Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies outside region in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies outside region was 15.5% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies outside region 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 low- and middle-income economies outside region in Sri Lanka is 15.5%, measured in 2023.
That represents a change of up 11.0% on the previous year and down 1.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies outside region in Sri Lanka peaked at 35.7% in 1975 and was at its lowest, 8.2%, in 2002.
That places Sri Lanka 83rd out of 206 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 64 years of available data.
Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies outside region in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | % of total merchandise exports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 15.9% | — |
| 1961 | 14.8% | -7.0% |
| 1962 | 16.6% | +11.7% |
| 1963 | 15.2% | -7.9% |
| 1964 | 17.4% | +14.5% |
| 1965 | 20.0% | +14.7% |
| 1966 | 21.8% | +8.9% |
| 1967 | 20.6% | -5.5% |
| 1968 | 22.1% | +7.6% |
| 1969 | 30.3% | +36.7% |
| 1970 | 28.3% | -6.5% |
| 1971 | 26.9% | -5.0% |
| 1972 | 21.8% | -18.8% |
| 1973 | 23.6% | +8.4% |
| 1974 | 23.5% | -0.6% |
| 1975 | 35.7% | +51.9% |
| 1976 | 28.6% | -20.0% |
| 1977 | 30.3% | +6.1% |
| 1978 | 33.4% | +10.2% |
| 1979 | 26.6% | -20.5% |
| 1980 | 28.6% | +7.5% |
| 1981 | 27.9% | -2.2% |
| 1982 | 23.5% | -16.1% |
| 1983 | 27.1% | +15.7% |
| 1984 | 32.2% | +18.8% |
| 1985 | 24.3% | -24.7% |
| 1986 | 19.0% | -21.7% |
| 1987 | 20.5% | +7.9% |
| 1988 | 20.8% | +1.2% |
| 1989 | 17.9% | -13.8% |
| 1990 | 20.2% | +12.8% |
| 1991 | 16.3% | -19.3% |
| 1992 | 11.1% | -31.7% |
| 1993 | 8.6% | -22.5% |
| 1994 | 9.3% | +8.3% |
| 1995 | 9.4% | +0.8% |
| 1996 | 11.1% | +17.8% |
| 1997 | 10.4% | -6.0% |
| 1998 | 9.8% | -6.1% |
| 1999 | 8.4% | -14.1% |
| 2000 | 8.6% | +2.2% |
| 2001 | 8.4% | -2.3% |
| 2002 | 8.2% | -2.9% |
| 2003 | 8.6% | +5.3% |
| 2004 | 8.2% | -4.1% |
| 2005 | 9.0% | +9.5% |
| 2006 | 9.4% | +3.8% |
| 2007 | 10.7% | +14.0% |
| 2008 | 13.4% | +25.4% |
| 2009 | 14.9% | +11.5% |
| 2010 | 15.9% | +6.2% |
| 2011 | 16.0% | +0.7% |
| 2012 | 16.3% | +2.2% |
| 2013 | 15.8% | -3.0% |
| 2014 | 15.9% | +0.2% |
| 2015 | 12.6% | -20.9% |
| 2016 | 15.5% | +23.5% |
| 2017 | 17.0% | +9.9% |
| 2018 | 16.0% | -6.4% |
| 2019 | 15.4% | -3.6% |
| 2020 | 16.1% | +4.4% |
| 2021 | 15.5% | -3.3% |
| 2022 | 14.0% | -9.9% |
| 2023 | 15.5% | +11.0% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's 15.5% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 9.6%, 1.6× the median. (59 countries reporting)
- Sri Lanka's 15.5% is above the median for South Asia, which is 11.2%, 1.4× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 19.5% | 14.8% | 30.3% | 10 |
| 1970s | 27.9% | 21.8% | 35.7% | 10 |
| 1980s | 24.2% | 17.9% | 32.2% | 10 |
| 1990s | 11.5% | 8.4% | 20.2% | 10 |
| 2000s | 9.9% | 8.2% | 14.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 15.6% | 12.6% | 17.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 15.3% | 14.0% | 16.1% | 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 low- and middle-income economies outside region in Sri Lanka?
- Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies outside region in Sri Lanka was 15.5% in 2023, according to Staff estimates, World Bank (WB).
- What is the highest merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies outside region recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 35.7% in 1975.
- What is the lowest merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies outside region recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 8.2% in 2002.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies outside region?
- Sri Lanka ranks 83rd out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
- Is merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies outside region rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is down 1.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sri Lanka data come from?
- The figures come from Staff estimates, World Bank (WB), published as part of Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies outside region (% of total merchandise exports). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 64 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies outside region are the sum of merchandise exports from the reporting economy to other low- and middle-income economies in other World Bank regions 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.