Govt. approval falls to 50%: Verité

Sri Lanka's government approval rating has plummeted to 50%, according to the latest Verité Research 'Mood of the Nation' poll. The survey reveals a sharp decline in confidence in the nation's economic outlook. Government support has dropped from 65% in February to this new low of 50% since the post-election peak. Meanwhile, perceptions of the country's economic conditions have worsened significantly.

Only 41.63% of respondents believe economic conditions are improving, down from 64% in the previous survey. A majority, 40.29%, now think conditions are getting worse, up from around 15% previously. Approval of government performance has more than doubled to 31.40%, from around 15% earlier. Over half, 55.59%, view current economic conditions as "poor", with only 38% considering them "good" or "excellent".

This marks a reversal from the previous survey where a majority saw economic conditions positively. The Economic Confidence Index, which combines net ratings on the economic outlook and current conditions, has slipped into negative territory at minus eight. This comes after standing at minus 39 in mid-2024 and briefly moving into positive territory after February 2025.

Verité Research notes the poll's questions differ from other recent national surveys, focusing solely on public approval of the Government as a whole rather than specific political figures. The survey, conducted from July 11 to 30 among 2,013 Sri Lankan adults, has a sampling error margin of ±2.21% at a 95% confidence level.