Sri Lanka Prosperity Index (SLPI), marginally increased to 0.786 in 2020 compared to 0.783 recorded in 2019. The ‘Well-being of the People’ sub-index improved amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, while decreases were observed in ‘Economy and Business Climate’ and ‘Socio-Economic Infrastructure’ sub-indices, during the year.

Improvements to healthcare facilities and more opportunities created for higher education indicated by an increase in the quota of students enrolled for the state universities, have contributed to the increase in Well-being of the People sub-index. In addition, enhanced quality of air and cleanliness of environment derived as side effects of declined industrial activities, reduced vehicle emission and limited mobility of people during the pandemic were also identified as key determinants for the increase recorded within the sub-index.

The merchandise trade deficit, which has been falling on a month-on-month basis since May 2021, declined further to US dollars 495 million in October 2021. Earnings from exports recorded the highest monthly export value in history in October 2021, while marking the fifth consecutive month of above US dollars 1.0 billion of export earnings. Such improvement in export earnings, along with improving conversions, is expected to strengthen foreign exchange inflows to the domestic foreign exchange market in the period ahead. The import expenditure also recorded a y-o-y growth in October 2021. Tourist arrivals continued the growth momentum with a notable increase over the previous month. A further moderation of workers’ remittances was observed in October 2021. Foreign investments in the government securities market and the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) recorded marginal net outflows during the month. Meanwhile, the weighted average spot exchange rate in the interbank market hovered around Rs. 201 per US dollar during the month.