The MP in his statement provides figures to establish that malnutrition in Sri Lanka has been decreasing since 2009. Malnutrition i

Central govt. spending on defence and highways have been significantly higher relative to spending on health and education. Therefore, low spending on health and education reflects a policy of lower relative priority and cannot be only attributable t

The MP makes two claims about the losses of 52 strategically important SOEs (as classified by the Ministry of Finance): (1) LKR 286 billion in 2021, (2) LKR 966 billion by the second quarter of 2022

In his statement, the president makes two claims—(i) the government owns approximately 80% of all land, and (ii) the government is able to allocate land for investment purposes. To check these claims, FactCheck.lk consulted reports from the World B

Tobacco and alcohol are currently charged an excise tax and value-added-tax (VAT) by the government. To check

FactCheck.lk interpreted the MP as making three claims, that in the year 2021, (1) there were 507,000 registered taxpayers

The minister in his statement claims that most of the government’s tax revenue is being spent on state sector salaries and pensions and only a fraction of it is left for other initiatives. To chec

The governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CSBL) is reported as claiming that: (1) Sri Lanka’s export earnings as a percentage of Gross National Product (GNP) by 2001 stood at around 33%, and (2) it has dropped to below 15%, since 2001. To eval

To check the MP’s claims, FactCheck.lk consulted the press release issued by the IMF and the 2021 Annual Report of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL). The primary account balance is calculated as revenue minus expenditure

The MP in his statement claims that government institutions have borrowed more than LKR 1 trillion by December 2021. FactCheck.lk interprets the MP as referring to State Owned Enterprises (SOEs), where the loan book liability is not reflected in the

The minister made this statement in the context of justifying the upward revision of railway fares. To check this claim, FactCheck.lk consulted the approved Budget Estimates for 2022 and the Annual Report 2021, published by the Ministry of Finance (M

The current president made this claim while he was the Prime Minister. To evaluate the claim, FactCheck.lk consulted the Sri Lankan Airlines (SLA) Annual Reports from 2007 to 2021. Each annual report gives the profits and losses for a financial year,

The MP in his statement claims that in April 2022 food inflation is 46.6% and in the month of May 2022 it has increased to 57%, which is an increase of more than 10% in just one month alone. To che

In his maiden televised address to the nation as prime minister on May 16, 2022, President Ranil Wickremesinghe, as the prime minister at the time, presented the previously approved budget estimates and the revisions it required.

FactCheck.lk interpreted “loans taken” as referring to net additions to the loan book of the government. The net addition is calculated as loans taken minus the capital repayment on existing loans. Therefore, we interpret the “settling loans”

Former President Sirisena made this statement in connection with the events of July 9, 2022. He appears to be making three distinct claims about the current crisis: (1) that former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s resignation occurring due to the int

In his statement, the MP claims that Sri Lanka’s assets are USD 400 billion, and commitments are USD 47 billion, therefore Sri Lanka is not bankrupt, but instead does not have the dollars to meet its day-to-day expenses. In th

The minister made this statement in the context of calls for the abolition of the executive presidency. In his statement

In his statement, the governor claimed that the Extended Fund Facility (EFF), which has a longer repayment period and requires structural reform, is best suited for Sri Lanka. To evaluate the s

In his statement the MP claims that tax revenue as a percentage of GDP has decreased under every government since 1981. To check this claim,

In his statement, the president claims that the present government is burdened with having to pay various debts taken by previous governments. As an example, he cites that before 2015 Sri Lanka had only borrowed USD 5 billion worth of International S

To evaluate this claim, FactCheck.lk consulted decision documents and notices from the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) and Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) Annual Reports. Since electricity is billed differently, in tiers that depend o

In his statement, the MP claims that (a) foreign remittances increased in the first five months of 2021 in comparison to 2020, (b) the decline in remittances started in June 2021, and (c) remittances in January 2022 had decreased by 62% in comparison

In his statement, former Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) Cabraal claimed that during the period of 2015-19:

The MP made this statement in the context of questions being raised about why MP Johnston Fernando was appointed to the ‘new’ cabinet (sworn in on 4 April 2022), following the resignation of all cabinet ministers save the prime minister.

In his statement, former Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) Cabraal, claimed that the six-month road map of the CBSL has been a resounding success, particularly with expected infl

In his statement, the minister asserts that: (1) the industrial sector’s contribution to GDP has declined drastically from a high of 54% t

Minister Sarath Weerasekera posted the above tweet in connection with Sri Lanka’s Independence Day. In his tweet, the minister suggests that the mere act of distorting or disrespecting the national flag can b

In his statement, the MP claims that (a) the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) is incurring specific losses on the sale of each litre of Petrol, Diesel, and Kerosene, and (b) these daily losses could be minimized if

Factcheck.lk interpreted the MP, in context, as comparing Sri Lanka with South Asia. However, when evaluating this claim, FactCheck.lk consulted the websites of the Central Banks and Statistic