Sri Lanka inflation rate (CPI)
Headline consumer price inflation measured by the Colombo Consumer Price Index (CCPI, base 2021=100), year-on-year percent for the latest published month, compiled by the Prices and Wages Division of the Department of Census and Statistics. The CCPI is the index against which the Central Bank's 5% inflation target is assessed.
| Current value | 6.8 percent (YoY) |
|---|---|
| In force from | 2026-06-01 |
| Official source | Department of Census and Statistics, Prices & Wages Division — 'MOVEMENTS OF THE CCPI (Base : 2021 = 100)' official series table: June 2026 index 207.7, month-on-month +2.1%, year-on-year 6.8%, 12-month moving average 2.7% |
| Last verified | 2026-07-24 |
| Verification | primary — No verification limitation recorded — read from the official source cited. |
| Provenance | source fingerprint |
What this value means
TWO OFFICIAL INDICES, DO NOT MIX THEM. The DCS publishes both the CCPI (Colombo Consumer Price Index) and the NCPI (National Consumer Price Index). CCPI covers the URBAN Colombo district only, is released at the END of the reference month itself (i.e. the June figure appears on 30 June), and is the headline number the Central Bank quotes and targets. NCPI covers the WHOLE country, uses a different basket with a much heavier food weight, and is released about three weeks LATER (around the 21st of the following month). They diverge materially: for June 2026 the CCPI was 207.7 with 6.8% y-o-y, while the NCPI was 222.3 with 6.5% y-o-y — and the DCS home page banner headlines the NCPI figure, so a scraper that reads the front page will pick up 6.5% and mislabel it as CCPI. This series serves the CCPI. CBSL's Monetary Policy Review No. 04 of July 2026 independently confirms 'Headline inflation accelerated to 6.8% (y-o-y) in June 2026'. DIRECTION CHECK — the brief that launched this file described Sri Lanka as being in deflation; that is now historic. Deflation ran from September 2024 (-0.5%) to July 2025 (-0.3%), bottoming at -4.2% in February 2025; the CCPI turned positive in August 2025 (+1.2%) and inflation has since ACCELERATED sharply, from 2.2% in March 2026 to 5.4% in April, 5.5% in May and 6.8% in June 2026, driven by domestic energy price adjustments (petrol, LP gas, electricity) after the Middle East conflict raised global petroleum prices, plus transport and restaurant costs. The rate is now well above the 5% target and above the top of the tolerance band, which is what triggered the 100 bps OPR hike in May 2026. The 12-month moving average (2.7%) is still far below the y-o-y rate because of the 2025 deflation base. Monthly web releases: https://www.statistics.gov.lk/InflationAndPrices/StaticalInformation/MonthlyCCPI — note the June 2026 web release PDF (CCPI_20260630E) is largely image-based and its summary panel does not extract as text; the machine-readable series is the movements table cited above. Next release: July 2026 CCPI, expected 31 July 2026.
Earlier values
| From | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-01-01 | 2.3 | DCS — Movements of the CCPI (Base 2021=100): January 2026 in |
| 2026-02-01 | 1.6 | DCS — Movements of the CCPI (Base 2021=100): February 2026 i |
| 2026-03-01 | 2.2 | DCS — Movements of the CCPI (Base 2021=100): March 2026 inde |
| 2026-04-01 | 5.4 | DCS — Movements of the CCPI (Base 2021=100): April 2026 inde |
| 2026-05-01 | 5.5 | DCS — Movements of the CCPI (Base 2021=100): May 2026 index |
Get it programmatically
curl https://asiaref.dev/v1/lk/cpi
# $0.001 per call — x402 on Base (USDC). No key, no signup.
# History: curl https://asiaref.dev/v1/lk/cpi/history?from=2020-01-01
# Provenance: curl https://asiaref.dev/provenance/lk/cpiOther Sri Lanka series: policy interest rate · VAT rate · minimum wage · public holidays · corporate tax rate · income tax rates