Insurance and financial services in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Insurance and financial services was 1.1% in 2024. ◆ Volatile
Insurance and financial services in Sri Lanka, 1975–2024
Source: Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of commercial service exports.
Analysis
The most recent figure for insurance and financial services in Sri Lanka is 1.1%, measured in 2024.
The figure is down 37.0% on the previous year and down 82.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, insurance and financial services in Sri Lanka peaked at 31.7% in 2001 and was at its lowest, 0.9%, in 1978.
Sri Lanka ranks 138th of 190 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Insurance and financial services in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | % of commercial service exports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | 1.6% | — |
| 1976 | 1.6% | -3.9% |
| 1977 | 1.3% | -18.2% |
| 1978 | 0.9% | -26.8% |
| 1979 | 1.7% | +80.0% |
| 1980 | 1.0% | -41.2% |
| 1981 | 1.0% | +0.6% |
| 1982 | 1.0% | -3.8% |
| 1983 | 2.8% | +193.9% |
| 1984 | 3.6% | +28.4% |
| 1985 | 2.8% | -22.4% |
| 1986 | 11.8% | +321.8% |
| 1987 | 3.3% | -72.4% |
| 1988 | 3.7% | +14.8% |
| 1989 | 3.6% | -4.1% |
| 1990 | 4.2% | +17.3% |
| 1991 | 5.6% | +33.6% |
| 1992 | 4.8% | -13.8% |
| 1993 | 2.8% | -42.1% |
| 1994 | 2.8% | -0.1% |
| 1995 | 3.4% | +20.2% |
| 1996 | 3.7% | +10.4% |
| 1997 | 3.5% | -5.7% |
| 1998 | 3.8% | +8.7% |
| 1999 | 3.9% | +3.4% |
| 2000 | 4.4% | +12.7% |
| 2001 | 31.7% | +614.8% |
| 2002 | 3.6% | -88.6% |
| 2003 | 3.5% | -4.7% |
| 2004 | 3.3% | -3.3% |
| 2005 | 4.8% | +43.8% |
| 2006 | 3.6% | -25.8% |
| 2007 | 3.1% | -11.8% |
| 2008 | 3.5% | +9.7% |
| 2009 | 4.0% | +15.3% |
| 2010 | 3.3% | -17.7% |
| 2011 | 3.0% | -9.6% |
| 2012 | 9.0% | +203.8% |
| 2013 | 7.4% | -17.8% |
| 2014 | 6.7% | -10.0% |
| 2015 | 5.9% | -12.0% |
| 2016 | 5.2% | -10.4% |
| 2017 | 5.0% | -4.2% |
| 2018 | 4.5% | -11.2% |
| 2019 | 4.7% | +5.3% |
| 2020 | 4.5% | -4.5% |
| 2021 | 4.7% | +4.5% |
| 2022 | 3.6% | -22.6% |
| 2023 | 1.8% | -49.7% |
| 2024 | 1.1% | -37.0% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's 1.1% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 1.9%, 61% of the median. (53 countries reporting)
- Sri Lanka's 1.1% is below the median for South Asia, which is 2.0%, 59% of the median. (6 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Insurance and financial services in Sri Lanka changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | +614.8% | 4.4% | 31.7% |
| 1986 | +321.8% | 2.8% | 11.8% |
| 2012 | +203.8% | 3.0% | 9.0% |
| 1983 | +193.9% | 1.0% | 2.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 1.4% | 0.9% | 1.7% | 5 |
| 1980s | 3.4% | 1.0% | 11.8% | 10 |
| 1990s | 3.9% | 2.8% | 5.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 6.5% | 3.1% | 31.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 5.5% | 3.0% | 9.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.2% | 1.1% | 4.7% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
More private sector data for Sri Lanka
- Merchandise trade 32.2% (2025)
- Food imports 15.3% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 59.7% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 21.48 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 27.3% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 66.0% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 13.58 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 624.24 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.1248 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 6.33 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is insurance and financial services in Sri Lanka?
- Insurance and financial services in Sri Lanka was 1.1% in 2024, according to Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest insurance and financial services recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 31.7% in 2001.
- What is the lowest insurance and financial services recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.9% in 1978.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for insurance and financial services?
- Sri Lanka ranks 138th out of 190 countries with data for 2024.
- Is insurance and financial services rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is down 82.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Sri Lanka data come from?
- The figures come from Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF), published as part of Insurance and financial services (% of commercial service exports). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 50 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Financial services covers services related to financial intermediation, financial risk management, liquidity transformation or auxiliary financial activities. It also includes insurance and pension scheme services which are services related to providing life insurance and annuities, non-life insurance, reinsurance, pensions, standardised guarantees and auxiliary services to insurance, pension schemes, and standardised guarantee schemes. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of service exports which are commercial services provided by residents to non-residents.