Sri Lanka

A development success story in many ways, Sri Lanka still faces critical challenges as it strives to become an upper middle-income country. Following 30 years of civil war that ended in 2009, the economy grew at an average 5.3 percent during the period 2010-2019, reflecting a peace dividend and a determined policy thrust towards reconstruction and growth; although growth slowed down in the last few years. The economy is transitioning from a predominantly rural-based economy towards a more urbanized economy oriented around manufacturing and services. Extreme poverty is rare and concentrated in some geographical pockets; however, a relatively large share of the population subsists on slightly more than the poverty line (World Bank, 2020)