Research from the University of Peradeniya has revealed that close to half of Sri Lanka's population, 42% (9.6 million people), are living under the poverty line.
Speaking to reporters, Economic professor Wasantha Athukorala of Peradeniya University, explained that this is a dramatic increase of over three-hold across the past three years. In 2019, nearly 3 million people lived below the poverty line, but that number has increased to 9.6 million in October 2022, he explained.
The news comes as inflation spiked to 69.8 per cent last month and food prices similarly skyrocketed to 94.9 per cent.
Amid frequent local media reports of hunger and starvation, resulting in a rise in school dropouts in some areas, the World Food Programme and the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation have assessed that nearly a third of Sri Lanka’s 22 million population have been food insecure since the crisis hit.
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