Public and publicly guaranteed debt service in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Public and publicly guaranteed debt service was 13.4% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Public and publicly guaranteed debt service in Sri Lanka, 1975–2024
Source: International Debt Statistics, World Bank (WB). Measured in % of exports of goods, services and primary income.
Analysis
The most recent figure for public and publicly guaranteed debt service in Sri Lanka is 13.4%, measured in 2024.
That represents a change of up 54.0% on the previous year and down 32.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, public and publicly guaranteed debt service in Sri Lanka peaked at 32.8% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 3.9%, in 2005.
Sri Lanka ranks 23rd of 120 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 50 years of available data.
Public and publicly guaranteed debt service in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | % of exports of goods, services and primary income | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | 21.7% | — |
| 1976 | 20.3% | -6.5% |
| 1977 | 14.6% | -28.2% |
| 1978 | 9.4% | -35.4% |
| 1979 | 6.7% | -29.2% |
| 1980 | 6.3% | -5.3% |
| 1981 | 6.8% | +8.3% |
| 1982 | 10.6% | +55.3% |
| 1983 | 11.8% | +11.1% |
| 1984 | 10.7% | -8.9% |
| 1985 | 13.1% | +21.9% |
| 1986 | 16.2% | +24.2% |
| 1987 | 17.8% | +9.4% |
| 1988 | 17.3% | -2.6% |
| 1989 | 16.0% | -7.6% |
| 1990 | 11.9% | -25.2% |
| 1991 | 11.2% | -6.6% |
| 1992 | 11.8% | +5.4% |
| 1993 | 10.4% | -11.8% |
| 1994 | 9.2% | -10.8% |
| 1995 | 8.0% | -13.3% |
| 1996 | 7.7% | -3.7% |
| 1997 | 7.1% | -7.9% |
| 1998 | 7.4% | +3.7% |
| 1999 | 9.9% | +34.3% |
| 2000 | 9.5% | -4.4% |
| 2001 | 8.4% | -11.2% |
| 2002 | 8.5% | +0.8% |
| 2003 | 7.2% | -14.8% |
| 2004 | 7.3% | +1.3% |
| 2005 | 3.9% | -46.5% |
| 2006 | 7.8% | +99.8% |
| 2007 | 7.4% | -5.3% |
| 2008 | 9.7% | +31.7% |
| 2009 | 12.2% | +25.1% |
| 2010 | 10.3% | -15.4% |
| 2011 | 7.6% | -26.5% |
| 2012 | 12.7% | +67.8% |
| 2013 | 8.7% | -31.3% |
| 2014 | 19.9% | +127.4% |
| 2015 | 14.3% | -27.8% |
| 2016 | 12.0% | -16.3% |
| 2017 | 17.9% | +49.5% |
| 2018 | 21.6% | +20.5% |
| 2019 | 25.3% | +16.7% |
| 2020 | 32.8% | +29.8% |
| 2021 | 27.5% | -16.2% |
| 2022 | 12.3% | -55.4% |
| 2023 | 8.7% | -29.0% |
| 2024 | 13.4% | +54.0% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's 13.4% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 7.4%, 1.8× the median. (51 countries reporting)
- Sri Lanka's 13.4% is above the median for South Asia, which is 9.3%, 1.4× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 14.5% | 6.7% | 21.7% | 5 |
| 1980s | 12.7% | 6.3% | 17.8% | 10 |
| 1990s | 9.5% | 7.1% | 11.9% | 10 |
| 2000s | 8.2% | 3.9% | 12.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 15.0% | 7.6% | 25.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 18.9% | 8.7% | 32.8% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
More external debt data for Sri Lanka
- IFC, private nonguaranteed -48.93 million NFL, US$ (2024)
- IFC, private nonguaranteed (NFL, US$), per capita -2.23 NFL, US$ per person (2024)
- IFC, private nonguaranteed (NFL, US$), per unit of GDP -0.0005 NFL, US$ per US$ of GDP (2024)
- IFC, private nonguaranteed (NFL, US$), per square kilometre -592.87 NFL, US$ per square kilometre (2023)
- Public and publicly guaranteed debt service 2.8% (2024)
- Net financial flows, IDA 260.96 million NFL, current US$ (2024)
- Net financial flows, IDA (NFL, current US$), per capita 11.91 NFL, current US$ per person (2024)
- Net financial flows, IDA (NFL, current US$), per unit of GDP 0.0026 NFL, current US$ per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Net financial flows, IBRD 64.29 million NFL, current US$ (2024)
- Net financial flows, IDA (NFL, current US$), per square kilometre 6,637 NFL, current US$ per square kilometre (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is public and publicly guaranteed debt service in Sri Lanka?
- Public and publicly guaranteed debt service in Sri Lanka was 13.4% in 2024, according to International Debt Statistics, World Bank (WB).
- What is the highest public and publicly guaranteed debt service recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 32.8% in 2020.
- What is the lowest public and publicly guaranteed debt service recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.9% in 2005.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for public and publicly guaranteed debt service?
- Sri Lanka ranks 23rd out of 120 countries with data for 2024.
- Is public and publicly guaranteed debt service rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is down 32.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sri Lanka data come from?
- The figures come from International Debt Statistics, World Bank (WB), published as part of Public and publicly guaranteed debt service (% of exports of goods, services and primary income). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Public and publicly guaranteed debt service to exports of goods, services, and income. Public and publicly guaranteed debt service is the sum of principal repayments and interest actually paid in currency, goods, or services on long-term obligations of public debtors and long-term private obligations guaranteed by a public entity. Exports of goods, services and primary income is the sum of goods (merchandise) exports, exports of (nonfactor) services and income (factor) receipts.