Merchandise exports to high-income economies in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Merchandise exports to high-income economies was 74.1% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Merchandise exports to high-income economies in Sri Lanka, 1960–2023
Source: Staff estimates, World Bank (WB). Measured in % of total merchandise exports.
Analysis
The most recent figure for merchandise exports to high-income economies in Sri Lanka is 74.1%, measured in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 2.6% on the previous year and down 2.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise exports to high-income economies in Sri Lanka peaked at 88.5% in 1993 and was at its lowest, 52.7%, in 1975.
That places Sri Lanka 79th out of 206 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.
Merchandise exports to high-income economies in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | % of total merchandise exports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 80.2% | — |
| 1961 | 80.9% | +0.8% |
| 1962 | 77.6% | -4.0% |
| 1963 | 79.8% | +2.8% |
| 1964 | 75.8% | -5.0% |
| 1965 | 75.0% | -1.0% |
| 1966 | 73.3% | -2.2% |
| 1967 | 75.9% | +3.5% |
| 1968 | 73.9% | -2.7% |
| 1969 | 64.9% | -12.2% |
| 1970 | 67.8% | +4.4% |
| 1971 | 64.6% | -4.8% |
| 1972 | 62.8% | -2.7% |
| 1973 | 60.1% | -4.3% |
| 1974 | 65.9% | +9.8% |
| 1975 | 52.7% | -20.0% |
| 1976 | 61.5% | +16.6% |
| 1977 | 59.4% | -3.5% |
| 1978 | 58.9% | -0.8% |
| 1979 | 65.9% | +11.9% |
| 1980 | 62.4% | -5.2% |
| 1981 | 61.5% | -1.4% |
| 1982 | 66.8% | +8.5% |
| 1983 | 65.3% | -2.2% |
| 1984 | 62.2% | -4.8% |
| 1985 | 70.8% | +13.9% |
| 1986 | 75.3% | +6.3% |
| 1987 | 74.9% | -0.5% |
| 1988 | 72.1% | -3.8% |
| 1989 | 75.6% | +4.9% |
| 1990 | 75.5% | -0.1% |
| 1991 | 80.2% | +6.3% |
| 1992 | 86.3% | +7.5% |
| 1993 | 88.5% | +2.6% |
| 1994 | 87.7% | -0.9% |
| 1995 | 87.7% | -0.0% |
| 1996 | 86.0% | -1.9% |
| 1997 | 86.7% | +0.9% |
| 1998 | 87.7% | +1.1% |
| 1999 | 88.3% | +0.7% |
| 2000 | 87.7% | -0.7% |
| 2001 | 88.1% | +0.4% |
| 2002 | 85.9% | -2.4% |
| 2003 | 84.0% | -2.2% |
| 2004 | 82.1% | -2.2% |
| 2005 | 79.7% | -3.0% |
| 2006 | 81.0% | +1.6% |
| 2007 | 80.6% | -0.4% |
| 2008 | 79.5% | -1.4% |
| 2009 | 78.7% | -1.0% |
| 2010 | 76.6% | -2.7% |
| 2011 | 76.9% | +0.3% |
| 2012 | 75.3% | -2.1% |
| 2013 | 76.3% | +1.3% |
| 2014 | 76.0% | -0.4% |
| 2015 | 78.1% | +2.8% |
| 2016 | 76.1% | -2.5% |
| 2017 | 74.0% | -2.7% |
| 2018 | 74.5% | +0.6% |
| 2019 | 75.0% | +0.6% |
| 2020 | 74.7% | -0.4% |
| 2021 | 74.3% | -0.5% |
| 2022 | 76.1% | +2.4% |
| 2023 | 74.1% | -2.6% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's 74.1% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 65.7%, 1.1× the median. (59 countries reporting)
- Sri Lanka's 74.1% is above the median for South Asia, which is 49.9%, 1.5× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 75.7% | 64.9% | 80.9% | 10 |
| 1970s | 61.9% | 52.7% | 67.8% | 10 |
| 1980s | 68.7% | 61.5% | 75.6% | 10 |
| 1990s | 85.5% | 75.5% | 88.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 82.7% | 78.7% | 88.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 75.9% | 74.0% | 78.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 74.8% | 74.1% | 76.1% | 4 |
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 merchandise exports to high-income economies in Sri Lanka?
- Merchandise exports to high-income economies in Sri Lanka was 74.1% in 2023, according to Staff estimates, World Bank (WB).
- What is the highest merchandise exports to high-income economies recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 88.5% in 1993.
- What is the lowest merchandise exports to high-income economies recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 52.7% in 1975.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for merchandise exports to high-income economies?
- Sri Lanka ranks 79th out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
- Is merchandise exports to high-income economies rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sri Lanka data come from?
- The figures come from Staff estimates, World Bank (WB), published as part of Merchandise exports to high-income economies (% of total merchandise exports). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
Merchandise exports to high-income economies are the sum of merchandise exports from the reporting economy to high-income economies according to the World Bank classification of economies. Data are expressed as a percentage of total merchandise exports by the economy. Data are computed only if at least half of the economies in the partner country group had non-missing data.