Budget Check 2026 by Factcheck.lk

The team fact-checked three statements from President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s 2026 budget speech, made on 07 November 2025.

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Of these, two statements were graded as True, and one of them as Partly True.Statement 1: Due to the strong growth in all sectors of the economy, the economy grew by 4.8% in the first half of 2025. Thus, it even exceeded the forecasts made by multilateral organisations.

Fact-check: By March/April this year, multilateral organisations—including the IMF, World Bank, and ADB—projected 2025 annual growth of between 3.0%, and 3.9%. In the first half alone, Sri Lanka’s economy grew by 4.8%, exceeding those yearly projections.

VERDICT: TRUE

Source: World Bank, Sri Lanka Development Update, October 2025 Sri Lanka’s Economic Recovery Remains Incomplete as Key Challenges Remain. https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2025/10/07/sri-lanka-s-economic-recovery-remains-incomplete-as-key-challenges-remain

International Monetary Fund IMF Country Report No. 25/162, Asian Development Bank Sri Lanka: Economy | Asian Development Bank. https://www.adb.org/where-we-work/sri-lanka/economy

National Accounts Estimates of Sri Lanka, Second quarter - 2025. https://www.statistics.gov.lk/NationalAccounts/Staticallnformation/GDP2015_expand

Statement 2: In 2026, the state income as a percentage of GDP will reach the closest it has come after two decades to the 16% registered since 2006.