Economy of Sri Lanka

Economy of Sri lanka
Colombo, the financial centre of Sri Lanka
CurrencySri Lankan rupee (LKR, Rs)
Calendar year
Trade organisations
WTO, WCO, SAFTA, IOR-ARC, SCO, BIMSTEC, AIIB and others
Country group
Statistics
PopulationNeutral decrease 22,037,000 (2023 est) [3][4]
GDP
  • Increase $84.36 billion (nominal, 2023)[5]
  • Increase $318.55 billion (PPP, 2023)[6]
GDP rank
GDP growth
  • Increase -2.3% (FY2023)
  • Increase 4.4% (FY2024f)
[7]
GDP per capita
  • Increase $3,828 (nominal, 2023)[8]
  • Increase $14,455 (PPP, 2023)[9]
GDP per capita rank
GDP by sector
-0.80% (deflation) (October 2024)[11]
Population below poverty line
  • Positive decrease 4.3% on less than $2.15/day (International poverty rate 2024e)
  • Positive decrease 23.4% on less than $3.65/day (Lower middle-income poverty rate 2024e)
  • Positive decrease 64.3% on less than $6.85/day (Upper middle-income poverty rate 2024e)
[12]
37.7 medium (2019, World Bank)[13]
Labour force
  • Decrease 8,408,000 (2023)[15]
  • Decrease 48.6% participation rate (2023)[16]
Labour force by occupation
Unemployment
  • Positive decrease 5.1% (2021)
  • Positive decrease 4.7% (2022)
  • Steady 4.7% (2023)[18]
Main industries
textiles & clothing, tourism, telecommunications, information technology services, banking, shipping, petroleum refining, construction and processing of tea, rubber, coconuts, tobacco and other agricultural commodities
External
Exports
  • Decrease $14.94 billion(2023)
  • merchandise exports US$ 11.85 billion(2023)
  • service exports (est) US$ 3.08 billion (2023)[19]
Export goods
textiles and apparel, tea and spices, electronics, IT services, rubber manufactures, fish, precious stones
Main export partners
ImportsDecrease $16.8 billion (2023)[21]
Import goods
Mineral fuels including petroleum product (12.3%)
Machinery including computers (9%)
Electrical machinery, equipment
Vehicles (7.1%)
Textile fabric (5%)
Plastics (3.7%)
Cotton (3.3%)
Heavy metals (3%)
Ships and boats (2.8%)
Iron, steel, aluminium (2.8%)
Main import partners
FDI stock
  • US$13.05 Billion (2019)[22]
  • Steady Abroad: NA[23]
Increase $1.6 billion (2023)[24]
Positive decrease $37,040 million (2024) (43% of GDP)[25]
Public finances
−8.3% (of GDP) (2023)[26]
RevenuesRs 2,110,487 million(2023)[27]
ExpensesRs 3,732,331 million(2023)[27]
Standard & Poor's: [28]
CC (Fx) Outlook: Negative
Moody's: [29]
Caa2 Outlook: Stable
Fitch: [30]
C Outlook: None at this level
  • Increase $6.0 billion (September 2024)[31]
All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars.


The mixed economy of Sri Lanka was worth $84 billion by nominal gross domestic product (GDP) in 2019[32] and $296.959 billion by purchasing power parity (PPP).[33] The country had experienced an annual growth of 6.4 percent from 2003 to 2012, well above its regional peers. This growth was driven by the growth of non-tradable sectors, which the World Bank warned to be both unsustainable and unequitable. Growth has slowed since then. In 2019 with an income per capita of 13,620 PPP Dollars[34] or 3,852 (2019) nominal US dollars,[35][36] Sri Lanka was re-classified as a lower middle income nation with the population around 22 million (2021)[37] by the World Bank from a previous upper middle income status.[38]

Sri Lanka has met the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target of halving extreme poverty and is on track to meet most of the other MDGs, outperforming other South Asian countries. Sri Lanka's poverty headcount index was 4.1% by 2016. Since the end of the three-decade-long Sri Lankan Civil War, Sri Lanka has begun focusing on long-term strategic and structural development challenges, and has financed several infrastructure projects.

High foreign debt, economic mismanagement under the governments of Gotabhaya and Mahinda Rajapaksa,[39] and lower tourism revenue led to the country defaulting on its sovereign debt in April 2022.[40] The economy contracted 7.8% in 2022, and the percentage of the population earning less than $3.65 a day doubled to around 25% of the population. On March 20, 2023, the IMF has loaned US$3 billion to the country as part of a 48-month debt relief program.[41]

  1. ^ "World Economic Outlook Database, April 2019". IMF.org. International Monetary Fund. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  2. ^ "World Bank Country and Lending Groups". datahelpdesk.worldbank.org. World Bank. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  3. ^ "Mid-year Population, Births, Deaths and Net Migration". lankastatistics.com. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
  4. ^ "Mid-Year Population Web Release - September, 2023" (PDF). Dept of Census and Statistics. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 June 2024. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
  5. ^ "GDP (current US$) - Sri Lanka". www.worldbank.org. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
  6. ^ "GDP, PPP (current international $) - Sri Lanka". worldbank.org. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
  7. ^ "Sri Lanka Development Update 2024". worldbank.org. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  8. ^ "GDP per capita (current US$) - Sri Lanka". worldbank.org. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
  9. ^ "GDP per capita, PPP (current international $) - Sri Lanka". worldbank.org. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
  10. ^ "GDP share" (PDF). www.cbsl.gov.lk.
  11. ^ "Consumer Price Inflation". www.cbsl.gov.lk. Retrieved 31 October 2024.
  12. ^ "Sri Lanka's Economy Stabilized; Continued Reforms Critical to Boost Exports and Attract Investment". World Bank. 11 October 2024.
  13. ^ "GINI index (World Bank estimate)". data.worldbank.org. World Bank. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
  14. ^ a b "Human Development Report 2023/2024" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. 13 March 2024. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 March 2024. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
  15. ^ "Labour Force, Labour Force Participation, Unemployment". lankastatistics.com. Central Bank of Sri Lanka. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  16. ^ "Labour Force, Labour Force Participation, Unemployment". lankastatistics.com. Central Bank Of Sri Lanka. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  17. ^ "Labour Force Participation" (PDF). www.cbsl.gov.lk. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  18. ^ "Unemployment of Sri Lanka". www.cbsl.gov.lk. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  19. ^ "SRI LANKA'S EXPORT PERFORMANCE IN DECEMBER 2023". www.srilankabusiness.com. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  20. ^ a b "Expo News, Page No. 08, Major Export Partners of Sri Lanka" (PDF). Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  21. ^ "EXTERNAL TRADEImports" (PDF). www.cbsl.gov.lk. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  22. ^ "Sri Lanka FDI slows to US$528mn up to Sept 2020". Economynext. 20 February 2021. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
  23. ^ "The World Factbook". CIA.gov. Central Intelligence Agency. Archived from the original on 12 June 2007. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  24. ^ "Sri Lanka current account in US$1.6bn surplus in 2023". economynext.com. Economynext. April 2024. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  25. ^ "Sri Lanka foreign debt slightly down in March quarter, rupee debt up". EconomyNext. 3 June 2024.
  26. ^ "Sri Lanka budget deficit down in 2023, tax revenue up 54-pct". economynext.com. EconomyNext. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  27. ^ a b "Fiscal Management Report 2024". www.treasury.gov.lk. Ministry of Finance. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  28. ^ "Sri Lanka downgraded to CC by S&P, on track for selective default". Economynext.com. 13 April 2022. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
  29. ^ "Moody's downgrades Sri Lanka's ratings to Caa1, outlook changed to stable". Moodys.com. Moody's. 28 September 2020. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  30. ^ "Fitch downgrades Sri Lanka to C". Fitchratings.com. Fitch Ratings. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
  31. ^ "The Central Bank of Sri Lanka maintains policy interest rates at their current levels" (PDF). Central Bank Of Sri Lanka. 28 September 2024.
  32. ^ "Annual Report 2019". cbsl.gov.lk. Central Bank of Sri Lanka. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  33. ^ "GDP PPP (current international $) - Sri Lanka". worldbank.org. World Bank. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  34. ^ "GDP perc apita PPP (current international $) - Sri Lanka". worldbank.org. World Bank. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  35. ^ "World Bank and Sri Lanka -2019". worldbank.org. World Bank. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  36. ^ "Enhancing competitiveness in Sri Lanka June 2016" (PDF). World Bank. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  37. ^ "Population, total - Sri Lanka | Data". data.worldbank.org. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  38. ^ "Sri Lanka downgraded to World Bank lower middle income country as per capita income falls". EconomyNext. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  39. ^ "Sri Lanka: Rajapaksa brothers among 13 leaders responsible for crisis". 15 November 2023. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  40. ^ "What Can We Learn from Sri Lanka's Debt Default?". South Asia@LSE. 16 October 2023. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  41. ^ "IMF Executive Board Completes the First Review Under the Extended Fund Facility Arrangement with Sri Lanka". IMF. Retrieved 25 January 2024.