Sri Lanka's recovery, in four numbers
The World Bank says the economy is back. The same report shows why many families don't feel it.
In October 2026 the World Bank published its latest update on Sri Lanka, titled From Recovery to Transformation. Read the headline and the story is good. Read further and a second story appears.
12straight quarters of economic growth
4.4%growth forecast for 2026, up from 3.6% in April
~12%how far real wages remain below 2019
15.8%of people below the $4.20-a-day poverty line in 2026, against 11.5% in 2019
Why both are true
Growth measures the size of the whole economy. It can rise while wages, measured against prices, stay below where they were. Prices are also moving again: headline inflation reached 8% in August, even though the Bank expects it to average 5.7% for the year.
The country is recovering faster than the people inside it.
Source: World Bank, Sri Lanka Development Update (October 2026), as reported by the Daily FT.