Sri Lanka’s official poverty line rose to Rs. 17,592 per person per month in June, an increase of Rs. 277 on the May figure of Rs. 17,315, according to the latest estimates from the Department of Census and Statistics (DCS).
The monthly rise works out at 1.6%. Measured against June 2025, when the national line stood at Rs. 16,484, the threshold is up Rs. 1,108 or 6.7% over the year, Daily FT reported.
The official poverty line represents the minimum monthly expenditure a person needs to meet basic needs. It is calculated from the cost of a specified minimum basket of food and non-food consumption and is updated every month, with district-level figures re-estimated using the National Consumer Price Index to account for regional price differences.
District figures diverge between outlets
Monaragala again recorded the lowest threshold in the country at Rs. 16,821 — a figure all three outlets reporting the release agree on.
The top of the table is less settled. Ada Derana and Hiru News both put Colombo highest at Rs. 18,973, followed by Gampaha at Rs. 18,876. Daily FT reports a different set, with Gampaha marginally highest at Rs. 18,579, Colombo just behind at Rs. 18,575 and Nuwara Eliya third at Rs. 18,500. Daily FT also lists Kilinochchi (Rs. 16,995) and Hambantota (Rs. 17,092) as the next-lowest districts after Monaragala.
The discrepancy is confined to the district breakdown; the national figure of Rs. 17,592 and the Rs. 277 monthly increase are consistent across all three reports.
The June reading continues a steady climb. The DCS put the April line at Rs. 17,117, meaning the national threshold has risen about Rs. 475 in two months.
The measure is routinely contested by opposition politicians, who argue that a person cannot meet basic needs on roughly Rs. 17,600 a month given current food, utility and transport costs.
