Sri Lanka, July 13 -- Delayed marriage and childbearing among young people should be understood as responses to current economic and social conditions rather than a rejection of family life, Professor Manori Kaluthantiri Weeratunga said.

Writing ahead of World Population Day 2026, Prof. Weeratunga, President of the Population Association of Sri Lanka and Professor of Demography at the University of Colombo, said Sri Lanka is undergoing significant demographic changes, including declining fertility, population ageing, increased youth migration and changing family patterns.

She said young people are navigating a rapidly changing social and economic environment, where rising living costs, employment uncertainty, limited access to affordab...