SRI LANKA: LIBERALIZING FOR GROWTH
Sri Lanka has an open business environment, but challenges—not least its recovery from the civil war that ended in 2009—remain.
Sri Lanka GDP and Economic Data
Country Report 2017 - Includes Sri Lanka real Gross Domestic Product growth rate, with latest forecasts and historical data, GDP per capita, GDP composition and breakdown by sector.
Browse additional economic indicators and data sets, selected by Global Finance editors, to learn more about Sri Lanka economic outlook, debt to GDP ratio, international trade performance and population trends. Rankings of Sri Lanka best banks and safest banks are also available.
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International Reserves
USD 6.6 billion (2015)
International Monetary Fund (IMF), data retrieved January 2017
Gross Domestic Product - GDP
USD 87.6 billion (2017, estimate)
GDP (Purchasing Power Parity)
Intl$ 255.0 billion (2017, estimate)
Real GDP growth
| 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 |
| 7.7% | 6.8% | 6% | 3.5% | 8% | 8.4% | 9.2% |
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016* | 2017* | ||
| 3.4% | 4.9% | 4.8% | 5% | 5% |
*Estimate
GDP (PPP) - share of world total
| 1980 | 1990 | 2000 | 2010 | 2017* |
| 0.13% | 0.14% | 0.16% | 0.18% | 0.2% |
*Estimate
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GDP - composition by sector
- agriculture: 8.5%
- industry: 30.9%
- services: 60.6%
(2016 estimate)
Inflation
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016* | 2017* |
| 6.9% | 3.3% | 0.9% | 4.1% | 5.3% |
*Estimate
Unemployment rate
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015* | 2016* | 2017* |
| 4.0% | 4.0% | 4.0% | 4.0% | 4.0% |
*Estimate
Public debt (General government gross debt as a % of GDP)
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016* | 2017* |
| 78.3% | 75.5% | 76% | 77.2% | 75.5% |
*Estimate
Public deficit (General government net lending/borrowing as a % of GDP)
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016* | 2017* |
| -6% | -6.7% | -6.9% | -5.4% | -4.7% |
*Estimate
Government bond ratings
Standard & Poor's: B+
Moody's: B1
Standard & Poor's / Moody's (Updated January 2017)
Source
Market value of publicly traded shares
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
| USD 18.8 billion | USD 23.7 billion | USD 20.8 billion |
Source
Current account balance by percentage of GDP
-2.8% (2017 estimate)
Exports as percent of GDP (Exports of goods and services)
20.5% (2015)
Shares in world total merchandising export
0.06% (2015)
Shares in world total commercial services export
0.1% (2015)
Export commodities
Textiles and apparel, tea and spices; rubber manufactures; precious stones; coconut products, fish
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Import commodities
Petroleum, textiles, machinery and transportation equipment, building materials, mineral products, foodstuffs
Exports - major partners
US 26%, UK 9%, India 7.2%, Germany 4.3% (2015)
Imports - major partners
India 24.6%, China 20.6%, UAE 7.2%, Singapore 5.9%, Japan 5.7% (2015)
FDI inflows
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
| USD 933 million | USD 894 million | USD 681 million |
FDI outflows
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
| USD 65 million | USD 67 million | USD 53 million |
Value of cross-border M&A, by country of purchaser
| 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
| USD 0.9 million | N/A | USD 25.0 million | USD 44.5 million |
Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2014
N/A
(for a monthly update on M&A; click here )
Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2015
N/A
(for a monthly update on M&A; click here )
Best countries for doing business
Economies are ranked on their ease of doing business. A high ease of doing business ranking means the regulatory environment is more conducive to the starting and operation of a local firm.
Overall ranking: 110 out of 190 countries (2017)
Subcategories:
Starting a business: 74 out of 190 countries
Enforcing Contracts: 163 out of 190 countries
Registering Property: 155 out of 190 countries
Getting Credit: 118 out of 190 countries
Protecting Minority Investors: 42 out of 190 countries
Trading Across Borders: 90 out of 190 countries
Paying Taxes: 158 out of 190 countries
Dealing with Construction Permits: 88 out of 190 countries
Getting Electricity: 86 out of 190 countries
Resolving Insolvency: 75 out of 190 countries
Source
Global competitiveness ranking
71 out of 138 countries
(2016-2017)
Index of Economic Freedom
Ranking: 93 / Score: 59.88 (Mostly unfree) (2016)
(100=totally free 0=totally repressed)
Source
Source
Languages
Sinhala (official and national language) 74%, Tamil (official and national language) 18%, other 8%
Note: English, spoken competently by about 10% of the population, is commonly used in government and is referred to as the link language in the constitution
Religions
Buddhist (official) 70.2%, Hindu 12.6%, Muslim 9.7%, Roman Catholic 6.1%, other Christian 1.3%, other 0.05% (2012 est.)
Total population
| 1990 | 2000 | 2010 | 2016* | 2021* |
| 16.267 million | 18.467 million | 20.401 million | 21.252 million | 21.987 million |
*Estimate
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Urban population as % of total population
| 1960 | 1980 | 2000 | 2015 |
| 16% | 19% | 18% | 18% |
Literacy
Total population: 92.6%
Male: 93.6%
Female: 91.7% (2015 est.)
(age 15 and over can read and write)
% of population living on less than $3.10 a day
3.0% (2012)
Inequality of wealth distribution (Gini index)
39.2 (2012)
(0=perfect equality, 100=absolute inequality)
Source
Freedom House rating
Political Rights: 3
Civil Liberties: 4 (2017)
(1 represents the most free, 7 the least free rating)
Source
Total telephone subscribers as % of population
Fixed 15.21% Mobile 110.59% (2015)
(fixed-telephone subscribers and mobile-cellular subscribers)