[1] Over time, the number of provinces increased, but the second-level administrative division continued to be the rata.

The territory of the Kotte Kingdom was organized into four disavas, which were further subdivided into forty korales.

[2] When the Portuguese took over parts of the country after their arrival in 1505,[3] they maintained more or less the same administrative structure followed by Sri Lankan rulers.

[4] During the Dutch rule in the country, the terrain under their control was divided into three administrative divisions.

[5] The British initially continued this system,[6] but following reforms in 1796 to 1802, the country was divided according to ethnic composition.

[7][8] This was abolished by the Colebrook–Cameron reforms in 1833 and a legislative council was created,[9] making the island a politically and administratively single unit.

This changed in 1987 when, following several decades of increasing demand for a decentralization, the 13th Amendment to the 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka established provincial councils.