Colombo, April 8 -- Sri Lanka is facing an astonishing decline in its growth rate with the percentage hitting an all-time low of 0.5 per cent since 1871, leading to social issues such as the shrinkage in the working age group and the increase in the aged population that will trigger challenges for policymakers to spend more on welfare and health.

The recent report released by the Department of Census and Statistics (DCS) on the Census of Population and Housing of 2024, reveals that Sri Lanka's population at the end of 2024 is 21,763,170 in comparison to 20,359,439 in 2023 which shows an increase of 6.9 per cent since last year (1.4 million) The report states that from 1953 the average annual growth rate has been constantly reducing from ...