The Institute for Health Policy (IHP) released today the August 2023 update of its Consumer Confidence Indices, which are generated from its Sri Lanka Opinion Tracker Survey (SLOTS).

All three of IHP’s consumer confidence indices fell modestly in August, but within the range seen since April 2023. The Index of Consumer Sentiment (ICS), the broadest measure of the public’s view of their personal economic status and the national economy decreased by 4 points to 26 points in August 2023. The ICS ranges from zero to a potential maximum of 100, with levels below 50 indicating net pessimism.

The Index of Consumer Expectations (ICE), a measure of perceptions of the future, decreased by 5 points to 32 points indicating some dissatisfaction with public expectations about the long-term future of the country and their personal financial situation. The Index of Current Conditions (ICC), a measure of perceptions of current conditions also decreased by 3 points to 17 points.

The CCI estimates are based on 556 interviews conducted in August 2023 and 12,070 adults surveyed between Oct. 21, 2021–Aug. 31, 2023, with sample sizes varying between indices depending on response rates.

About IHP

IHP is an independent, non-partisan research centre based in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The SLOTS lead investigator is Dr Ravi Rannan-Eliya of IHP, who has trained in public opinion polling at Harvard University and has conducted numerous surveys over three decades. 

Methodology

SLOTS combines data from a national sample of adults (ages 18 and over) reached by random digit dialling of mobile numbers, and others coming from a national panel of respondents who were previously recruited through random selection. All consumer confidence index estimates are weighted to be representative of the national population, including characteristics such as age, gender, province, sector, socioeconomic status, ethnicity and education.

Funding

The SLOTS has been funded by the Neelan Tiruchelvam Trust, the UK National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), The Asia Foundation in Sri Lanka, and others, but the sponsors play no role in the study design, analysis, or interpretation of findings. Interested parties can contact IHP for more detailed data and results.