Economic growth hits all-time low in 2Q

Sri Lanka’s economic growth contracted by whopping 16.3 percent in the second quarter of this year, recording the largest ever drop recorded in the country’s history, the Department of Census and Statistics (DCS) today said.

“The second quarter GDP estimates, has shown unprecedented fall in real GDP by 16.3 percent, with compared to the 1.1 percent of growth rate recorded in the second quarter of 2019, and it is the largest drop ever recorded in the Sri Lanka history,” a press communiqué by the DCS said.

The second quarter GDP estimates were delayed due difficulties in gathering and computing data as Sri Lanka underwent COVID-19 related country-wide lockdown from mid-March to mid-July.

According to DCS, all major economic activities of agriculture, industrial and services sectors in the second quarter contracted by 5.9 percent, 23.1 percent 12.9 percent, respectively.

Meanwhile, ‘taxes less subsidies on products’ recorded a massive 30.1 percent decline compared to the second quarter of 2019 due to the slump in tax revenue as a result of the tax cuts introduced by the government in the latter part of 2019.