AEIR 2023

After contracting by 3.6% in 2020, reviving domestic demand and exports drove  growth up by 3.7% in 2021. Services grew by 3.0%, industry by 5.3%, and agriculture by 2.0%. The economic recovery, however, has been significantly affected by fiscal and monetary macroeconomic issues, apart from persistent COVID-19 restrictions. Private consumption rose by 7.5% in the first 9 months of 2021 from a low 2020 base, while government consumption increased by 2.2%, mostly to contain the pandemic. The Colombo consumer price index averaged 6.0% in 2021, up from 4.6% in 2020, accelerating to 15.1% year-on-year in February 2022. Stymied by a large debt overhang, fiscal and external financing needs, and double-digit inflation, among others, GDP growth is expected to slow to 2.4% in 2022 before rising slightly to 2.5% in 2023. 
Source: Asian Development Outlook 2022.
Latest Month-Ago Year-Ago
Composite Stock Price Index 1 9.0 (Feb23)8.0 12.0
Broad Money Growth 2 8.9 (Dec22)8.9 9.5
Headline Inflation Rate 3 59.2 (Dec22)65.0 14.0
Industrial/ Manufacturing Production Growth Rate 3 -25.3 (Dec22)-24.0 -2.6
Merchandise Export Growth 3 -11.5 (Jan23)-11.5 -7.4
Exchange Rate Index 4 357.8 (Feb23)358.5 197.7
1 Monthly average, local index.
2 %.
3 y-o-y, %.
4 Monthly average, January 2006 = 100, $/local currency.
Source: Bloomberg LP; CEIC database; Department of Census and Statistics; ; Central Bank of Sri Lanka.

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