Poverty rises to 16% as real household incomes fall below 2019 levels

EconomyNext reports that the Department of Census and Statistics’ 2025 Household Income and Expenditure Survey put the poverty headcount at 16.0% in the first quarter of 2025, compared with 14.3% in 2019. The survey estimated that 3.42 million people were below the poverty line, a rise that the report links to higher living costs amid inflation.

EconomyNext reports that the monthly poverty threshold increased to Rs. 16,417 per person in 2025 from Rs. 6,966 in 2019. It says the poverty rate had declined from 22.5% in 2012/13 to 16.0% in 2016 and 14.3% in 2019, before rising again after the 2022 economic crisis. The report notes that the 2025 estimate has a 95% confidence interval of 14.5% to 17.5% and a coefficient of variation of 4.8%.

EconomyNext reports that poverty was highest in the estate sector, at 23.0%, with 205,624 people affected. Rural areas had a rate of 17.3% and the largest number of people below the poverty line, 2.93 million; urban areas had the lowest rate, 7.8%, representing 279,054 people.

EconomyNext reports that the survey was postponed from 2022 to 2025 because of exceptional economic conditions and covered a nationally representative sample of 25,000 housing units. It says finalized district-level data will be released later.

Daily FT reports that the national poverty line was Rs. 17,742 per person per month in September 2026, up from Rs. 17,719 in August. Ada Derana also reports the September figure of Rs. 17,742.

Written automatically by AI from the outlets’ own reports, and not reviewed by an editor. It can be wrong — the original report is the authority.