2014 - Batticaloa's Economic Development Year

The year 2014 has been declared as the Economic Development Year by the Batticaloa district, said Deputy Economic Minister M.L.A.M. Hisbullah. The Batticaloa district, which is in the Eastern Province, is the poorest district in the country. Twenty percent of the population in the district lives below the poverty line and efforts are being made to reduce the poverty level to five percent.

Hisbullah said that 12 percent of the population in the district lived below the poverty line during the era of terrorism, which has increased to 20 percent now. According to the national poverty statistics, all districts except Batticaloa and Ampara in the Eastern Province reported significant poverty reductions since 2006/07. However, the poverty level in the Batticaloa district increased from 10.7 percent in 2006/07 to 20.3 percent in 2009/10, the highest among all districts, according to the Household Income and Expenditure Survey.