Sri Lanka has emerged as the second most expensive SAARC country to live in, with the cost of living for an individual estimated at Rs. 153,899 per month excluding rent, says Numbeo, a crowd-sourced global database tracking cost-of-living and quality of life data.
For a family of four residing in Colombo, monthly expenses to live comfortably are around Rs. 570,997, excluding rent.
This estimate accounts for childcare, groceries, dining, school fees, household expenses, and vehicle costs.
In the SAARC region, only the Maldives surpasses Sri Lanka in living costs, with an average individual expenditure of $840.4.
Rising prices and higher taxes continue to strain households.
The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL), in its Annual Economic Review 2024, reports that average monthly household consumption expenditure rose 1.6 percent, from Rs. 103,383 in 2023 to Rs. 105,063 in 2024, based on the National Consumer Price Index (NCPI).
While this reflects a slowdown compared to the 74.9 percent spike between 2021–2022 and the 16.5 percent increase in 2023, many families still rely on negative coping mechanisms to manage expenses.
Food prices remain a key pressure point. CBSL data from September 2024 to September 2025 show that the average price of nine commonly consumed vegetables jumped from Rs. 225 per kilogramme to Rs. 321.10, marking a 42.7 percent increase.
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