Sri Lanka prosperity index find wide divisions and gains

Sept 08, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka's most prosperous conditions are found in the Western province followed by the central and southern province, while the Northern province trails behind, an index devised by the Central Bank has found. Officials say the index goes beyond traditional measures like economic growth to find out what makes people feel happy and prosperous.

Central Bank deputy governor W A Wijewardene says researchers turned to philosophers to find out what made people feel happy.

"If he smiles from ear to year we can see whether he is happy or not," central bank deputy governor W A Wijewardena said.

"This cannot be measured by economic growth or a similar indictor. Because of this, countries searched for the causes of this smile and measured prosperity in that way."

The Human Development Index (HDI) of the United National Development Program (UNDP), the YouGov Prosperity Index of the UK and Sydney Prosperity Index are prosperity indexes used elsewhere.

Lawmaker Basil Rajapaksa, brother of Sri Lanka president Mahinda Rajapaksa said politicians measured how happy people were by the number of votes they get.

The Island's economic hub the Western Province dominated the prosperity index with 66.