• According to the District Poverty Line, Colombo and Gampaha recorded the highest of 18,350 and 18,256 respectively while the lowest of Rs. 16,268 was recorded in Moneragala District  
• A person required only Rs. 6966 per month to fulfill the basic needs in 2019 whereas to fulfill the same needs now require Rs. 17,014

By Ajith Siriwardana  

The minimum expenditure required by a person to fulfill the basic needs for a month has gone up by 144 per cent in January, 2024 when compared to 2019, the Official Poverty Line declared by the Department of Census and Statistics has revealed. 

 
Additional Director General (Statistics) of the Department Shyamalie Karunaratne said a person to fulfill the basic needs required only Rs. 6966 per month in 2019 whereas a person to fulfill the same needs now require Rs. 17,014.   

She said a family of four members need Rs. 68,056 to fulfill the basic needs as per the Official Poverty Line calculated based on statistics of the Household Income and Expenditure survey.   Ms. Karunaratne said the Official Poverty Line has gone up during the last four years due to the drastic increase in inflation.   

According to the District Poverty Line, Colombo and Gampaha recorded the highest of 18,350 and 18,256 respectively while the lowest of Rs. 16.268 was recorded in Moneragala District.   Ms. Karunaratne said the prices of goods should be dropped by a considerable amount to see a reduction in the Official Poverty Line.