Sri Lanka's total reserves (% of total external debt) was 10.72% in 2024, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is down 8.7 percentage points from 19.43% in 2014.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 10.72% | 2024 |
| Five years earlier | 13.63% | 2019 |
| Ten years earlier | 19.43% | 2014 |
| Highest | 35.15% | 1979 |
| Lowest | 3.23% | 2022 |
| Average since 2015 | 10.84% | 2015–2024 |
| First recorded | 9.67% | 1971 |
What the numbers say
In 2024, Sri Lanka's total reserves (% of total external debt) rose 3.45 percentage points on 2023 (from 7.28% to 10.72%).
Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was −0.56 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 4.36 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.9 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.
On record, the biggest yearly rise was 15.82 percentage points in 1977 and the biggest yearly fall was 19.87 percentage points in 1980. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.
From 2015 to 2024 the straight-line trend is downward, about 1.1 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 57% 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.
How it compares
In 2024, Sri Lanka had the 92nd highest value of the 96 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.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Sri Lanka | 10.72% | 2024 |
| South Asia | 76.78% | 2024 |
| Upper middle income | 81.49% | 2024 |
Closest to Sri Lanka in the 2024 ranking
What this measures
Reserve assets are external assets, including monetary gold, that are readily available to and controlled by monetary authorities for meeting balance of payments financing needs, for intervention in exchange markets to affect the currency exchange rate, and for other related purposes (such as maintaining confidence in the currency and the economy, and serving as a basis for foreign borrowing). Reserve assets must be denominated and settled in foreign currency. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of total external debt which are all liabilities that require payment(s) of interest and/or principal by the debtor at some point(s) in the future and that are owed to non-residents by residents of an economy.
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.
All 54 values
| Year | Total reserves (% of total external debt) |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 10.72 |
| 2023 | 7.28 |
| 2022 | 3.23 |
| 2021 | 5.34 |
| 2020 | 9.96 |
| 2019 | 13.63 |
| 2018 | 13.08 |
| 2017 | 15.68 |
| 2016 | 12.88 |
| 2015 | 16.62 |
| 2014 |
Total reserves (% of total external debt) in nearby economies
- Bangladesh — 20.48% (2024)
- Bhutan — 27.68% (2024)
- India — 89.75% (2024)
- Maldives — 14.36% (2024)
- Nepal — 156.09% (2024)
More economic policy & debt data for Sri Lanka
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$) — US$9.1 billion (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current LCU) — 2.74 trillion (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (constant 2015 US$) — US$6.84 billion (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (constant LCU) — 929.67 billion (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (% of GDP) — 8.36% (2025)
- Manufacturing, value added (current US$) — US$18.63 billion (2025)
- Manufacturing, value added (current LCU) — 5.61 trillion (2025)
- Manufacturing, value added (% of GDP) — 17.12% (2025)
- Industry, including construction, value added (current US$)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Sri Lanka's total reserves (% of total external debt)?
- 10.72% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1971?
- It is up 1.05 percentage points from 9.67% in 1971. The highest value was 35.15% in 1979 and the lowest 3.23% in 2022.
- How does Sri Lanka rank?
- 92nd highest of 96 economies with data for 2024.
- Is the latest change in total reserves (% of total external debt) unusual for Sri Lanka?
- In 2024, Sri Lanka's total reserves (% of total external debt) rose 3.45 percentage points on 2023 (from 7.28% to 10.72%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was −0.56 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 4.36 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.9 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator FI.RES.TOTL.DT.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: International Debt Statistics, World Bank (WB) 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.
Want to ask your own questions of data like this? Try AnalyzeIt: upload a file or ask about public data in plain words, and every figure comes with its working.
Legal entity
Devansh Yadav
Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh
Governing law: Courts at Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh
Phone: +91 8433475698
Legal: legal@analyzeit.in