Tuition
fees, communication costs high on household budget
Lifestyles and living conditions
change in Sri Lanka
By Iromi Perera
A recent survey by the Central Bank has shown that
spending on food and the expenditure structure of the Sri Lankan
family has changed significantly. The expenditure share on food
and beverages had declined from 47 percent to 37 percent, to be
replaced by other categories in the non-food expenditure. Communication
(21 percent) and Education (11 percent) were the categories that
had increased the most, followed by recreation and culture (10 percent)
and Housing and Utilities (six percent). Household expenses had
increased by 2.5 percent annually.
While
consumption of rice and coconut had remained the same, consumption
of bread, sugar and wheat flour had declined. Fish, meat and vegetable
consumption had risen marginally, the survey completed in October
this year showed.
Dr
Anila Dias Bandaranaike, Director of Statistics of the Central Bank
who revealed this in a presentation on "Are lifestyles and
living conditions in Sri Lanka changing?" at the Central Bank
Staff Training Centre at Rajagiriya last week, told The Sunday Times
FT that they were still analyzing the data from this important research
study.
Her
presentation was based on preliminary findings from the Central
Bank's Consumer Finances and Socio-economic Survey 2003-04. The
percentage of students taking tuition in formal education has risen
in seven years, with 50 per cent of the students taking private
tuition compared to the 35 per cent during the last survey.
The
frequency of tuition increased with education level, from 40 per
cent in primary grades to 70 per cent in the post-secondary grades.
According to the survey, even the lowest income level households
spent an average of 27.1 percent on tuition.
The
survey revealed that housing and living conditions were improving
and that household preferences were changing in tandem. Access to
household amenities and communication facilities had improved with
radios and televisions available in over 70 per cent of the households,
while 30 per cent had refrigerators.
Telephone
and mobile phone availability had risen to 25 per cent. The percentage
of households that owned their own house was 89.2 per cent; with
the percentage of houses with cement/terrazzo/tiles floors being
81.8 per cent. The percentage of people owning their own house,
in all income levels, was all over 80 per cent.
The
findings confirmed that the Western Province reflected higher living
standards than other provinces. The survey covered close to 12,000
households across the country. |