What Is the Capital of Sri Lanka? Colombo

Q: Is Colombo the largest city in Sri Lanka?

No. The largest urban area is Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte (103,000), while Colombo has about 633,000.

Q: What time zone is Colombo in?

Colombo is on UTC+5.5 — UTC+5.5 (10.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time). There is no daylight saving time.

Colombo at a glance

Why several capitals?

Colombo is the commercial capital. Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte is the legislative capital.

Name origin

The origin of Colombo's name is unclear; it may derive from the Sinhalese words kola (leaves) and amba (mango), referring to local mango trees, or from the name Kelantotta, referring to a ferry that crossed the Kelani River; the name was corrupted to Kolambu by Arab traders, and 16th-century Portuguese settlers then called it Colombo, possibly referring to explorer Christopher COLUMBUS; the legislative capital's name, Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte, is composed of the Sanskrit honorific sri, the name of Sri Lankan President J.R. JAYEWARDENE, and the Hindi word pura (town).

Time zone

UTC+5.5 (10.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time). No daylight saving time.

Coordinates

6 55 N, 79 50 E · IANA time zone Asia/Colombo

Location of Sri Lanka

Southern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of India

Largest cities in Sri Lanka

1

Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte

103,000

2

Colombo Capital

633,000

Urban-area population · CIA World Factbook (public domain)

Capitals closest to Colombo

Straight-line distance between capitals.

Frequently asked questions about Colombo

What is the capital of Sri Lanka?

Sri Lanka has 2 capitals: Colombo (commercial capital) and Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte (legislative capital). About 633,000 people live in the Colombo urban area — 2.9% of the country's population.

Is Colombo the largest city in Sri Lanka?

No. The largest urban area is Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte (103,000), while Colombo has about 633,000.

What time zone is Colombo in?

Colombo is on UTC+5.5 — UTC+5.5 (10.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time). There is no daylight saving time.

Where does the name Colombo come from?

The origin of Colombo's name is unclear; it may derive from the Sinhalese words kola (leaves) and amba (mango), referring to local mango trees, or from the name Kelantotta, referring to a ferry that crossed the Kelani River; the name was corrupted to Kolambu by Arab traders, and 16th-century Portuguese settlers then called it Colombo, possibly referring to explorer Christopher COLUMBUS; the legislative capital's name, Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte, is composed of the Sanskrit honorific sri, the name of Sri Lankan President J.R. JAYEWARDENE, and the Hindi word pura (town).

Data: CIA World Factbook (public domain); population: World Bank Open Data (CC BY 4.0).

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