Sri Lanka
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| Introduction - Sri Lanka: | | Location - Sri Lanka: | | People - Sri Lanka: | | Government - Sri Lanka: | | Economy - Sri Lanka: | Economy overview | In 1977, Colombo abandoned statist economic policies and its import substitution trade policy for more market-oriented policies, export-oriented trade, and encouragement of foreign investment. Recent changes in government, however, have brought some policy reversals. Currently, the ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party has a more statist economic approach, which seeks to reduce poverty by steering investment to disadvantaged areas, developing small and medium enterprises, promoting agriculture, and expanding the already enormous civil service. The government has halted most privatizations. Although suffering a brutal civil war that began in 1983, Sri Lanka saw GDP growth average 4.5% in the last 10 years with the exception of a recession in 2001. 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. Growth, partly spurred by reconstruction, reached 5% in 2005 and more than 6% in 2006. Sri Lankas most dynamic sectors now are food processing, textiles and apparel, food and beverages, port construction, telecommunications, and insurance and banking. In 2005, plantation crops made up only about 15% of exports (compared with more than 90% in 1970), while textiles and garments accounted for more than 60%. About 800,000 Sri Lankans work abroad, 90% in the Middle East. They send home more than $1 billion a year. The struggle by the Tamil Tigers of the north and east for an independent homeland continues to cast a shadow over the economy. | | Gdp purchasing power parity | $95.55 billion (2006 est.) | | Gdp official exchange rate | $27.4 billion (2006 est.) | | Gdp real growth rate | 7.5% (2006 est.) | | Gdp per capita ppp | $4,700 (2006 est.) | | Gdp composition by sector | agriculture: 17.3%
industry: 27.3%
services: 55.3% (2006 est.) | | Labor force | 7.5 million (2006 est.) | | Labor force by occupation | agriculture: 34.3%
industry: 25.3%
services: 40.4% (30 June 2006 est.) | | Unemployment rate | 7.6% (2006 est.) | | Population below poverty line | 22% (2002 est.) | | Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1.1%
highest 10%: 39.7% (FY03/04) | | Distribution of family income gini index | 50 (FY03/04) | | Inflation rate consumer prices | 12.1% (2006 est.) | | Investment gross fixed | 28.2% of GDP (2006 est.) | | Budget | revenues: $5.61 billion
expenditures: $8.39 billion; including capital expenditures of $2.8 billion (FY07 est.) | | Public debt | 89.6% of GDP (2006 est.) | | Agriculture products | rice, sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseed, spices, tea, rubber, coconuts; milk, eggs, hides, beef; fish | | Industries | processing of rubber, tea, coconuts, tobacco and other agricultural commodities; telecommunications, insurance, banking; clothing, textiles; cement, petroleum refining | | Industrial production growth rate | 6.2% (2006 est.) | | Electricity production | 8.766 billion kWh (2005) | | Electricity consumption | 8.17 billion kWh (2005) | | Electricity exports | 0 kWh (2005) | | Electricity imports | 0 kWh (2005) | | Oil production | 0 bbl/day (2006 est.) | | Oil consumption | 82,000 bbl/day (2006 est.) | | Oil exports | NA bbl/day | | Oil imports | NA bbl/day | | Oil proved reserves | 0 bbl | | Natural gas production | 0 cu m (2006 est.) | | Natural gas consumption | 0 cu m (2006 est.) | | Current account balance | -$1.118 billion (2006 est.) | | Exports | $7.076 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) | | Exports commodities | textiles and apparel, tea and spices; diamonds, emeralds, rubies; coconut products, rubber manufactures, fish | | Exports partners | US 27.7%, UK 11.4%, India 9.4%, Belgium 4.7%, Germany 4% (2006) | | Imports | $9.655 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) | | Imports commodities | textile fabrics, mineral products, petroleum, foodstuffs, machinery and transportation equipment | | Imports partners | India 19.2%, China 10.3%, Singapore 8.6%, Iran 5.6%, Malaysia 5%, Hong Kong 4.1% (2006) | | Reserves of foreign exchange and gold | $2.81 billion (2006 est.) | | Debt external | $12.23 billion (2006 est.) | | Economic aid recipient | $808 million (2005) | | Currency code | Sri Lankan rupee (LKR) | | Exchange rates | Sri Lankan rupees per US dollar - 103.99 (2006), 100.498 (2005), 101.194 (2004), 96.521 (2003), 95.662 (2002) | |
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This page was last updated on 16 September, 2007
Source: CIA >>> |
