Net lending (+) / net borrowing (-) (% of GDP) in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Net lending (+) / net borrowing (-) (% of GDP) was -9.2% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Net lending (+) / net borrowing (-) in Sri Lanka, 1990–2023
Source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
Sri Lanka recorded -9.2% for net lending (+) / net borrowing (-) in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.1% on the previous year and down 81.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, net lending (+) / net borrowing (-) in Sri Lanka peaked at -4.8% in 1992 and was at its lowest, -13.4%, in 2020.
That places Sri Lanka 147th out of 156 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 34 years of available data.
Net lending (+) / net borrowing (-) (% of GDP) in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | -5.2% | — |
| 1991 | -6.6% | +28.4% |
| 1992 | -4.8% | -27.3% |
| 1993 | -5.6% | +17.0% |
| 1994 | -6.8% | +19.8% |
| 1995 | -7.6% | +12.0% |
| 1996 | -7.7% | +1.0% |
| 1997 | -6.3% | -17.2% |
| 1998 | -7.0% | +11.1% |
| 1999 | -5.9% | -16.5% |
| 2000 | -8.4% | +43.0% |
| 2001 | -9.3% | +11.2% |
| 2002 | -7.6% | -18.4% |
| 2003 | -6.9% | -9.9% |
| 2004 | -7.3% | +6.9% |
| 2005 | -7.0% | -4.9% |
| 2006 | -6.9% | -1.3% |
| 2007 | -6.5% | -5.3% |
| 2008 | -6.6% | +0.7% |
| 2009 | -8.9% | +35.8% |
| 2010 | -6.1% | -31.6% |
| 2011 | -5.6% | -8.3% |
| 2012 | -5.2% | -7.8% |
| 2013 | -5.1% | -1.2% |
| 2014 | -5.4% | +5.3% |
| 2015 | -7.2% | +33.6% |
| 2016 | -5.0% | -30.2% |
| 2017 | -5.0% | +0.9% |
| 2018 | -5.0% | -0.7% |
| 2019 | -6.4% | +28.0% |
| 2020 | -13.4% | +108.5% |
| 2021 | -11.6% | -13.0% |
| 2022 | -9.2% | -20.7% |
| 2023 | -9.2% | -0.1% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's -9.2% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is -2.1%, 4.3× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Sri Lanka's -9.2% is below the median for South Asia, which is -5.6%, 1.7× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Net lending (+) / net borrowing (-) (% of GDP) in Sri Lanka changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | -108.5% | -6.4% | -13.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | -6.4% | -7.7% | -4.8% | 10 |
| 2000s | -7.5% | -9.3% | -6.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | -5.6% | -7.2% | -5.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | -10.9% | -13.4% | -9.2% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
More public sector data for Sri Lanka
- Democracy, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Chief executive of the government is elected, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Elected parliament, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Universal right to vote, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Universal right to vote in practice, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Arms imports 11.00 million SIPRI trend indicator values (2025)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per capita 0.4107 SIPRI trend indicator values per person (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per unit of GDP 0.0001 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), annual growth rate 80 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is net lending (+) / net borrowing (-) in Sri Lanka?
- Net lending (+) / net borrowing (-) in Sri Lanka was -9.2% in 2023, according to Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest net lending (+) / net borrowing (-) recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was -4.8% in 1992.
- What is the lowest net lending (+) / net borrowing (-) recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was -13.4% in 2020.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for net lending (+) / net borrowing (-)?
- Sri Lanka ranks 147th out of 156 countries with data for 2023.
- Is net lending (+) / net borrowing (-) rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is down 81.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sri Lanka data come from?
- The figures come from Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF), published as part of Net lending (+) / net borrowing (-) (% of GDP). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Net lending (+) / net borrowing (–) equals government revenue minus expense, minus net investment in nonfinancial assets. It is also equal to the net result of transactions in financial assets and liabilities. Net lending/net borrowing is a summary measure indicating the extent to which government is either putting financial resources at the disposal of other sectors in the economy or abroad, or utilizing the financial resources generated by other sectors in the economy or from abroad. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period.