22% of Sri Lankan households in debt due to economic crisis - survey

Approximately 22 percent of household units in Sri Lanka are in debt due to the recent economic crisis, according to Department of Census and Statistics.

The department points out that the average monthly income of 60.5 percent of the total household units have decreased.

The information has been revealed according to the 2023 report of the ‘Household survey on Impact of Economic crisis’.

According to Department of Census and Statistics, 54.9 percent of people aged between 03 and 21 years have been affected by the economic crisis and 93.5 percent of them have adopted strategies to reduce the impact.

Due to the impact of the economic crisis, 14.2 percent of people over the age of 15 years have suffered job loss since March 2022, and it is reported that the percentage of job losses is higher for males compared to female.

In the year 2023, the average monthly expenditure of 91 percent of the total household units in Sri Lanka has increased and 7 percent of the total population has changed their health treatment system, according to the survey conducted by the Department of Census and Statistics.

When considering the reasons for changing the treatment method, the majority of them (81.7%) stated that the reason was due to lack of funds.