Independent news from Sri Lanka, with context for the modern reader — data and sourcing you can audit. PRO
CSE All Share 12,840.55 +1.42% S&P SL 20 4,108.32 +0.96% LKR / USD 296.40 -0.18% Brent $82.14 +0.42% Tea Avg Rs. 1,148 +0.31% Gold $2,371 -0.07% Live market data from CSE

Opinion: stop arguing with anecdotes — Sri Lanka has the data now

By Thilini Rajapaksa

May 9, 2026 7:59 PM GMT+0 Updated yesterday

Three new public datasets in the last year mean we no longer need to debate inflation, fuel, or migration with vibes alone. THELEDGER/RAJAPAKSA Purchase Licensing Rights ↗

May 9 (TheLedger) - The Department of Census and Statistics pushed three new datasets into open access in the last twelve months: monthly household expenditure, a granular fuel-consumption series, and a long-running migration tracker. Together they cover most of the issues we still argue about with anecdotes.

Newsrooms — including this one — should retire the "I know someone whose…" lede and replace it with the chart that, more often than not, says something different.

More from Opinion

All Opinion →