Sri Lanka: Other expense (% of expense)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2023, Sri Lanka's other expense (% of expense) fell 1.91 percentage points on 2022 (from 6.56% to 4.65%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1993 to 2022), the average change was −0.15 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.4 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.3 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 3.19 percentage points in 2012 and the biggest yearly fall was 2.96 percentage points in 2022. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2014 to 2023 the straight-line trend is downward, about 0.68 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 79% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

A straight-line projection, tested first

Extending that straight line gives about 4.4% for 2026. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2021 to 2023 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was 2.23%, against 2.9% for assuming no change. Treat it as a continuation of the recent pattern, not a forecast of events: it cannot see a recession, a policy change or a revision to the data.

See how a linear trend forecast works and the guide on forecasting without fooling yourself.

How it compares

In 2023, Sri Lanka had the 51st highest value of the 77 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Sri Lanka in the 2023 ranking

• Bosnia and Herzegovina — 47th of 77: 5.73%
• Nicaragua — 48th of 77: 4.87%
• Spain — 49th of 77: 4.75%
• Paraguay — 51st of 77: 4.63%
• Slovenia — 52nd of 77: 4.47%
• Albania — 53rd of 77: 4.26%

What this measures

Other expense is spending on dividends, rent, and other miscellaneous expenses, including provision for consumption of fixed capital. This indicator is expressed as percentage of total expenses which is any decrease in net worth resulting from a transaction.

Limitations: For most countries central government finance data have been consolidated into one account, but for others only budgetary central government accounts are available. Countries reporting budgetary data are noted in the country metadata. Because budgetary accounts may not include all central government units (such as social security funds), they usually provide an incomplete picture. In federal states the central government accounts provide an incomplete view of total public finance. Data on government revenue and expense are collected by the IMF through questionnaires to member countries and by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a median.

All 34 values

Other expense (% of expense) in nearby economies

• Bangladesh — 6.77% (2021)
• Bhutan — 22.87% (2020)
• India — 15.7% (2022)
• Nepal — 0.27% (2021)

More public sector data for Sri Lanka

• Military expenditure (current USD) — 1.39 billion (2025)
• Military expenditure (current LCU) — 418.25 billion (2025)
• Military expenditure (% of GDP) — 1.31% (2025)
• Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values) — 11 million (2025)
• Military expenditure (% of general government expenditure) — 4.92% (2025)
• Net acquisition of financial assets (current LCU) — 234.09 billion (2023)
• Net acquisition of financial assets (% of GDP) — 0.85% (2023)
• Net incurrence of liabilities, total (current LCU) — 2.77 trillion (2023)
• Net incurrence of liabilities, total (% of GDP) — 10.07% (2023)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Sri Lanka's other expense (% of expense)?

4.65% in 2023, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1990?

It is down 3.61 percentage points from 8.26% in 1990. The highest value was 14.53% in 2012 and the lowest 4.65% in 2023.

How does Sri Lanka rank?

51st highest of 77 economies with data for 2023.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator GC.XPN.OTHR.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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