Public approval of the government has fallen to 50%, down from a post-election high of 65% recorded in February, according to the latest Mood of the Nation poll published by Verité Research.
The July 2026 survey put approval at 49.83%. Disapproval rose to 31.40%, with respondents saying they did not approve of the way the current government is working.
Economic sentiment drives the shift
The decline tracks a sharp reversal in how Sri Lankans view the economy. The share of respondents who believe economic conditions are “getting better” fell to 41.63%, from 64% in the previous round. Those who believe conditions are “getting worse” rose to 40.29%, against roughly 15% previously.
More than half of those surveyed — 55.59% — rated the current state of the economy as “poor”. Only 38% described conditions as “good” or “excellent”, down from 57% in the earlier survey.
The shift pushed Verité Research’s Economic Confidence Index back into negative territory at -8. The index had stood at -39 in mid-2024 before turning positive after February 2025.
Hiru News reported that overall satisfaction also fell, from 59% to 38%, and that approval had been measured at 62% in February 2025 and 65% in February 2026 before the July drop.
Methodology
The survey was conducted from July 11 to 30 among 2,013 adults selected through a nationally representative, multi-stage randomised sample. Verité Research carried out the poll with Vanguard Survey (Pvt) Ltd as its polling partner. The maximum sampling error margin is ±2.21% at a 95% confidence level for the full sample.
