Gallup Poll says 53% of Lankans are struggling for survival
Bryant Ott writing in the Gallup website says more Sri Lankans are suffering since the war ended in 2009 with one half of Sri Lankans lacking money for necessary food and shelter.
"His report said: WASHINGTON, D.C.-- More Sri Lankans are suffering today than before the decades-long civil war in the country ended in 2009. One in five or more Sri Lankans have rated their lives poorly enough to be considered "suffering" over the past three years, underscoring the challenges many continue to face as their nation heals.
"Gallup classifies respondents as "thriving," "struggling," or "suffering" according to how they rate their current and future lives on a ladder scale with steps numbered from 0 to 10 based on the Cantril Self-anchoring Striving Scale. People are considered thriving if they rate their current lives a 7 or higher and expectations for their lives in five years an 8 or higher. People who rate their current or future lives a 4 or lower are classified as suffering. All others are considered struggling.
"Suffering percentages worldwide have ranged from as low as 1% to as high as 40% in recent years. The one in five or more Sri Lankans who are suffering falls roughly in the middle, and is similar to the levels that Gallup finds in many developing countries.
"In the three years since fighting between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam officially ceased, Sri Lanka's economy posted consecutive years of 8% GDP growth. These improvements came only after Sri Lanka received a loan of more than $2 billion from the International Monetary Fund to avoid further effects from the global financial crisis. But the percentage of the population that is suffering indicates that not all Sri Lankans are reaping the benefits of the country's recent economic growth.
"In fact, more Sri Lankans than ever before are struggling to afford the basics. A majority of Sri Lankans (53%) said in 2011 that there were times in the past 12 months when they did not have enough money to buy food that they or their families needed, and nearly as many (46%) said they struggled to afford adequate shelter. These are the highest percentages Gallup has measured in the country since 2006 and they rival those in Afghanistan -- 45% of Afghans said they lacked necessary money for food in the past year, 52% said the same about adequate shelter -- as the highest in the region.
"Sri Lankans are hopeful, however, that their standard of living is improving. About two-thirds of Sri Lankans in 2011 and 2010 said their standard of living was getting better, significantly higher than the slim majority who said so in 2009."
The Gallup Poll is the division of Gallup, a Washington-headquartered research firm, and it regularly conducts public opinion polls in more than 140 countries around the world. Gallup Polls are often referenced in the mass media as a reliable and objective audience measurement public opinion.