka</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Districts_of_Sri_Lanka" title="Districts of Sri Lanka">Districts of Sri Lanka</a></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Notes">Notes</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Eastern_Province,_Sri_Lanka&action=edit&section=14" title="Edit section: Notes"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist reflist-columns references-column-width reflist-lower-alpha reflist-columns-3"> <ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-32"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-32">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="/wiki/Sri_Lankan_Tamil_people" class="mw-redirect" title="Sri Lankan Tamil people">Sri Lankan Tamil</a> and <a href="/wiki/Indian_Tamils_of_Sri_Lanka" title="Indian Tamils of Sri Lanka">Indian Tamil</a>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-33"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-33">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="/wiki/Sri_Lankan_Moors" title="Sri Lankan Moors">Sri Lankan Moors</a> and <a href="/wiki/Sri_Lankan_Malays" title="Sri Lankan Malays">Sri Lankan Malays</a>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-34"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-34">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">2001 Census was only carried out partially in the Eastern province.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-36"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-36">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="/wiki/Roman_Catholicism_in_Sri_Lanka" class="mw-redirect" title="Roman Catholicism in Sri Lanka">Roman Catholic</a> and Other Christian.</span> </li> </ol></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Eastern_Province,_Sri_Lanka&action=edit&section=15" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1239543626"><div class="reflist reflist-columns references-column-width reflist-columns-2"> <ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-area-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-area_1-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-area_1-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-area_1-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-area_1-3"><sup><i><b>d</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20121113190301/http://www.statistics.gov.lk/Abstract2011/CHAP1/AB1-1.pdf">"Area of Sri Lanka by province and district"</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span>. <i>Statistical Abstract 2011</i>. Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.statistics.gov.lk/Abstract2011/CHAP1/AB1-1.pdf">the original</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span> on 2012-11-13.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Statistical+Abstract+2011&rft.atitle=Area+of+Sri+Lanka+by+province+and+district&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.statistics.gov.lk%2FAbstract2011%2FCHAP1%2FAB1-1.pdf&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AEastern+Province%2C+Sri+Lanka" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-2012eth-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-2012eth_2-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-2012eth_2-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-2012eth_2-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-2012eth_2-3"><sup><i><b>d</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-2012eth_2-4"><sup><i><b>e</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170428063924/http://www.statistics.gov.lk/PopHouSat/CPH2011/index.php?fileName=pop42&gp=Activities&tpl=3">"A2 : Population by ethnic group according to districts, 2012"</a>. <i>Census of Population & Housing, 2011</i>. Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.statistics.gov.lk/PopHouSat/CPH2011/index.php?fileName=pop42&gp=Activities&tpl=3">the original</a> on 2017-04-28<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2012-10-28</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Census+of+Population+%26+Housing%2C+2011&rft.atitle=A2+%3A+Population+by+ethnic+group+according+to+districts%2C+2012&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.statistics.gov.lk%2FPopHouSat%2FCPH2011%2Findex.php%3FfileName%3Dpop42%26gp%3DActivities%26tpl%3D3&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AEastern+Province%2C+Sri+Lanka" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-2012rel-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-2012rel_3-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-2012rel_3-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190107065148/http://www.statistics.gov.lk/PopHouSat/CPH2011/index.php?fileName=pop43&gp=Activities&tpl=3">"A3 : Population by religion according to districts, 2012"</a>. <i>Census of Population & Housing, 2011</i>. Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.statistics.gov.lk/PopHouSat/CPH2011/index.php?fileName=pop43&gp=Activities&tpl=3">the original</a> on 2019-01-07<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2012-10-28</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Census+of+Population+%26+Housing%2C+2011&rft.atitle=A3+%3A+Population+by+religion+according+to+districts%2C+2012&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.statistics.gov.lk%2FPopHouSat%2FCPH2011%2Findex.php%3FfileName%3Dpop43%26gp%3DActivities%26tpl%3D3&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AEastern+Province%2C+Sri+Lanka" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-4">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.statoids.com/ulk.html">"Provinces of Sri Lanka"</a>. Statoids.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Provinces+of+Sri+Lanka&rft.pub=Statoids&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.statoids.com%2Fulk.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AEastern+Province%2C+Sri+Lanka" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-GOSL-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-GOSL_5-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-GOSL_5-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-GOSL_5-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090707214924/http://www.priu.gov.lk/ProvCouncils/ProvicialCouncils.html">"Provincial Councils"</a>. <a href="/wiki/Government_of_Sri_Lanka" title="Government of Sri Lanka">Government of Sri Lanka</a>. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.priu.gov.lk/ProvCouncils/ProvicialCouncils.html">the original</a> on 2009-07-07.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Provincial+Councils&rft.pub=Government+of+Sri+Lanka&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.priu.gov.lk%2FProvCouncils%2FProvicialCouncils.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AEastern+Province%2C+Sri+Lanka" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-6"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-6">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFMills1933" class="citation book cs1">Mills, Lennox A. (1933). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.noolaham.org/wiki/index.php?title=Ceylon_Under_British_Rule_%281795_-_1932%29"><i>Ceylon Under British Rule (1795 - 1932)</i></a>. London: <a href="/wiki/Oxford_University_Press" title="Oxford University Press">Oxford University Press</a>. pp. 67–68.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Ceylon+Under+British+Rule+%281795+-+1932%29&rft.place=London&rft.pages=67-68&rft.pub=Oxford+University+Press&rft.date=1933&rft.aulast=Mills&rft.aufirst=Lennox+A.&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.noolaham.org%2Fwiki%2Findex.php%3Ftitle%3DCeylon_Under_British_Rule_%25281795_-_1932%2529&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AEastern+Province%2C+Sri+Lanka" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-7"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-7">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFMedis1946" class="citation book cs1">Medis, G. C. 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Colombo: The Colombo Apothecaries Co. p. 84.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Ceylon+Under+the+British&rft.place=Colombo&rft.pages=84&rft.edition=2nd+%28revised%29&rft.pub=The+Colombo+Apothecaries+Co.&rft.date=1946&rft.aulast=Medis&rft.aufirst=G.+C.&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.noolaham.org%2Fwiki%2Findex.php%3Ftitle%3DCeylon_Under_the_British&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AEastern+Province%2C+Sri+Lanka" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-9"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-9">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20171204171815/http://www.tamilnation.co/conflictresolution/tamileelam/87peaceaccord.htm">"Indo Sri Lanka Agreement, 1987"</a>. Tamil Nation. 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Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2012-10-28</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Indo+Sri+Lanka+Agreement%2C+1987&rft.pub=Tamil+Nation&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tamilnation.co%2Fconflictresolution%2Ftamileelam%2F87peaceaccord.htm&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AEastern+Province%2C+Sri+Lanka" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-10"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-10">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090817113810/http://www.priu.gov.lk/Cons/1978Constitution/AMENDMENTS.html">"The Constitution"</a>. <a href="/wiki/Government_of_Sri_Lanka" title="Government of Sri Lanka">Government of Sri Lanka</a>. 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Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2009-02-04</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=The+Constitution&rft.pub=Government+of+Sri+Lanka&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.priu.gov.lk%2FCons%2F1978Constitution%2FAMENDMENTS.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AEastern+Province%2C+Sri+Lanka" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-LNP-11"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-LNP_11-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-LNP_11-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-LNP_11-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090524142033/http://www.lankanewspapers.com/news/2006/10/8947.html">"North-East merger illegal: SC"</a>. LankaNewspapers.com. 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Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://ceylontoday.lk/22-53257-news-detail-us-4000m-sampur-project-commences.html">the original</a> on 1 January 2015<span class="reference-accessdate">. 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Ocean</a></i></td> </tr><tr> <td></td> <td><span typeof="mw:File"><span title="North"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/76/Pfeil_oben.svg/14px-Pfeil_oben.svg.png" decoding="async" width="14" height="17" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/76/Pfeil_oben.svg/21px-Pfeil_oben.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/76/Pfeil_oben.svg/28px-Pfeil_oben.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="500" data-file-height="600" /></span></span></td> <td></td> </tr><tr> <td style="width:33%"><a href="/wiki/North_Central_Province,_Sri_Lanka" title="North Central Province, Sri Lanka">North Central Province</a><br /><a href="/wiki/Uva_Province" title="Uva Province">Uva Province</a></td> <td style="width:33%;"> <div style="white-space:nowrap;"><span class="mw-valign-middle" typeof="mw:File"><span title="West"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/85/Pfeil_links.svg/17px-Pfeil_links.svg.png" decoding="async" width="17" height="14" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/85/Pfeil_links.svg/25px-Pfeil_links.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/85/Pfeil_links.svg/34px-Pfeil_links.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="600" data-file-height="500" /></span></span><b style="display:inline-block; vertical-align:middle; margin:0.75em 1em">Eastern Province</b><span class="mw-valign-middle" typeof="mw:File"><span title="East"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c5/Pfeil_rechts.svg/17px-Pfeil_rechts.svg.png" decoding="async" width="17" height="14" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c5/Pfeil_rechts.svg/25px-Pfeil_rechts.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c5/Pfeil_rechts.svg/34px-Pfeil_rechts.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="600" data-file-height="500" /></span></span></div> </td> <td style="width:33%"><i><a href="/wiki/Indian_Ocean" title="Indian Ocean">Indian Ocean</a></i></td> </tr><tr> <td></td> <td><span typeof="mw:File"><span title="South"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c3/Pfeil_unten.svg/14px-Pfeil_unten.svg.png" decoding="async" width="14" height="17" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c3/Pfeil_unten.svg/21px-Pfeil_unten.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c3/Pfeil_unten.svg/28px-Pfeil_unten.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="500" data-file-height="600" /></span></span></td> <td></td> </tr><tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Uva_Province" title="Uva Province">Uva Province</a></td> <td><a href="/wiki/Southern_Province,_Sri_Lanka" title="Southern Province, Sri Lanka">Southern Province</a></td> <td><i><a href="/wiki/Indian_Ocean" title="Indian Ocean">Indian Ocean</a></i></td> </tr></tbody></table></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div> <div class="navbox-styles"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236075235"></div><div role="navigation" class="navbox" aria-labelledby="Provinces_of_Sri_Lanka" style="padding:3px"><table class="nowraplinks mw-collapsible autocollapse navbox-inner" style="border-spacing:0;background:transparent;color:inherit"><tbody><tr><th scope="col" class="navbox-title" colspan="2"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1239400231"><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:Provinces_of_Sri_Lanka" title="Template:Provinces of Sri Lanka"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Provinces_of_Sri_Lanka" title="Template talk:Provinces of Sri Lanka"><abbr title="Discuss this 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within Sri Lanka"><img alt="Map indicating the extent of Central Province within Sri Lanka" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b1/Sri_Lanka_Central_Province_locator_map.svg/60px-Sri_Lanka_Central_Province_locator_map.svg.png" decoding="async" width="60" height="78" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b1/Sri_Lanka_Central_Province_locator_map.svg/90px-Sri_Lanka_Central_Province_locator_map.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b1/Sri_Lanka_Central_Province_locator_map.svg/120px-Sri_Lanka_Central_Province_locator_map.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="612" data-file-height="792" /></a></span> </p> <div style="padding:0.1em 0; font-size:100%;"><b><a href="/wiki/Central_Province,_Sri_Lanka" title="Central Province, Sri Lanka">Central</a></b></div> </div></td><td class="navbox-list" style="border-left:2px solid #fdfdfd;padding:0px;padding-top:0.25em; text-align:center;width:10.0em;"><div> <p><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Sri_Lanka_Eastern_Province_locator_map.svg" class="mw-file-description" title="Map indicating the extent of Eastern Province within Sri Lanka"><img alt="Map indicating the extent of Eastern Province within Sri Lanka" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9d/Sri_Lanka_Eastern_Province_locator_map.svg/60px-Sri_Lanka_Eastern_Province_locator_map.svg.png" decoding="async" width="60" height="78" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9d/Sri_Lanka_Eastern_Province_locator_map.svg/90px-Sri_Lanka_Eastern_Province_locator_map.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9d/Sri_Lanka_Eastern_Province_locator_map.svg/120px-Sri_Lanka_Eastern_Province_locator_map.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="612" data-file-height="792" /></a></span> </p> <div style="padding:0.1em 0; font-size:100%;"><b><a class="mw-selflink selflink">Eastern</a></b></div> </div></td><td class="navbox-list" style="border-left:2px solid #fdfdfd;padding:0px;padding-top:0.25em; text-align:center;width:10.0em;"><div> <p><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Sri_Lanka_North_Central_Province_locator_map.svg" class="mw-file-description" title="Map indicating the extent of North Central Province within Sri Lanka"><img alt="Map indicating the extent of North Central Province within Sri Lanka" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Sri_Lanka_North_Central_Province_locator_map.svg/60px-Sri_Lanka_North_Central_Province_locator_map.svg.png" decoding="async" width="60" height="78" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Sri_Lanka_North_Central_Province_locator_map.svg/90px-Sri_Lanka_North_Central_Province_locator_map.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Sri_Lanka_North_Central_Province_locator_map.svg/120px-Sri_Lanka_North_Central_Province_locator_map.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="612" data-file-height="792" /></a></span> </p> <div style="padding:0.1em 0; font-size:100%;"><b><a href="/wiki/North_Central_Province,_Sri_Lanka" title="North Central Province, Sri Lanka">North Central</a></b></div> </div></td><td class="navbox-list" style="border-left:2px solid #fdfdfd;padding:0px;padding-top:0.25em; text-align:center;width:10.0em;"><div> <p><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Sri_Lanka_Northern_Province_locator_map.svg" class="mw-file-description" title="Map indicating the extent of Northern Province within Sri Lanka"><img alt="Map indicating the extent of Northern Province within Sri Lanka" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7b/Sri_Lanka_Northern_Province_locator_map.svg/60px-Sri_Lanka_Northern_Province_locator_map.svg.png" decoding="async" width="60" height="78" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7b/Sri_Lanka_Northern_Province_locator_map.svg/90px-Sri_Lanka_Northern_Province_locator_map.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7b/Sri_Lanka_Northern_Province_locator_map.svg/120px-Sri_Lanka_Northern_Province_locator_map.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="612" data-file-height="792" /></a></span> </p> <div style="padding:0.1em 0; font-size:100%;"><b><a href="/wiki/Northern_Province,_Sri_Lanka" title="Northern Province, Sri Lanka">Northern</a></b></div> </div></td><td class="navbox-list" style="border-left:2px solid #fdfdfd;padding:0px;padding-top:0.25em; text-align:center;width:10.0em;"><div> <p><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Sri_Lanka_North_Western_Province_locator_map.svg" class="mw-file-description" title="Map indicating the extent of North Western Province within Sri Lanka"><img alt="Map indicating the extent of North Western Province within Sri Lanka" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/50/Sri_Lanka_North_Western_Province_locator_map.svg/60px-Sri_Lanka_North_Western_Province_locator_map.svg.png" decoding="async" width="60" height="78" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/50/Sri_Lanka_North_Western_Province_locator_map.svg/90px-Sri_Lanka_North_Western_Province_locator_map.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/50/Sri_Lanka_North_Western_Province_locator_map.svg/120px-Sri_Lanka_North_Western_Province_locator_map.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="612" data-file-height="792" /></a></span> </p> <div style="padding:0.1em 0; font-size:100%;"><b><a href="/wiki/North_Western_Province,_Sri_Lanka" title="North Western Province, Sri Lanka">North Western</a></b></div> </div></td><td class="navbox-list" style="border-left:2px solid #fdfdfd;padding:0px;padding-top:0.25em; text-align:center;width:10.0em;"><div> <p><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Sri_Lanka_Sabaragamuwa_locator_map.svg" class="mw-file-description" title="Map indicating the extent of Sabaragamuwa Province within Sri Lanka"><img alt="Map indicating the extent of Sabaragamuwa Province within Sri Lanka" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6c/Sri_Lanka_Sabaragamuwa_locator_map.svg/60px-Sri_Lanka_Sabaragamuwa_locator_map.svg.png" decoding="async" width="60" height="78" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6c/Sri_Lanka_Sabaragamuwa_locator_map.svg/90px-Sri_Lanka_Sabaragamuwa_locator_map.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6c/Sri_Lanka_Sabaragamuwa_locator_map.svg/120px-Sri_Lanka_Sabaragamuwa_locator_map.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="612" data-file-height="792" /></a></span> </p> <div style="padding:0.1em 0; font-size:100%;"><b><a href="/wiki/Sabaragamuwa_Province" title="Sabaragamuwa Province">Sabaragamuwa</a></b></div> </div></td><td class="navbox-list" style="border-left:2px solid #fdfdfd;padding:0px;padding-top:0.25em; text-align:center;width:10.0em;"><div> <p><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Sri_Lanka_Southern_Province_locator_map.svg" class="mw-file-description" title="Map indicating the extent of Southern Province within Sri Lanka"><img alt="Map indicating the extent of Southern Province within Sri Lanka" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/19/Sri_Lanka_Southern_Province_locator_map.svg/60px-Sri_Lanka_Southern_Province_locator_map.svg.png" decoding="async" width="60" height="78" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/19/Sri_Lanka_Southern_Province_locator_map.svg/90px-Sri_Lanka_Southern_Province_locator_map.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/19/Sri_Lanka_Southern_Province_locator_map.svg/120px-Sri_Lanka_Southern_Province_locator_map.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="612" data-file-height="792" /></a></span> </p> <div style="padding:0.1em 0; font-size:100%;"><b><a href="/wiki/Southern_Province,_Sri_Lanka" title="Southern Province, Sri Lanka">Southern</a></b></div> </div></td><td class="navbox-list" style="border-left:2px solid #fdfdfd;padding:0px;padding-top:0.25em; text-align:center;width:10.0em;"><div> <p><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Sri_Lanka_Uva_locator_map.svg" class="mw-file-description" title="Map indicating the extent of Uva Province within Sri Lanka"><img alt="Map indicating the extent of Uva Province within Sri Lanka" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6c/Sri_Lanka_Uva_locator_map.svg/60px-Sri_Lanka_Uva_locator_map.svg.png" decoding="async" width="60" height="78" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6c/Sri_Lanka_Uva_locator_map.svg/90px-Sri_Lanka_Uva_locator_map.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6c/Sri_Lanka_Uva_locator_map.svg/120px-Sri_Lanka_Uva_locator_map.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="612" data-file-height="792" /></a></span> </p> <div style="padding:0.1em 0; font-size:100%;"><b><a href="/wiki/Uva_Province" title="Uva Province">Uva</a></b></div> </div></td><td class="navbox-list" style="border-left:2px solid #fdfdfd;padding:0px;padding-top:0.25em; text-align:center;width:10.0em;"><div> <p><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Sri_Lanka_Western_Province_locator_map.svg" class="mw-file-description" title="Map indicating the extent of Western Province within Sri Lanka"><img alt="Map indicating the extent of Western Province within Sri Lanka" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0f/Sri_Lanka_Western_Province_locator_map.svg/60px-Sri_Lanka_Western_Province_locator_map.svg.png" decoding="async" width="60" height="78" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0f/Sri_Lanka_Western_Province_locator_map.svg/90px-Sri_Lanka_Western_Province_locator_map.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0f/Sri_Lanka_Western_Province_locator_map.svg/120px-Sri_Lanka_Western_Province_locator_map.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="612" data-file-height="792" /></a></span> </p> <div style="padding:0.1em 0; font-size:100%;"><b><a 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