📉 Sri Lanka Poverty Rises to 16% as Inflation Outpaces Income Growth

Preliminary findings from the Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) 2025 by the Department of Census and Statistics reveal that inflation has severely eroded household purchasing power, reversing a decade of poverty reduction. • Overall Poverty & Demographics - Poverty Headcount Index: Climbed to 16.0% in Q1 2025 (up from 14.3% in 2019), reversing progress made since 2012/13 (22.5%). - Total Affected: Approx. 3.42 m people live below the poverty line. - Official Poverty Line: Increased to Rs. 16,417 per person/month (up from Rs. 6,966 in 2019). • Sector & Regional Breakdown - Estate Sector: Recorded the highest poverty incidence at 23.0% (205,624 people), impacting key export labor bases like tea and rubber. - Rural Sector: 17.3% poverty rate, comprising the vast majority at 2.93 m people. - Urban Sector: 7.8% poverty rate (279,054 people). • Income & Expenditure Dynamics - Real Household Income: Mean fell 7.8% (to Rs. 65,969 at 2016 prices) and median dropped 11.1% (to Rs. 41,623) since 2019. - Nominal Household Income: Mean rose 93.2% to Rs. 120,266/month. - Income Disparity: The top 20% earned a mean of Rs. 335,679/month, nearly 15 times more than the poorest 20% (Rs. 22,612/month). - Household Deficit: The median household spent Rs. 94,057/month against a median income of Rs. 75,882/month, showing widespread financial strain. _Note: Estimates are based on provisional Q1 2025 data pending final full-year validation._