Eastern Province, Sri Lanka

Eastern Province

கிழக்கு மாகாணம்
නැගෙනහිර පළාත
Eastern Province கிழக்கு மாகாணம்; නැගෙනහිර පළාත
Province
	Sunset over Batticaloa Lagoon
	Flag
	Location within Sri Lanka
	Coordinates: 07°55′N 81°30′E / 7.917°N 81.500°E
Country	Sri Lanka
Created	1 October 1833
Provincial council	14 November 1987
Capital	Trincomalee
Largest City	Kalmunai
Cities & Towns	List * Batticaloa ; * Ampara ; * Kattankudy ; * Eravur ; * Akkaraipattu ; * Pottuvil ; * Sammanthurai;
Districts	List Ampara; Batticaloa; Trincomalee;
Government
• Type	Provincial council
• Body	Eastern Provincial Council
• Governor	Jayantha Lal Ratnasekera
• MPs	List P. Ariyanethiran ; S. M. M. Muszhaaraff ; A. L. M. Athaullah ; P. Dayaratna ; Cassim Faizal ; M. K. A. S. Gunawardena ; H. M. M. Harees ; M. L. A. M. Hisbullah ; Podiappuhamy Piyasena ; Susantha Punchinilame ; R. Sampanthan ; Basheer Segu Dawood ; P. Selvarasa ; M. S. Thowfeek ; Imran Maharoof ; Sriyani Wijewickrama ; S. Yogeswaran ;
Area
• Total	9,996 km2 (3,859 sq mi)
• Land	9,361 km2 (3,614 sq mi)
• Water	635 km2 (245 sq mi) 6.35%
• Rank	2nd (15.24% of total area)
Population (2012 census)
• Total	1,551,381
• Rank	6th (7.66% of total pop.)
• Density	160/km2 (400/sq mi)
Ethnicity (2012 census)
• Sri Lankan Tamil	609,584 (39.29%)
• Sri Lankan Moors	569,182 (36.69%)
• Sinhalese	359,136 (23.15%)
• Indian Tamil	7,711 (0.50%)
• Other	5,768 (0.37%)
Religion (2012 census)
• Muslim	575,936 (37.12%)
• Hindu	539,570 (34.78%)
• Buddhist	354,772 (22.87%)
• Christian	80,801 (5.21%)
• Other	302 (0.02%)
Time zone	UTC+05:30 (Sri Lanka)
Post Codes	30000-32999
Telephone Codes	026, 063, 065, 067
ISO 3166 code	LK-5
Vehicle registration	EP
Official Languages	Tamil, Sinhalese
Website	www.ep.gov.lk

The Eastern Province (Tamil: கிழக்கு மாகாணம் Kiḻakku Mākāṇam; Sinhala: නැගෙනහිර පළාත Næ̆gĕnahira Paḷāta) is one of the nine provinces of Sri Lanka, the first level administrative division of the country. The provinces have existed since the 19th century but did not have any legal status until 1987 when the 13th Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka established provincial councils.^[4]^[5] Between 1988 and 2006 the province was temporarily merged with the Northern Province to form the North Eastern Province. The capital of the province is Trincomalee. Kalmunai is the largest and most populous city of Eastern Province.

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^ "Provinces of Sri Lanka". Statoids.
^ "Provincial Councils". Government of Sri Lanka. Archived from the original on 2009-07-07.

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[4] "Provinces of Sri Lanka". Statoids.

[GOSL-5] "Provincial Councils". Government of Sri Lanka. Archived from the original on 2009-07-07.

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