Matara ( Mātara distrikkaya; Māttaṛai 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.

Geography

Matara District is located in the south west of Sri Lanka and has an area of 1282.5 km2. It is represented in the Sri Lankan Parliament following the 2010 Sri Lankan parliamentary election by former Sri Lankan national cricketer Sanath Jayasuriya who stood for the United People's Freedom Alliance.

Administrative units

Matara District is divided into 16 Divisional Secretary's Division (DS Divisions), each headed by a Divisional Secretary (previously known as an Assistant Government Agent). The DS Divisions are further sub-divided into 650 Grama Niladhari Divisions (GN Divisions), with 1,658 villages.

Major cities

Other towns

Demographics

Population

Matara District's population was 803,999 in 2012. The majority of the population are Sinhalese, with a minority Sri Lankan Moor and Indian Tamil population.

Ethnicity

Religion