In 1933, a Constituent Assembly was created in Sri Lanka. This made the island a single unit politically and administratively. Five provinces were created. Later, these were expanded into nine provinces. Within the nine provinces, there were twenty-one districts. Officers known as Government Agents or Assistant Government Agents were appointed to administer these districts.
In April 1961, Ampara District was created. Then in September 1978, a new constitution created Mullaitivu and Gampaha Districts. This reintroduced the province as the main administrative unit. The last district to be created was Kilinochchi District, which was created in February 1984. The current constitution (1978 constitution) states that the territory of Sri Lanka consists of 25 administrative districts.
The 9 provinces and 25 administrative districts of Sri Lanka are shown below.
District in Northern Province
Jaffna
Kilinochchi
Mannar
Mullaitivu
Vavuniya
District in Northern NorthWestern Province
Puttalam
Kurunegala
District in Western Province
Gampaha
Colombo
Kalutara
District in Western NorthCentral
Anuradhapura
Polonnaruwa
District in Western Central
Matale
Kandy
Nuwara Eliya
District in Western Sabaragamuwa
Kegalle
Ratnapura
District in Western Eastern
Trincomalee
Batticaloa
Ampara
District in Western Uva
Badulla
Monaragala
District in Western Southern
Hambantota
Matara
Galle
