The Poverty Profile in Post-Conflict Sri Lanka

Abstract

Poverty reduction is the key objective of most of the countries' development plan. Development planners work in many areas to meet this key objective. Poverty profile is a descriptive tool to analyse the general characteristics of people who are considered to be poor, and compare the incidence of poverty across time and population groups, will help the policy makers by giving a background of poverty. This paper presents the poverty profile of Sri Lanka in 2009/10 and 2012/13. It assesses the magnitude of poverty in Sri Lanka by using Household Income and Expenditure survey of 2009/10 and 2012/13. The study used six popular indices, which have different interpretations, to estimate poverty level of an individual. The study found that the factors relate with individual's capabilities such education and employment are the most significant factors relate to poverty. Increasing expenditure on education and creating opportunities for employment are suggesting the importance of generating income sources as policy strategies.