Sri Lanka, Sept. 21 -- Sri Lanka's real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the second quarter of 2026 remained below the level recorded in the same quarter of 2019, despite the economy having gone through the COVID-19 pandemic, a severe economic crisis and a sovereign debt default in the intervening years, according to Department of Census and Statistics (DCS) data.

Real GDP, measured at constant 2015 prices to remove the impact of inflation, grew 4.2% year-on-year in Q2 2026 to Rs. 3.03 trillion, according to the DCS's Summary Indicators for the second quarter. The latest estimate was officially released on September 15, 2026.

However, the figure remains below the Rs. 3.07 trillion recorded in Q2 2019, the last comparable pre-pandemic per...