COLOMBO, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka's Prosperity Index (PI) saw a 42 pct rise from 2017 to 2018, local media reports quoting the Central Bank said here Friday.
According to information issued by the country's Statistics Department, Sri Lanka's Prosperity Index grew from 0.548 in 2017 to 0.783 in 2018 with subindices in "Economy and Business Climate", "Well-being of the People" and "Socio-Economic Infrastructure", all seeing healthy increases across most of the island's provinces.
The Western Province, which hosts capital Colombo, registered the highest scores in all three subindices. Meanwhile, the Sabaragamuwa Province registered the highest overall PI increase as well as the highest increase in the "Well-being of the People" sub index.
The island's Northern Province saw the largest increase in the "Economy and Business climate" sub index due to improvements in employment. However, the Eastern Province saw deterioration in the "Socio-Economic Infrastructure" sub index due to poor telecommunication and road facilities as well as lagging female participation in civil activities.
According to a Central Bank press release, the overall improvement in Sri Lanka's PI was largely due to price stability, growth in informal sector wages and improved access to healthcare, education, transportation, pipe-borne water, electricity and IT services.
