The reason for the discontent is the South Asian country’s worst economic downturn since independence in 1948, with crippling inflation sending the cost of basic goods soaring.
Here’s what you need to know.
Experts say the crisis was years in the making, fueled by a little bad luck and a lot of government mismanagement.
Over the past decade, the Sri Lankan government has borrowed huge sums of money from foreign lenders to fund public services, said Murtaza Jafferjee, chairman of the Advocata Institute in Colombo.
This credit spree coincided with a series of hammer blows to the Sri Lankan economy, from natural disasters – such as heavy monsoons – to man-made disasters, including a government ban on chemical fertilizers that decimated farmers’ harvests.
These problems were exacerbated in 2018 when the president’s sacking of the prime minister sparked a constitutional crisis; the following year, when hundreds of people in churches and luxury hotels were killed in the 2019 Easter bombings; and from 2020 with the arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Facing a massive deficit, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa cut taxes in a doomed attempt to stimulate the economy.
But the move backfired, hitting government revenues instead. This prompted rating agencies to downgrade Sri Lanka to near-default levels, meaning the country lost access to foreign markets.
Sri Lanka then had to draw on its foreign exchange reserves to pay off the national debt, reducing its reserves to $2.2 billion this year from $6.9 billion in 2018. This affected imports of fuel and other essential goods, causing prices to skyrocket.
To make matters worse, in March the government floated the Sri Lankan rupee – meaning its price was determined based on supply and demand in the currency markets.
This move appeared aimed at devaluing the currency in order to qualify for a loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and encourage remittances.
However, the rupee’s plunge against the US dollar only made matters worse for ordinary Sri Lankans.
What does this mean for the local people?
For the people of Sri Lanka, the crisis has turned their daily lives into an endless cycle of queuing for basic commodities, many of which are rationed.
In recent weeks, shops have had to close because they cannot operate refrigerators, air conditioners or fans. Soldiers are stationed at gas stations to reassure customers who have queued for hours in the scorching heat to fill up their tanks. Some people have even died waiting.
A mother in the capital, Colombo, told CNN she was waiting for propane so she could cook meals for her family. Others say the cost of bread has more than doubled, while auto rickshaw and taxi drivers say fuel rations are too tight to make a living.
Some find themselves in an impossible position—working to support their families, but also queuing for supplies. A street sweeper with two young sons told CNN that she quietly slips away from work to queue for food before rushing back.
Even members of the middle class with savings are frustrated, fearing they may run out of essentials like medicine or gas. And life is made more difficult by frequent power outages that sometimes plunge Colombo into darkness for more than 10 hours at a time.
What about the protests?
In late March, protesters took to the streets in Colombo demanding action and government accountability. Public frustration and anger erupted on March 31 when protesters threw bricks and set fires outside the president’s private residence.
Police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse the protests, after which a 36-hour curfew was imposed. President Rajapaksa declared a nationwide public emergency on April 1, gave authorities the power to arrest people without warrants and blocked social media platforms.
But the next day, despite the curfew, protests continued, prompting police to arrest hundreds of protesters.
Protests have continued in the days since, although they have remained largely peaceful. Crowds of student protesters again surrounded Rajapaksa’s home on Tuesday evening, demanding his resignation.
The emergency decree was lifted on April 5.
What happens to the cabinet?
The government’s entire cabinet was dissolved on April 3 following the mass resignations of senior ministers.
Some 26 cabinet ministers resigned this weekend, including the president’s nephew, who slammed the apparent social media blackout as something he “would never condone”. Other key figures, including the central bank governor, also resigned.
Faced with an administration in chaos, the president on Monday attempted a reshuffle that he hoped would placate the opposition. According to a presidential press release, four ministers, including a finance minister, have been appointed to temporarily head the government, while several others have been given new posts to keep the country running “until a full cabinet is appointed”.
But just a day later, the acting Treasury Secretary resigned – saying he only accepted the job because of “a multitude of requests” and then realized that “fresh and proactive and unconventional steps need to be taken”.
And the reshuffle failed to stop further desertions. The ruling Sri Lanka Popular Front coalition (also known as the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna) lost 41 seats as of Tuesday after members of several partner parties withdrew to continue as independent groups. The coalition had only 104 seats and lost its majority in parliament.
What did the government say?
President Rajapaksa issued a statement Monday but did not address the resignations directly, only urging all parties “to work together in the interests of all citizens and future generations.”
“The current crisis is the result of multiple economic factors and global developments,” the statement said. “As one of the leading democratic countries in Asia, solutions should be found within a democratic framework.”
Later that day, when the cabinet reshuffle was announced, the President’s Office released a statement saying Rajapaksa had “seeked the support of all people to meet the economic challenge facing the country.”
Previously, Rajapaksa said he was trying to resolve the issue, saying in an address to the nation last month that “this crisis was not caused by me”.
On April 1, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa – the president’s older brother and former president himself – told CNN it was wrong to say the government had mismanaged the economy. Instead, Covid-19 was one of the causes, he said.
What’s next?
Sri Lanka is now seeking financial assistance from the IMF and is reaching out to regional powers who may be able to help.
During his address last month, President Rajapaksa said he had weighed the pros and cons of working with the IMF and decided to seek a bailout from the Washington-based institution – something his government had hesitated about.
Sri Lanka has also reached out to China and India for help, with New Delhi providing a £1bn credit line back in March.
There’s still a lot of uncertainty about what’s next; National consumer price inflation nearly tripled to 17.5% in February, from 6.2% in September, according to the country’s central bank. And Sri Lanka has about $4 billion in debt to repay for the remainder of this year, including a $1 billion international government bond maturing in July.
CNN’s Julia Hollingsworth, Rukshana Rizwie and Iqbal Athas contributed coverage.