Cash-strapped Sri Lanka began a fresh austerity drive as the country aims to reduce its expenses and secure the IMF bailout. Now Colombo has temporarily frozen all government recruitments as new taxes and high electricity prices kicked in this week.

Sri Lanka works towards securing IMF bailout, freezes recruitment in fresh austerity drive

The inevitable has happened, and the Sri Lankan government has declared bankruptcy. It makes one wonder if other nations might have undergone bankruptcy in the past?

Did you know this country was once bankrupt?

Sri Lanka’s inflation rate surged past Pakistan to make it the fastest in Asia, stoked by failed harvests, import restrictions to conserve dwindling foreign-exchange reserves, and high global prices of key commodities.

Sri Lanka's inflation rate surpasses Pakistan

Sri Lanka may be on a brink of bankruptcy as the island country faces an acute financial crisis topped by a blow to a food supply. As 2022 begins, Sri Lanka is looking to face record-high inflation, financial crisis, exorbitant food prices, humanitarian crisis, and pandemic-induced disruptions. The Sri Lankan government had decided to temporarily ban the use of chemical fertilizers in May 2021. The ban led to protest by farmers ultimately leading to a drastic drop in cultivation in Sri Lanka. Moreover, long queues were seen outside shops for bare necessities lie milk, sugar, and rice. Also, several shops in the markets were shut. Opposition MP Harsha de Silva told Sri Lankan parliament that the country would go bankrupt.

Sri Lanka may go bankrupt in 2022? From financial to food crisis Sri Lanka’s woes amid Covid

The Sri Lankan PM said the exact total debt number would become clear only after a three-member committee investigated the matter

Sri Lankan PM Wickremesinghe says financial crisis aggravated by hidden debt