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Local government is the third and lowest level of government in Sri Lanka – after the central government and provincial councils. The local government bodies are collectively known as local authorities. They are responsible for providing a variety of local public services including roads, sanitation, drains, housing, libraries, public parks and recreational facilities.[1]
Sri Lankan local authorities[2] are divided into 3 different groups:
- 25 Districts administered under a District secretary / Government Agent (GA)
- Districts are divided into 331[3] Divisional secretariats (DS) administered by a Divisional secretary (DS)
- Divisional secretariats (DS divisions) are subdivided into 14,022 Grama Niladhari (GN) divisions[4][5] served by Grama Niladharis (GN) / village officers.
And some areas have special administrations :
- 29 Municipal councils that preside over the largest cities[6]
- 36 Urban councils.
As of 24 March 2025, there were 341 local authorities, comprising 29 municipal councils, 36 urban councils and 276 Pradeshiya Sabha. All local authorities are elected using the mixed electoral system.[7]
- ^ "Country profile: The local government system in Sri Lanka" (PDF). Commonwealth Local Government Forum. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
- ^ "Local Authorities".
- ^ "Grama Niladhari Administration Division". Archived from the original on 14 September 2016. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
- ^ "Identification of DS Divisions of Sri Lanka Vulnerable for food insecurity" (PDF). World Food Programme. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2011. Retrieved 21 July 2009.
- ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20110304064422/http://documents.wfp.org/stellent/groups/public/documents/vam/wfp173167.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ "Compilation of Local Authority" (PDF). Ministry of Local Government & Provincial Councils. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
ECoSL-MC,UC,PSwas invoked but never defined (see the help page).