Physical Characteristics
The Southern Province (SP) consists of three districts - Galle, Matara, and Hambantota - covering an area of 5,543 sq km, about 8.45 percent of the total area of Sri Lanka. It is demarcated by natural boundaries: Bentara River and Kumbukkan Oya which separate the SP from Western and Eastern Provinces respectively. Geographically the Southern Province varies from low country to mid country with the highest elevation being approximately 1200 meter above sea level; most parts of the Province being flat. Climatologically it varies from wet zone climates in Galle and Matara to arid zone in Hambantota.

Administrative Structures
Southern Province has 3 Administrative Districts: Galle, Matara, and Hambantota. The next layer is comprised of 47 Divisional Secretary Divisions (DSD): Galle District - 19 Divisions, Matara District - 16 Divisions, Hambantota District - 12 Divisions. District Administration and Divisional Administration are deconcentrated structures and directly managed by the Central Government represented by the District Secretary. The Divisional Secretaries function under the District Secretary.

Local Government Structures
Under the Indo-Sri Lankan Accord of July 1987—and the resulting 13th amendment to the constitution—the Government of Sri Lanka agreed to devolve some authority to the provinces. Provincial Councils are directly elected for 5-year terms. The leader of the council majority serves as the province's Chief Minister with a board of five ministers; a Provincial Governor is appointed by the President. The Provincial Councils have full statute making power with respect to the Provincial Council List, and shared statute making power respect to the Concurrent List. Whilst all matters set out in the Reserved List are fall under the responsibility of the central government.

At local level there are 49 Local Government institutions in the Southern Province: 20 in Galle, 17 in Matara and 12 in Hambantota; among these Local Government Institutions there are Municipal Council, Urban Councils and Pradeshiya Sabhas. The head of the Local Authority in case of a Municipal Council is the Mayor, the Chairman in an Urban Council and in a Pradeshiya Sabha. The local authorities are elected for a 5 years term. People’s representatives to the Provincial council are elected at a provincial council election. The Chief Secretary’s Office handles the Administration of the Council. This office administers the subjects coming under the purview of the Provincial Council and provides the funds for the development activities. The Provincial Council and the Central Government are linked by the Chief Secretary, who is the head of the provincial administration. The Ministry Secretaries report to the Chief Secretary. The Chief Secretary is appointed by the President.

Economy
The economy in the SP is in comparison with the other provinces relatively strong (with the exception of the Western province). In 2005 the SP contributed 8.9 percent to the overall country GDP and thereby got in second place after the by far economically strongest Western Province. 44 percent of the provincial GDP is contributed by the service sector, 36 percent by the agricultural sector and 20 percent by the industrial sector. Despite the challenges the province is facing through the considerable reduced numbers of tourist arrivals, there is considerable potential for further economic development, specifically through a further diversification of the tourist sector. Tourism has the potential to become a sustainable source of income not only for larger hotels in the costal area, but also for local communities through the promotion of community driven activities in the scenic hinterland.