Sri Lanka - Income

The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) reports that in 2001 Sri Lanka's gross domestic product (GDP) was estimated at $62.7 billion. The per capita GDP was estimated at $3,250. The annual growth rate of GDP was estimated at -1%. The average inflation rate in 2001 was 14.2%. The CIA defines GDP as the value of all final goods and services produced within a nation in a given year and computed on the basis of purchasing power parity (PPP) rather than value as measured on the basis of the rate of exchange. It was estimated that agriculture accounted for 21% of GDP, industry 27%, and services 52%.

According to the United Nations, in 2000 remittances from citizens working abroad totaled $1,142 million or about $60 per capita and accounted for approximately 7.1% of GDP. Worker remittances in 2001 totaled $1,124 million. Foreign aid receipts amounted to about $18 per capita and accounted for approximately 2% of the gross national income (GNI).

Approximately 43% of household consumption was spent on food, 7% on fuel, 4% on health care, and 8% on education. The richest 10% of the population accounted for approximately 28.0% of household consumption and the poorest 10% approximately 3.5%. Household consumption includes expenditures of individuals, households, and nongovernmental organizations on goods and services, excluding purchases of dwellings. It was estimated that in 1997 about 22% of the population had incomes below the poverty line.