A beach in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka Economy

Sri Lanka's economy in numbers:

Nominal GDP of USD 74.2 billion in 2022.

GDP per capita of USD 3,347 compared to the global average of USD 10,589.

Average real GDP growth of 2.5% over the last decade.

Share of the region's population
Share of the region's GDP

Economic structure:

In 2021, services accounted for 63% of overall GDP, manufacturing 18%, other industrial activity 10%, and agriculture 9%. Looking at GDP by expenditure, private consumption accounted for 70% of GDP in 2021, government consumption 10%, fixed investment 28%, and net exports -8%.

GDP by economic sector
GDP by type of expenditure

International trade:

In 2021, manufactured products made up 69% of total merchandise exports, mineral fuels 2%, food 26%, ores and metals 1% and agricultural raw materials 3%, with other categories accounting for -1% of the total. In the same period, manufactured products made up 67% of total merchandise imports, mineral fuels 16%, food 13%, ores and metals 2% and agricultural raw materials 2%, with other goods accounting for 0% of the total. Total exports were worth USD 13 billion in 2022, while total imports were USD 18 billion.

Key exports
Key imports
Key export partners
Key import partners

Economic growth:

The economy recorded average annual growth of 2.5% in the decade to 2022. To read more about GDP growth in Sri Lanka, go to our dedicated page.

Fiscal policy:

Sri Lanka's fiscal deficit averaged 7.2% of GDP in the decade to 2021. Find out more on our dedicated page.

Unemployment:

The unemployment rate averaged 4.5% in the decade to 2022. For more information on Sri Lanka's unemployment click here.

Inflation:

Inflation averaged 8.5% in the decade to 2022. Go to our Sri Lanka inflation page for extra insight.

Monetary Policy:

Sri Lanka's monetary policy rate ended 2022 at 15.50%, up from 9.50% a decade earlier. See our Sri Lanka monetary policy page for additional details.

Exchange Rate:

From end-2012 to end-2022 the rupee weakened by 65.3% vs the U.S. dollar. For more info on the rupee, click here.
After gathering pace for three quarters, year-on-year GDP growth likely slowed in Q2. Industrial production rose less than in Q1, as did tourism arrivals. Moreover, business conditions in the manufacturing and services sectors improved less on average compared to the prior quarter, according to PMI surveys. That said, growth of all these metrics remained robust, and remittances expanded more sharply than in Q1, suggesting a strong GDP growth reading for the quarter. In other news, in late July, the electoral commission set 21 September as the date of the next presidential elections. The bid of the current president—Ranil Wickremesinghe—has recently weakened after the ruling party threw its weight behind Namal Rajapaksa, uncle of former President Gotabaya, who was forced to resign in the wake of the 2022 debt crisis.
Projections out to 2033.

46 indicators covered including both annual and quarterly frequencies.

Consensus Forecasts based on a panel of 15 expert analysts.

Want to get insight on the economic outlook for Sri Lanka in the coming years? FocusEconomics collects projections out to 2033 on 46 economic indicators for Sri Lanka from a panel of 15 analysts at the leading national, regional and global forecast institutions. These projections are then validated by our in-house team of economists and data analysts, and averaged to provide one Consensus Forecast you can rely on for each indicator. This means you avoid the risk of relying on out of date, biased or outlier forecasts. Our Consensus Forecasts can be visualized in whichever way best suits your needs, including via interactive online dashboards , direct data delivery and executive-style reports which combine analysts' projections with timely written analysis from our in-house team of economists on the latest developments in the Sri Lanka economy. To download a sample report on the Sri Lanka's economy, click here. To get in touch with our team for more information, fill in the form at the bottom of this page.

Sri Lanka Economic Data

2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Population (million) 21.8 21.9 22.2 22.2 22.0
GDP (USD bn) 89.0 84.4 88.7 74.0 84.3
GDP per capita (USD) 4,084 3,849 4,006 3,335 3,824
GDP (LKR bn) 15,911 15,646 17,612 24,064 27,630
Economic Growth (Nominal GDP, ann. var. %) 3.6 -1.7 12.6 36.6 14.8
Economic Growth (GDP, ann. var. %) -0.2 -4.6 4.2 -7.3 -2.3
Private Consumption (ann. var. %) 3.8 -5.8 2.7 -0.5 -1.6
Government Consumption (ann. var. %) 6.6 0.0 -2.8 1.4 -5.4
Fixed Investment (ann. var. %) -10.6 -8.6 6.9 -24.3 -8.7
Exports (G&S, ann. var. %) 1.7 -29.6 10.1 10.2 12.0
Imports (G&S, ann. var. %) -3.5 -20.1 4.1 -19.9 6.5
Industrial Production (ann. var. %) 1.3 -10.2 7.3 -12.1 -3.8
Unemployment (% of active population, aop) 4.8 5.5 5.2 4.7 4.7
Fiscal Balance (% of GDP) -7.5 -12.2 -11.7 -10.2 -
Public Debt (% of GDP) 81.9 96.6 100.0 114.2 103.9
Money (ann. var. of M2 %) 7.6 22.9 13.5 8.9 9.4
Inflation (CCPI, ann. var. %, eop) 4.8 4.2 12.1 54.5 4.0
Inflation (CCPI, ann. var. %, aop) 4.3 4.6 5.9 44.8 17.4
Standing Lending Facility Rate (%, eop) 8.00 5.50 6.00 15.50 10.00
Exchange Rate (LKR per USD, eop) 181 185 203 367 324
Exchange Rate (LKR per USD, aop) 179 185 198 325 328
Current Account Balance (USD bn) -1.8 -1.2 -3.3 -1.4 1.6
Current Account Balance (% of GDP) -2.1 -1.4 -3.7 -2.0 1.8
Merchandise Trade Balance (USD bn) -8.0 -6.0 -8.1 -5.2 -4.9
Merchandise Exports (USD bn) 11.9 10.0 12.5 13.1 11.9
Merchandise Imports (USD bn) 19.9 16.1 20.6 18.3 16.8
Merchandise Exports (ann. var. %) 0.4 -15.9 24.4 4.9 -9.1
Merchandise Imports (ann. var. %) -10.3 -19.5 28.5 -11.4 -8.1
Foreign Direct Investment (USD bn) 0.7 0.4 0.6 0.9 0.7
International Reserves (USD bn) 7.6 5.7 3.1 1.9 4.4
International Reserves (months of imports) 4.6 4.2 1.8 1.2 3.1
External Debt (USD bn) 56.1 56.9 58.7 58.7 -
External Debt (% of GDP) 63.0 67.4 66.2 79.4 -

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