Sri Lanka Prosperity Index improves record high

Sri Lanka's Prosperity Index (PI) saw a 42 per cent rise from 2017 to 2018, local media reports quoting the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) said on Friday.

The country’s PI grew from 0.548 in 2017 to 0.783 in 2018 with sub-indices in "Economy and Business Climate", "Well-being of the People" and "Socio-Economic Infrastructure", all seeing healthy increases across most of the island's provinces, according to a statement issued by the country's Statistics Department.

The Western Province, which hosts capital Colombo, registered the highest scores in all three sub-indices, reports Xinhua.

Meanwhile, the Sabaragamuwa Province registered the highest overall PI increase as well as the highest increase in the "Well-being of the People" sub-index.

The island's Northern Province saw the largest increase in the "Economy and Business climate" sub-index due to improvements in employment.

However, the Eastern Province saw deterioration in the "Socio-Economic Infrastructure" sub index due to poor telecommunication and road facilities as well as lagging female participation in civil activities.

According to a Central Bank press release, the overall improvement in Sri Lanka's PI was largely due to price stability, growth in informal sector wages and improved access to healthcare, education, transportation, pipe-borne water, electricity and IT services.