### Sri Lanka Facing Ultra-Low Fertility & Economic Risk 📈

• Falling Birth Rates & TFR: • Annual live births dropped from 336,097 (2015) to 319,010 (2019) and fell sharply to 275,321 in 2022. • Births remain well below the 330,000 annual requirement needed for population stability. • Total Fertility Rate (TFR) stands at 1.3—placing Sri Lanka in "ultra-low fertility" territory, significantly below India (1.9) and the Maldives (1.7). • Demographic Disparity: • Sinhala women record the lowest fertility rate at 1.2, while Muslim women record the highest at 2.0 (also on a downward trend). • Primary Drivers: • Soaring living and housing costs delaying family formation. • Career prioritization and desire for independence among young metropolitan women. • Significant outward migration of young Sri Lankans of reproductive age seeking employment abroad. • Economic & Sector Impact: • An aging population increases fiscal spending on pensions and healthcare, constraining infrastructure investment. • Shrinking youth entering the workforce deepens labour shortages across vital sectors like agriculture and services, curbing economic growth and export ambitions. • Proposed Interventions: • Controlled opening of borders to foreign workers to mitigate critical labour shortages. • Offering financial incentives to support child-rearing and encourage birth rates.