Sri Lanka’s Prosperity Index shows improvement in 2017 from the previous year
The country’s prosperity, which is measured by Sri Lanka’s Prosperity Index (SLPI), has improved in 2017 from the previous year despite eight out of nine provinces seeing declining levels of wellbeing due to factors like falling air quality, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka has reportedly said.
The index is compiled by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.
The SLPI is a composite indicator that measures and compares the level of prosperity of the country and across its provinces, improved to 0.771 in 2017, up from 0.661 the previous, the Central Bank has said in a statement.
The index has three sub-indices: Economy and Business Climate, Wellbeing of the People, and Socio-Economic Infrastructure.
According to the Central Bank, the improvement in prosperity was due to gains in the sub-indices of ‘Economy and Business Climate’ and ‘Socio-Economic Infrastructure’.
“The Economy and Business Climate sub-index improved in 2017 due to the increase in per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employment gains,” the Bank has said in a statement.
“With regard to the sub-index of Socio-Economic Infrastructure, improvements to the road network with the extensions to the expressways, construction of bridges and flyover projects, availability of electricity facilities and improvements in pipe-borne water quality were the key drivers,” the statement has noted.
The sub-index ‘Well-being of the People’ declined in 2017 mainly due to the reduced levels of purity of the environment and air quality, the report states.
“Improvements were recorded in the aspects of availability of healthcare facilities, availability and quality of education, wealth of people and their engagement in entertainment activities,” the Central Bank has noted.
According to the statement, the Western Province retained its number one ranking in terms of prosperity and the Southern Province retained its second position and was the only one out of Sri Lanka’s nine-provinces making a gain in the ‘Well-being of the People’ sub-index.
The North Western Province has moved up to third positions from fourth the previous year. The Central Province has moved down a notch to fourth position.
OSL take:
The improvements recorded in Sri Lanka’s Prosperity Index portray the regional growth within the country. The index shows improvements recorded by some provinces in the country. Foreign businesses/investors interested in doing business in Sri Lanka could have a look at the index prepared by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka when identifying regions to carry out business in.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/20181126/Z_3 |