Hambantota District

Template:More footnotes Template:Template other Hambantota District (Template:Langx hambantoṭa distrikkaya; Template:Langx Ampāntōṭṭai māvaṭṭam) is a district in Southern Province, Sri Lanka. It is one of 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the second level administrative division of the country. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a District Secretary (previously known as a Government Agent) appointed by the central government of Sri Lanka.

Hambantota District is located on the southeastern coast of Sri Lanka. It has an area of Template:Cvt and a very dry climate. The district capital is Hambantota town; the administrative headquarters are there as well as the center of salt production. Other prominent towns include Tangalle, Ambalantota, Sooriyawewa, Tissamaharama, and Beliatta.

Before modern development took place after the country gained independence in 1948, the agriculture in the district was characterised by swidden cultivation (chena or slash-and-burn) and, to some extent, paddy cultivation on non-irrigated land. In the highlands, kurakkan — a grain used to make an eatable paste — was cultivated with other grains such as corn. Leonard Woolf's Village in the Jungle provides a highly interesting and insightful account of the people, the land and issues of concern during the British Colonial period as he worked as an assistant government agent for Hambantota.

The area has traditionally been home to Sinhalese and Sri Lankan Malay people, who collectively make up 98% of the district's population. The long history of Malay settlement in the district has impacted the local culture of Hambantota, with Sri Lankan Malay being a shared language between the Sri Lankan Malays and some members of the Sinhalese community.

Demographics

Template:Stack begin Template:Infobox demographics Template:Stack end Template:Stack begin Template:Infobox demographics Template:Stack end Template:Pie chart Template:Pie chart Hambantota District has a population of 596,617 (2011) of whom 96% are considered rural residents. Some 13.4% of the labor force of 244,847 is unemployed — in comparison to the national average of 8.3%. Of those employed, 42.2% are in the agricultural sector, 23.3% in industry with the remaining 34.5% working in the services sector.

Politics and government

Local government

Hambantota District has 12 local authorities of which one is a Municipal Council, one is an Urban Council and the remaining 10 are Divisional Councils (Pradeshiya Sabha).

Local Authority	Registered Electors (2025)	Elected Members (2025)
		NPP	SJB	SLPP	PA	SB	UNP	Other	Total
		style="background:Template:Party color"|	style="background:Template:Party color"|	style="background:Template:Party color"|	style="background:Template:Party color"|	style="background:Template:Party color"|	style="background:Template:Party color"|
Ambalantota Pradeshiya Sabha	62,779	Template:Party shading/National People's Power | 17	5	5	3	0	1	0	31
Angunakolapellessa Pradeshiya Sabha	43,114	Template:Party shading/National People's Power | 11	3	3	2	1	0	0	20
Beliatte Pradeshiya Sabha	49,272	Template:Party shading/National People's Power | 15	7	4	2	0	0	0	29
Hambantota Municipal Council	18,759	Template:Party shading/National People's Power | 8	7	2	3	1	0	0	21
Hambantota Pradeshiya Sabha	30,055	Template:Party shading/National People's Power | 8	4	2	0	1	0	0	15
Katuwana Pradeshiya Sabha	60,805	Template:Party shading/National People's Power | 16	6	5	2	2	1	1	33
Lunugamvehera Pradeshiya Sabha	28,050	Template:Party shading/National People's Power | 9	5	2	1	1	0	0	18
Suriyawewa Pradeshiya Sabha	38,355	Template:Party shading/National People's Power | 6	2	2	1	0	0	0	11
Tangalle Pradeshiya Sabha	55,492	Template:Party shading/National People's Power | 15	5	4	1	1	1	0	27
Tangalle Urban Council	7,105	Template:Party shading/National People's Power | 9	5	3	0	1	1	0	19
Tissamaharama Pradeshiya Sabha	59,873	Template:Party shading/National People's Power | 13	4	3	1	1	0	0	22
Weeraketiya Pradeshiya Sabha	72,940	Template:Party shading/National People's Power | 19	6	6	3	1	1	2	38
Total	526,599	146	55	45	19	11	5	3	284

Towns

• Hambantota (Municipal Council)
• Tangalle (Urban Council)
• Ambalantota
• Suriyawewa
• Beliatta
• Tissamaharama
• Middeniya
• Angunukolapelessa
• Walasmulla
• Weeraketiya