Northern Province, Sri Lanka
Northern Province
வட மாகாணம் උතුරු පළාත | |
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Sunset over a lagoon | |
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Location within Sri Lanka | |
Districts of the Northern Province | |
| Coordinates: 09°12′N 80°25′E / 9.200°N 80.417°E | |
| Country | Sri Lanka |
| Created | 1 October 1833 |
| Provincial council | 14 November 1987 |
| Capital | Jaffna |
| Largest City | Vavuniya |
| Districts | |
| Government | |
| • Type | Provincial council |
| • Body | Northern Provincial Council |
| • Governor | Nagalingam Vedanayagam |
| • MPs | |
| Area | |
• Total | 8,884 km2 (3,430 sq mi) |
| • Land | 8,290 km2 (3,200 sq mi) |
| • Rank | 3rd (13.54% of total area) |
| Population (2012 census) | |
• Total | 1,058,762 |
| • Rank | 9th (5.22% of total pop.) |
| • Density | 120/km2 (310/sq mi) |
| Ethnicity (2012 census) | |
| • Sri Lankan Tamil | 987,692 (93.29%) |
| • Sri Lankan Moors | 32,364 (3.06%) |
| • Sinhalese | 32,331 (3.05%) |
| • Indian Tamil | 6,049 (0.57%) |
| • Other | 326 (0.03%) |
| Religion (2012 census) | |
| • Hindu | 789,362 (74.56%) |
| • Christian | 204,005 (19.27%) |
| • Muslim | 34,040 (3.22%) |
| • Buddhist | 30,387 (2.87%) |
| • Other | 968 (0.09%) |
| Time zone | UTC+05:30 (Sri Lanka) |
| Post Codes | 40000-45999 |
| Telephone Codes | 021, 023, 024 |
| ISO 3166 code | LK-4 |
| Vehicle registration | NP |
| Official Languages | Tamil Sinhalese |
| Flower | White Lotus (Nymphaea lotus) |
| Tree | Maruthu (Terminalia arjuna) |
| Bird | Seven sisters (Turdoides striata) |
| Animal | Male deer (axis axis) |
| Website | www |
The Northern Province (Tamil: வட மாகாணம் Vaṭa Mākāṇam; Sinhala: උතුරු පළාත Uturu Paḷāta) is one of the nine provinces of Sri Lanka. The province has an area of 8,884 km2, making it the 3rd largest province by area, and a population of 1,061,315, making it the least populated province. Jaffna is the capital city of the province.
Between 1988 and 2006, the province was temporarily merged with the Eastern Province into one province, the North Eastern Province. Due to its large Tamil population, the Northern Province is sometimes referred to as "Sri Lanka's Tamil country". The majority of the fighting in the Sri Lankan Civil War took place in the Northern province.