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. By 1996 plantation crops made up only 20% of exports (compared with 93% in 1970), while textiles and garments accounted for 63%. GDP grew at an average annual rate of 5.5% throughout the 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, due to a combination of power shortages, severe budgetary problems, the global slowdown, and continuing civil strife.

GDP purchasing power parity - $62.7 billion (2001 est.)

GDP - real growth rate -1% (2001 est.)

GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $3,250 (2001 est.)

GDP - composition by sector
agriculture: 21%
industry: 27%
services: 52% (2000)

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) 14.2% (2001 est.)

Labor force 6.6 million (1998)

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

Unemployment rate 7.7% (2001)

Budget
revenues: $2.8 billion
expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.)

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

Industrial production growth rate 1.4% (2001)

Electricity - production 6.619 billion kWh (2000)

Electricity - production by source
fossil fuel: 31.86%
hydro: 68.14%
other: 0% (2000)
nuclear: 0%

Electricity - consumption 6.156 billion kWh (2000)

Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2000)

Electricity - imports 0 kWh (2000)

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

Exports $4.9 billion (f.o.b., 2001)

Exports - commodities textiles and apparel 15%, tea, diamonds, coconut products, petroleum products

Exports - partners US 39%, UK 13%, Middle East 8%, Germany 4%, Japan 4% (2000)

Imports $6 billion (f.o.b., 2001)

Imports - commodities machinery and equipment, textiles, petroleum, foodstuffs

Imports - partners Japan 9%, India 8%, Hong Kong 7%, Singapore 7%, South Korea 5% (2000)

Debt - external $9.9 billion (2000)

Economic aid - recipient $577 million (1998)

Currency Sri Lankan rupee (LKR)

Currency code LKR

Exchange rates Sri Lankan rupees per US dollar - 93.383 (January 2002), 89.383 (2001), 77.005 (2000), 70.635 (1999), 64.450 (1998), 58.995 (1997)

Fiscal year calendar year

NOTE: The information regarding Sri Lanka on this page is re-published from the 2002 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Sri Lanka Economy 2002 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Sri Lanka Economy 2002 should be addressed to the CIA.