About

Overview In 2022, Sri Lanka was the number 76 economy in the world in terms of GDP (current US$), the number 89 in total exports, the number 86 in total imports, the number 130 economy in terms of GDP per capita (current US$) and the number 82 most complex economy according to the Economic Complexity Index (ECI) .

Exports The top exports of Sri Lanka are Tea ($1.29B), Knit Women's Undergarments ($684M), Other Women's Undergarments ($682M), Knit T-shirts ($665M), and Non-Knit Women's Suits ($579M), exporting mostly to United States ($3.52B), India ($1.12B), United Kingdom ($1.04B), Germany ($881M), and Italy ($662M).

In 2022, Sri Lanka was the world's biggest exporter of Used Rubber Tires ($455M)

Imports The top imports of Sri Lanka are Refined Petroleum ($4.02B), Light Rubberized Knitted Fabric ($971M), Special Purpose Ships ($613M), Packaged Medicaments ($348M), and Crude Petroleum ($337M), importing mostly from India ($6.59B), China ($3.76B), United Arab Emirates ($1.08B), Malaysia ($867M), and Singapore ($768M).

Location Sri Lanka borders India and Maldives by sea.

Latest Trends

Latest Trade

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Y-AXIS SCALE

The following section uses the most recent trade data from partners of Sri Lanka.

Disclaimer: data is presented based on availability and only countries that use the harmonized system are being shown.

* Trade values are converted to USD using each month's exchange rate. For December 2023 data, the exchange rate from December 30, 2023 is used.

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Latest Data

Flow
Color
Depth

The data obtained is mirror data. The trade of countries that do not report current data can be reconstructed based on data reported by partner countries with current data available.

*All data is converted to USD using January 2020 exchange rates when data is reported in local currency.

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Historical Data

Yearly Trade

Flow
Color
Depth
Top Export (2022)Tea$1.29B
Top Destination (2022)United States$3.52B

In 2022, Sri Lanka exported a total of $14.8B, making it the number 89 exporter in the world. During the last five reported years the exports of Sri Lanka have changed by $2.34B from $12.4B in 2017 to $14.8B in 2022.

The most recent exports are led by Tea ($1.29B), Knit Women's Undergarments ($684M), Other Women's Undergarments ($682M), Knit T-shirts ($665M), and Non-Knit Women's Suits ($579M). The most common destination for the exports of Sri Lanka are United States ($3.52B), India ($1.12B), United Kingdom ($1.04B), Germany ($881M), and Italy ($662M).

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Exports (2022)
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Destinations (2022)
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Market Growth

Flow
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Growth
Fastest Growing Export Markets (2021 - 2022)
United States$310M (+ 9.64%)
India$107M (+ 10.6%)
United Arab Emirates$85.8M (+ 27.6%)
Fastest Growing Import Markets (2021 - 2022)
India$1.69B (+ 34.4%)
Russia$177M (+ 121%)
Malaysia$68.2M (+ 8.54%)

Total Export Growth by Market (2021 - 2022)

Potential Exports

Potential Exports

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Service Trade

Service Trade

Sri Lanka Exports Services (2018)$8.37B
Sri Lanka Imports Services (2018)$4.61B

In 2018, Sri Lanka exported $8.37B worth of services. The top services exported by Sri Lanka in 2018 were Personal travel ($4.38B), Transportation ($2.49B), Computer and information services ($995M), Financial services ($242M), and Insurance services ($130M).

The top services imported by Sri Lanka in 2018 were Transportation ($1.74B), Personal travel ($1.66B), Computer and information services ($484M), Financial services ($447M), and Insurance services ($97.4M).

Service Exports (2018)

Service Imports (2018)

Economic Complexity

Overview

Economic Complexity (Trade)-0.35Rank 82 of 133
Economic Complexity (Technology)-0.62Rank 66 of 96
Economic Complexity (Research)-0.73Rank 104 of 135

Most Specialized Products by RCA Index

Sri Lanka has a high level of specialization in Coconut and Other Vegetable Fibers (411), Cinnamon (355), Tea (254), Used Rubber Tires (246), and Knit Gloves (107). Specialization is measured using RCA, an index that takes the ratio between Sri Lanka observed and expected exports in each product.

Export Opportunities by Relatedness

The top export opportunities for Sri Lanka according to the relatedness index, were Jute and Other Textile Fibers (0.27), Fake Hair (0.27), Molasses (0.26), Insect Resins (0.26), and Palm Oil (0.26). Relatedness measures the distance between a country's current exports and each product. The barchart show only products that Sri Lanka is not specialized in.

Product Space

The product space is a network connecting products that are likely to be co-exported. The product space can be used to predict future exports, since countries are more likely to start exporting products that are related to current exports. Relatedness measures the distance between a product, and all of the products a country currently specializes in.

Relatedness Space

This network shows the products most related to the production structure of Sri Lanka. These are products that tend to be co-exported with the products that Sri Lanka exports. Higher relatedness values ​​indicate greater knowledge, which predicts a greater probability of exporting that product in the future.

Relatedness Space (2022)

Diversification Frontier

Filter
Depth

The Complexity-Relatedness diagram compares the risk vs strategic value of a country's potential export oppotunities. Relatedness is predictive of the probability that a country increases its exports in a product. Complexity, is associated with higher levels of income, economic growth, less income inequality, and lower greenhouse emissions.

Diversification Frontier

Economic Complexity Ranking

Methodology
Scale

During the last 20 years Sri Lanka's⁩ ⁨economy has become relatively more complex, moving from the ⁩⁨90th to the 82nd⁩ position in the ECI rank.

These economic complexity rankings use 6 digit exports classified according to the HS96 classification. We consider only countries with population of at least 1 million and exports of at least $1 billion, and products with world trade over $500 million. To explore different rankings and vary these parameters visit the custom rankings section.

Explore Rankings

ECI (Trade) Ranking by Country

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