Sri Lanka Barometer 2025: What Citizens Are Saying About Reconciliation, Governance and Change
Photo courtesy of Sri Lanka Barometer
The Sri Lanka Barometer (SLB) has just released its latest report based on data from the 2025 SLB National Public Opinion Survey on Reconciliation. The report focused on three major themes: reconciliation, governance and civic engagement.
Conducted in January and February of this year, the survey was administered as the new government came into power; a government whose political stance marked a clear departure from its predecessors. For the first time, Sri Lankans voted in a leftist government, signalling a shift in their expectations for governance. Within this changing context, the SLB 2025 Survey Report offers a timely look at how citizens perceive governance, their own role in driving change and how their understanding of reconciliation continues to evolve.
The SLB uses a structured, quantitative approach built on a conceptual framework that was shaped through consultations with both communities and experts. Instead of treating reconciliation as a single, narrow concept, the framework breaks it down into eight interconnected dimensions (Dealing with the Past, Justice for All, Identity and Belonging, Trust, Equality of Opportunity, Active Citizenship, Accountable Governance, and Security and Wellbeing). Together, these help measure the public’s experiences and perceptions around reconciliation.
The 2025 survey sampled 3,876 Sri Lankans aged 18 and above, randomly selected using a nationally representative sampling frame representing people from all provinces and social groups. With a 95% confidence level and a 1.6% margin of error, the findings provide a reliable picture of how Sri Lankans are thinking and feeling about reconciliation and governance today.
The data reveals a public mood that is both optimistic and cautious, where people’s hope for change is tempered by long standing scepticism. The findings show increased expectations regarding renewed civic engagement and democratic participation but also awareness of systemic and institutional barriers that have slowed progress in the past.
Perceptions of reconciliation amid transition
When it comes to reconciliation, the findings show that demand for reconciliation remains consistently high yet people continue to assess actual progress of reconciliation as moderate or lagging behind. This gap between aspiration and achievement suggests a need for renewed efforts to translate citizens’ demand into meaningful progress.
Interestingly, the findings show that people’s understanding of reconciliation has evolved since data collection began in 2020. The share of Sri Lankans who view reconciliation as unity and positive relations among ethnic and religious groups increased significantly from 28.8% to 48.5%. This shift reflects a broader, more transformative understanding of reconciliation as active coexistence and social cohesion rather than merely the absence of conflict.
However, 22% of respondents didn’t know enough to define reconciliation, possibly due to limited familiarity with the term or infrequent use in local languages. Yet, many of those same respondents expressed the importance of dealing with the past, recognition of past injustices and memorialisation in other survey questions. This suggests that even among those unable to define the term, there is an intuitive understanding of and support for its core principles.
Political trust and civic space
The 2025 SLB Survey also points to shifts in perceptions of governance and confidence in institutions. The national averagescores for political trust, for instance, has gradually increased since 2021 and is now at its highest recorded level since the SLB began tracking data. Similarly, lack of political will, which was once one of the most frequently cited barriers to reconciliation in 2020 and 2021, saw a notable drop in 2025.
Perceptions of personal freedoms also improved, suggesting that citizens sense an opening of civic space under the new administration. Overall, the data paints a picture of citizens who, in early 2025, seem to have been cautiously optimistic that thenew government would improve the systems and space needed for reconciliation to take root.
Active citizens but still questioning impact
When it comes to their own role in driving change, Sri Lankans show improved levels of active citizenship and a growing sense of confidence to engage (internal political efficacy). More people report being motivated to politically engage compared to 2023 yet when asked whether they believe their engagement can actually influence political decisions (political agency), scores are moderate.
This gap between confidence to engage and belief in creating an impact suggests that while people are ready and willing to act, they remain uncertain about whether their voices will lead to tangible change.
At this critical juncture in Sri Lanka’s political history, the SLB findings reveal a citizenry that is hopeful but looking for responsiveness from political actors. For this momentum to continue, relevant stakeholders will need to listen closely to people’s needs and priorities and demonstrate that citizens experiences and perspectives are taken into account in decision making.
To read the full report, visit www.srilankabarometer.lk/publications.
