Sri Lanka scrored 15 points in the index.

Sri Lanka, with an income per head of $1,350, lags far behind some of its neighbours, including Maldives and Mauritius.

The country's economy grew by an average of 5 per cent during the 1990s.

According to the Sri Lankan central bank statistics, the economy was estimated to have grown by 7 per cent last year, although inflation had reached 20 per cent.

Parts of Sri Lanka, particularly the South and East coast, were devastated by the 2004 Asian Tsunami.

The economy was briefly buoyed by an influx of foreign aid, but this was disrupted with the reemergence of the civil war, the resultant lawlessness and a sharp decline in tourism.

Image: A Sri Lankan child is dressed as Lord Krishna during the Sri Sri Jagannath Chariot Festival, locally known as Ratha Yathra, at Shri Shri Radha Krishana temple in Colombo on October 14, 2008. | Photograph: Ishara S Kodikara/AFP/Getty Images

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