NATURAL RESOURCES OF SRI LANKA

28
Urban-Rural Distribution
Urban growth in developed countries has accompanied
economic and industrial development, but that
is not necessarily true in developing countries; despite
urbanization their national economies can still remain
primarily agrarian.
Internationally recognized yardsticks delineate
urban and rural areas. The UN has identified five:
administrative area, population size, local government
area, urban characteristics, and predominant economic
activity. In Sri Lanka, with its traditional agricultural
economy, urban areas can retain largely rural characteristics.
This was true long ago, as described by the
census report in 1946.
The great city of Anuradhapura in ancient times,
notwithstanding its size and architectural features was
not altogether 'urban', for it contained within its limits
irrigation tanks, paddy fields, and even forests. Within
the municipal limits of Kandy today, there are situated
estates of appreciable acreage, while within the area
under the administrative jurisdiction of the Badulla
urban council there are large paddy fields. Some of the
larger villages are more densely populated than some
'towns' which had been brought under the operation of
the Small Towns Sanitary Ordinance. Town and village
are ordinarily wards of somewhat vague application
and are not easily defined and distinguished. (Census
of Population 1946 : General Report.)
In recent times the delineation of urban boundaries
in Sri Lanka has not necessarily been based on urban
character or well-defined guidelines. Today, census
definitions of urban areas include Town Councils,
Urban Councils, and Municipal Councils. But from
1963 to 1971, for example, Town Council status was
given to communities with populations ranging from
less than 2,000 to over 40,000. As a result, many truly
"urban" areas have been considered "rural." Precise
urban-rural distinctions remain somewhat arbitrary
and may underestimate urban environmental conditions
or growth trends. Unless these factors are recognized,
urban statistics may mislead planners and policy
makers required to identify needs for urban infrastructure,
housing, potable water supplies, health-, and other
basic human requirements in highly populated areas.
POPULATION PROFILE
Trends
Between 1871 and 1981 Sri Lanka's urban population
increased twelvefold, and the urban share increased
from approximately 11 percent to nearly 22
percent. Urbanization has slowed during the past four
decades and declined during the intercensal period
1971-1981. Policies of the past five or six decades that
emphasized development of rural infrastructure and
social sector programs, kept urbanization rates at modest
levels, as did low rates of industrialization. Urbanization
rates have been lower than those of many
countries of the region and the urban sector share of
the population has been relatively low (see Figure 3.9).
Nevertheless, contrary to these national trends, unusually
high rates of growth have occurred within the Colombo
Urban Area. (See box on urbanization in Sri
Lanka.)
The urban population of 1 million in 1946 increased
to 3.2 million in 1981, while total population
increased from 6.6 million to 14.8 million (Figure 3.10).
Between 1946 and 1981 the urban percentage share of
population increased by approximately 6 percentage
points. Growth of urban population was higher between
1953 and 1963, when the growth rate reached
4.88 percent per annum, after which the growth rate
declined.
Variation in the urban population percentage
among the provinces ranges from 46.7 percent in the
Western Province to 6.2 percent in the North Western
Province. The percentage of urban population in the
Western Province is more than double that of any other
province except the Northern Province. In the Western
Province the urban percentage has steadily increased
from 33 percent in 1946 to 48 percent in 1971, showing
a decline in 1971-1981. If we included the developed
areas, outside the local authority areas then the urban
percentage would be even higher. More importantly,
57 per cent of the country's urban population resides in
the Western Province. Figure 3.11 shows that the urban
population in the Northern Province, lower than the
national average in 1946 and 1953, exceeded the national
average by 1963. Urban population growth has
been relatively slow in the North Central Province and
Central Province.
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