Financial Times

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.

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