Northern Province: population, economy, jobs, poverty, health, schools and provincial council finances

Northern Province is a province of Sri Lanka, number 9 of 9 by population. The 2024 Census of Population and Housing counted 1,150,148 people in the Northern Province, 5.3% of Sri Lanka's 21,781,800; the smallest of the 9 provinces.

In depth

• Economy, jobs and prices in Northern Province: Northern Province produced goods and services worth Rs. 1,321.8 billion in 2024 at current prices, 4.4% of Sri Lanka's GDP (the smallest of the 9 provinces), according to the Central Bank's provisional provincial GDP estimates.
• Health in Northern Province: 1,500 medical officers worked in government health services in Northern Province in 2024 (provisional), 130 per 100,000 residents, 2nd highest of the 9 provinces (Sri Lanka: 110).
• Education in Northern Province: Government schools in Northern Province had 201,485 pupils and 18,108 teachers in 2025 (provisional), 11.1 pupils per teacher, the lowest of the 9 provinces (Sri Lanka: 15.5).
• Poverty and living standards in Northern Province: 23.8% of people in Northern Province lived below the official poverty line in the 2019 Household Income and Expenditure Survey, 2nd highest of the 9 provinces (Sri Lanka: 14.3%); 19.9% of households were poor (Sri Lanka: 11.9%). No newer provincial poverty figures have been published.
• Government budget and revenue in Northern Province: The Northern Provincial Council received Rs. 58.2 billion in 2025 (provisional): Rs. 52.4 billion in grants from the central government and Rs. 5.8 billion from its own revenue, so grants paid for 90.0% of its budget (all provinces: 81.4%).

More figures

• The Registrar General's Department estimates Northern Province's mid-2025 population at 1,152,000 (provisional), its first estimate based on the 2024 census (Sri Lanka: 21,756,000). Source: Central Bank of Sri Lanka (compiling the named official sources) · saved copy

How provinces are governed in Sri Lanka

Provinces (9): provincial councils. Councils normally elected for five years; governor appointed by the President. No council elections since 2014, so governors run them.. Devolved subjects such as provincial roads, agriculture, some schools and health; supervise local authorities through a provincial commissioner of local government.

Every tier of government in Sri Lanka

Other provinces of Sri Lanka

• Western Province 6,117,341
• Central Province 2,714,045
• Southern Province 2,606,679
• North Western Province 2,586,972
• Sabaragamuwa Province 2,015,899
• Eastern Province 1,783,214
• North Central Province 1,407,610
• Uva Province 1,399,892

Up a level: Sri Lanka · government and power in Sri Lanka

Sources

• Department of Census and Statistics: Census of Population and Housing 2024, final report: Tables 3.2 (population by province and district), 3.3 (district population 2012 and 2024) and 3.6 (population by sector), read 27 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a6dea9388d05…)
• Central Bank of Sri Lanka (compiling the named official sources): Economic and Social Statistics of Sri Lanka 2026, chapter 2: Tables 2.4 (vehicles, Provincial Departments of Motor Traffic), 2.13, 2.16 and 2.18 (HIES 2019, Department of Census and Statistics), 2.20 (Ministry of Education), 2.26 (Department of Examinations), 2.30 (University Grants Commission) and 2.39 (Ministry of Health), read 27 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 babb9cbb27c5…)
• Central Bank of Sri Lanka (compiling the named official sources): Economic and Social Statistics of Sri Lanka 2026, chapter 3: Tables 3.21 (mid-year population, Registrar General's Department) and 3.32 (departures for foreign employment, Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment), read 27 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 fcfc004b2129…)
• Central Bank of Sri Lanka (compiling the named official sources): Economic and Social Statistics of Sri Lanka 2026, chapter 5: Table 5.8 (revenue and expenditure of provincial councils, Ministry of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government), read 27 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 88c29bbd48a1…)
• Department of Census and Statistics: Sri Lanka Labour Force Survey Annual Bulletin 2025: Table 2.2 (employment by industry) and Table 3.3 (unemployment by province), read 27 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 48a8863a4643…)
• Central Bank of Sri Lanka (from Department of Census and Statistics national accounts): Provincial Gross Domestic Product (PGDP) 2024, press release of 22 December 2025: Tables 1-3, read 27 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 bfe27596d2d7…)

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