Government and power in Sri Lanka

Who leads Sri Lanka, how the World Bank's governance indicators score it, how many women sit in parliament and government, what the state spends and taxes, and the official bodies that hold power to account. System of government: Unitary republic with an executive presidency.

Who leads Sri Lanka?

• Head of state: Anura Kumara Dissanayake (President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, Head of State)
• Head of government: Harini Amarasuriya (Prime Minister of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka)
• Foreign minister: Vijitha Herath (Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka)

Source: Heads of State, Heads of Government, Ministers for Foreign Affairs: Public List (United Nations Protocol and Liaison Service), list dated 15 October 2026. All world leaders.

Governance scores

The World Bank's Worldwide Governance Indicators combine surveys of households and firms with assessments by public, private and non-governmental bodies. Each score runs from 0 to 100; higher means the sources rate governance better. They measure perceptions, and each has a margin of error.

Voice and accountability

Measures how far citizens can choose their government, and freedom of expression, association and the media.

Political stability and absence of violence

Measures the likelihood of political instability or politically motivated violence, including terrorism.

Government effectiveness

Measures the quality of public services and the civil service, and how independent they are from political pressure.

Regulatory quality

Measures the government's ability to make and carry out policies that let the private sector develop.

Rule of law

Measures confidence in and respect for the rules of society, including contract enforcement, property rights, the police and the courts.

Control of corruption

Measures how far public power is used for private gain, including petty and grand corruption and "capture" of the state by elites.

Official bodies that hold power in Sri Lanka

Government

• Presidential Secretariat
  Publishes presidential statements, gazette notices and media releases.

Parliament

• Parliament of Sri Lanka
  Publishes Hansard, order papers, bills and the directory of members.

Elections

• Election Commission of Sri Lanka
  Publishes electoral registers, election notices and official results.

Courts

• Supreme Court of Sri Lanka
  Publishes Supreme Court judgments and case information.

Public audit

• National Audit Office
  Publishes the Auditor General's reports on government entities.

Ombudsman

• Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration (Ombudsman)
  Publishes information on complaints against public institutions and annual reports.

Access to information

• Right to Information Commission
  Hears appeals under the Right to Information Act No. 12 of 2016 and publishes its decisions.

Asset declarations

• Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption
  Receives declarations of assets and liabilities under the Anti-Corruption Act No. 9 of 2023 and investigates bribery and corruption.

Public contracts

• National Procurement Commission
  Publishes procurement guidelines, manuals and notices for public procurement.

Laws and the official gazette

• Department of Government Printing
  Publishes the Government Gazette, Acts, bills and other official documents.

Government below the national level

• Provinces (9): provincial councils: Councils normally elected for five years; governor appointed by the President. No council elections since 2014, so governors run them.
• Districts (25) and divisional secretariats (about 330): District secretaries and divisional secretaries are civil servants of the central government
• Local authorities (341): 24 municipal councils, 41 urban councils, 276 pradeshiya sabhas: Members elected for four years by a mixed ward and proportional system; council chooses mayor/chair
• Grama niladhari divisions (about 14,000): Grama niladhari: a government officer appointed by the central government

How local power works in Sri Lanka

Places in Sri Lanka

• All 9 provinces
• Official statistics for Sri Lanka

Sources

• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Voice and accountability (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 70f2804fd1e2…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Political stability and absence of violence (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 1317de0c85e1…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Government effectiveness (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a775e808dc65…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Regulatory quality (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 83b57e36ff8c…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Rule of law (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 0bccc3c054e8…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Control of corruption (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 3b15a5340cdd…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Seats held by women in national parliament (SG.GEN.PARL.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 1ae1dc13981a…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Women in ministerial positions (SG.GEN.MNST.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a4e448a5b8bd…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Central government spending (GC.XPN.TOTL.GD.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 808094019f50…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Tax revenue (GC.TAX.TOTL.GD.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 08c94b750f31…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Military spending (MS.MIL.XPND.GD.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a7f6913a783b…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Armed forces personnel (MS.MIL.TOTL.P1), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 fa4663c743ba…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Statistical Performance Indicator (overall score) (IQ.SPI.OVRL), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 08ac7cde9129…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: People using the internet (IT.NET.USER.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 0d78dc658329…)

Each saved copy is the file exactly as downloaded, kept so the figures can be checked even if the source changes. Report an error.