Sri Lanka's Economy | Sri Lankan Economy

Economy - overview: In 1977, Colombo abandoned statist economic policies and its import substitution trade policy for market-oriented policies and export-oriented trade. Sri Lanka's most dynamic sectors now are food processing, textiles and apparel, food and beverages, telecommunications, and insurance and banking. In 2003, plantation crops made up only 15% of exports (compared with 93% in 1970), while textiles and garments accounted for 63%. GDP grew at an average annual rate of 5.5% in the early 1990s until a drought and a deteriorating security situation lowered growth to 3.8% in 1996. The economy rebounded in 1997-2000 with average growth of 5.3%, but 2001 saw the first contraction in the country's history, -1.4%, due to a combination of power shortages, severe budgetary problems, the global slowdown, and continuing civil strife. Growth recovered to 4.0% in 2002 and to 5.2% in both 2003 and 2004. About 800,000 Sri Lankans work abroad, 90% in the Middle East. They send home about $1 billion a year. The struggle by the Tamil Tigers of the north and east for a largely independent homeland continues to cast a shadow over the economy. In late December 2004, a major tsunami took about 31,000 lives, left more than 6,300 missing and 443,000 displaced, and destroyed an estimated $1.5 billion worth of property.

GDP: 2.6% (2004)

GDP - real growth rate: 5.2% (2004 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $4,000 (2004 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 19.1% industry: 26.2% services: 54.7% (2004 est.)

Population below poverty line: 22% (1997 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 3.5% highest 10%: 28% (1995)

Distribution of family income - Gini index: 34.4 (1995)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):

Labor force: 7.26 million (2004 est.)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 38%, industry 17%, services 45% (1998 est.)

Unemployment rate: 7.8% (2004 est.)

Budget: revenues: $3.34 billion expenditures: $4.686 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)

Industries: rubber processing, tea, coconuts, and other agricultural commodities; telecommunications, insurance, and banking; clothing, cement, petroleum refining, textiles, tobacco

Industrial production growth rate: 7.1% (2004 est.)

Electricity - production: 6.697 billion kWh (2002)

Electricity - production by source:

Electricity - consumption: 6.228 billion kWh (2002)

Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2002)

Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2002)

Oil - production: 0 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption: 75,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports: NA

Oil - imports: NA

Oil - proved reserves:

Natural gas - production:

Natural gas - consumption:

Natural gas - exports:

Natural gas - imports:

Natural gas - proved reserves:

Agriculture - products: rice, sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseed, spices, tea, rubber, coconuts; milk, eggs, hides, beef

Exports: $5.306 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Exports - commodities: textiles and apparel; tea and spices; diamonds, emeralds, rubies; coconut products; rubber manufactures, fish

Exports - partners: US 32.4%, UK 13.5%, India 6.8%, Germany 4.8% (2004)

Imports: $7.265 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Imports - commodities: textile fabrics, mineral products, petroleum, foodstuffs, machinery and transportation equipment

Imports - partners: India 18%, Singapore 8.7%, Hong Kong 7.7%, China 5.7%, Iran 5.2%, Japan 5.1%, Malaysia 4.1% (2004)

Debt - external: $10.85 billion (2004 est.)

Economic aid - recipient: $577 million (1998)

Currency:

Currency code:

Exchange rates: Sri Lankan rupees per US dollar - 101.194 (2004), 96.521 (2003), 95.662 (2002), 89.383 (2001), 77.005 (2000)

Fiscal year: calendar year



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