Sri Lanka: External debt

The latest value from 2022 is 81 percent, an increase from 67.85 percent in 2021. In comparison, the world average is 56.76 percent, based on data from 113 countries. Historically, the average for Sri Lanka from 1970 to 2022 is 53.01 percent. The minimum value, 20.34 percent, was reached in 1970 while the maximum of 81 percent was recorded in 2022. See the global rankings or world map for that indicator or use the country comparator to compare trends over time.

The external debt of Sri Lanka and other countries is reported as the total international obligations of the country as percent of its GDP. External debt of less than 60 percent of GDP is not a problem. At higher levels, paying the interest on the debt may start to become difficult.

Definition: Total external debt stocks to gross national income. Total external debt is debt owed to nonresidents repayable in currency, goods, or services. Total external debt is the sum of public, publicly guaranteed, and private nonguaranteed long-term debt, use of IMF credit, and short-term debt. Short-term debt includes all debt having an original maturity of one year or less and interest in arrears on long-term debt. GNI (formerly GNP) is the sum of value added by all resident producers plus any product taxes (less subsidies) not included in the valuation of output plus net receipts of primary income (compensation of employees and property income) from abroad.