Overview: Agriculture, forestry, and fishing dominate the economy, employing about half of the labor force and accounting for about 25% of GDP. The plantation crops of tea, rubber, and coconuts provide about 50% of export earnings and almost 20% of budgetary revenues. The economy has been plagued by high rates of unemployment since the late 1970s.

GDP: $6.1 billion, per capita $370; real growth rate 2.7% (1988)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 15% (1988)

Unemployment rate: 20% (1988 est.)

Budget: revenues $1.5 billion; expenditures $2.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $0.7 billion (1989)

Exports: $1.5 billion (f.o.b., 1988); commodities--tea, textiles and garments, petroleum products, coconut, rubber, agricultural products, gems and jewelry, marine products; partners--US 26%, Egypt, Iraq, UK, FRG, Singapore, Japan

Imports: $2.3 billion (c.i.f., 1988); commodities--petroleum, machinery and equipment, textiles and textile materials, wheat, transportation equipment, electrical machinery, sugar, rice; partners--Japan, Saudi Arabia, US 5.6%, India, Singapore, FRG, UK, Iran

External debt: $5.6 billion (1989)

Industrial production: growth rate 5% (1988)

Electricity: 1,300,000 kW capacity; 4,200 million kWh produced, 250 kWh per capita (1989)

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

Agriculture: accounts for 25% of GDP and nearly half of labor force; most important staple crop is paddy rice; other field crops--sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseeds, roots, spices; cash crops--tea, rubber, coconuts; animal products--milk, eggs, hides, meat; not self-sufficient in rice production

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $932 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1980-87), $4.3 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $169 million; Communist countries (1970-88), $369 million

Currency: Sri Lankan rupee (plural--rupees); 1 Sri Lankan rupee (SLRe) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: Sri Lankan rupees (SLRs) per US$1--40.000 (January 1990), 36.047 (1989), 31.807 (1988), 29.445 (1987), 28.017 (1986), 27.163 (1985)

Fiscal year: calendar year

NOTE: The information regarding Sri Lanka on this page is re-published from the 1990 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Sri Lanka Economy 1990 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Sri Lanka Economy 1990 should be addressed to the CIA.