| Chankanai | |
| Native Name: | சங்கானை චන්කානෛයි |
| Settlement Type: | Town |
| Pushpin Map: | Sri Lanka Northern Province |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Sri Lanka |
| Subdivision Type2: | Province |
| Subdivision Name2: | Northern |
| Subdivision Type3: | District |
| Subdivision Name3: | Jaffna |
| Subdivision Type4: | DS Division |
| Subdivision Name4: | Valikamam West |
| Coordinates: | 9.75°N 79.9667°W |
Chankanai (Tamil: சங்கானை) is a town located north-west of Jaffna, Sri Lanka.
Chankanai has a Peripheral Unit government hospital, called Chankanai Divisional Hospital, with 76 beds as of 2010.[1] It is controlled by the provincial government in Jaffna and is also the only hospital in Northern Province that provides telemetry services for neurorehabilitation.[2]
There is a church from Dutch colonial rule that was built by the Portuguese and later improved by the Dutch.[3] [4] [5]
It is believed that the name Chankanai originated from its market roots. This was a famous trading place. The measurements used for rice in old era were "Changazhi", "Nazhi" and "Uzhi". The name originated from a combination of these three measuring containers.
There is a similar place name found in Kerala is known as Changanassery. Both the places are related with markets and trading places.
Chankanai is surrounded by Nitchamam, Thottilady, Sandilipay, Kattudai, Sithankerny.
Chankanai had a population of 46,438 in the 2012 census. Most of the residents of the town are Sri Lankan Tamils, with the majority being Hindus and a few Christians. The main language spoken is Tamil. There were 1130 females for every 1,000 males, higher than the national average of 1063.[6]
A total of 7,731 were under age ten. As per the religious census of 2012, Chankanai had 93.86% Hindus, 5.85% Christians, 0.23% Buddhists, 0.03% Muslims, 0.004% following other religions.[7]
| Sri Lankan Tamils | 46,181 (99.4%) | |
| Indian Tamils | 139 (0.29%) | |
| Sinhala | 106 (0.22%) | |
| Sri Lankan Moors | 6 (0.01%) | |
| Other (including Burgher, Malay) | 6 (0.01%) | |
| Total | 46,438 (100%) |
Source: statistics.gov.lk