...Favourable Demographic Trends: Sri Lanka's private hospitals are poised for strong growth, with one of the world's fastest-growing, ageing populations. Nearly 9% of the population was 65 years of age and over at end-2014. This is likely to double by 2030, and the public sector alone has insufficient capacity to handle the growth. Demand for private health care is also driven by rising per capita income, enabling more people to afford paid healthcare. Sri Lanka is just a few years away from reaching the higher-middle- income band, under the current growth trajectory. However, per capita healthcare spend of USD102 (2013) is significantly below the average per capita for higher-middle-income countries at USD465, highlighting the growth potential in the medium term. Rising Incidence of NCDs: Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are on the rise, owing to the ageing population and dietary and lifestyle changes resulting from rapid urbanisation. In 2012, 71% of the deaths were on account of chronic...
