Northern Province, Sri Lanka

Northern Province

வட மாகாணம்
උතුරු පළාත
Northern Province வட மாகாணம்; උතුරු පළාත
Province
	Sunset over a lagoon
	Flag
	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	List Jaffna; Kilinochchi; Mannar; Mullaitivu; Vavuniya;
Government
• Type	Provincial council
• Body	Northern Provincial Council
• Governor	Maj Gen G. A. Chandrasiri
• Chief Minister	C. V. Vigneswaran
• MPs	List Selvam Adaikalanathan ; Silvestri Alantine ; Sivasakthy Ananthan ; Risad Badhiutheen ; Murugesu Chandrakumar ; Douglas Devananda ; Hunais Farook ; Muthali Bawa Farook ; Vijayakala Maheswaran ; Vino Noharathalingam ; Suresh Premachandran ; E. Saravanapavan ; Mavai Senathirajah ; S. Sritharan ; A. Vinayagamoorthy ;
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)
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, Sinhala
Flower	Kaanthal
Tree	Maruthu
Bird	Seven sisters
Animal	Male deer
Website	Northern Provincial Council

The Northern Province (Tamil: வட மாகாணம் Vaṭakku Mākāṇam; Sinhala: උතුරු පළාත Uturu Paḷāta) is one of the nine provinces of Sri Lanka. The capital of the province is Jaffna. The Sri Lankan Civil War began in this province. It where most of the Tamil people in Sri Lanka live.^[3]

Provinces in Sri Lanka were created in the 19th century. Provincial councils were created in 1987 by a change to the Constitution.^[4]^[5] Between 1988 and 2006 the Northern Province and the Eastern Province were temporarily put together to make the North Eastern Province.