External debt stocks, total (DOD, current US$), per unit of GDP in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: External debt stocks, total (DOD, current US$), per unit of GDP was 0.5705 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP in 2024. ▲ Rising
External debt stocks, total (DOD, current US$), per unit of GDP in Sri Lanka, 1970–2024
Source: Statizoid (derived). Measured in DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP.
Analysis
Sri Lanka recorded 0.5705 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP for external debt stocks, total (dod, current us$), per unit of gdp in 2024.
The figure is down 20.8% on the previous year and up 11.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, external debt stocks, total (dod, current us$), per unit of gdp in Sri Lanka peaked at 0.792 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP in 2022 and was at its lowest, 0.1897 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP, in 1970.
Sri Lanka ranks 38th of 122 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 55 years of available data.
External debt stocks, total (DOD, current US$), per unit of GDP in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 0.1897 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | — |
| 1971 | 0.2196 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | +15.7% |
| 1972 | 0.2171 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | -1.1% |
| 1973 | 0.2196 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | +1.2% |
| 1974 | 0.2193 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | -0.2% |
| 1975 | 0.2157 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | -1.6% |
| 1976 | 0.2622 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | +21.6% |
| 1977 | 0.2781 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | +6.1% |
| 1978 | 0.5055 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | +81.8% |
| 1979 | 0.4643 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | -8.2% |
| 1980 | 0.4594 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | -1.0% |
| 1981 | 0.5077 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | +10.5% |
| 1982 | 0.5519 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | +8.7% |
| 1983 | 0.5593 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | +1.3% |
| 1984 | 0.4961 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | -11.3% |
| 1985 | 0.5929 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | +19.5% |
| 1986 | 0.638 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | +7.6% |
| 1987 | 0.7115 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | +11.5% |
| 1988 | 0.7465 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | +4.9% |
| 1989 | 0.7422 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | -0.6% |
| 1990 | 0.7305 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | -1.6% |
| 1991 | 0.7312 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | +0.1% |
| 1992 | 0.6674 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | -8.7% |
| 1993 | 0.6676 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 0.6794 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | +1.8% |
| 1995 | 0.6443 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | -5.2% |
| 1996 | 0.5971 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | -7.3% |
| 1997 | 0.5371 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | -10.0% |
| 1998 | 0.5747 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | +7.0% |
| 1999 | 0.6328 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | +10.1% |
| 2000 | 0.5574 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | -11.9% |
| 2001 | 0.5684 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | +2.0% |
| 2002 | 0.6122 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | +7.7% |
| 2003 | 0.5681 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | -7.2% |
| 2004 | 0.5614 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | -1.2% |
| 2005 | 0.463 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | -17.5% |
| 2006 | 0.4193 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | -9.4% |
| 2007 | 0.4377 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | +4.4% |
| 2008 | 0.4009 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | -8.4% |
| 2009 | 0.4637 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | +15.7% |
| 2010 | 0.3698 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | -20.2% |
| 2011 | 0.3807 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | +3.0% |
| 2012 | 0.5073 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | +33.2% |
| 2013 | 0.5108 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | +0.7% |
| 2014 | 0.5121 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | +0.3% |
| 2015 | 0.5162 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | +0.8% |
| 2016 | 0.5303 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | +2.7% |
| 2017 | 0.538 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | +1.5% |
| 2018 | 0.5603 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | +4.2% |
| 2019 | 0.6306 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | +12.5% |
| 2020 | 0.6744 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | +7.0% |
| 2021 | 0.6633 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | -1.6% |
| 2022 | 0.792 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | +19.4% |
| 2023 | 0.7201 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | -9.1% |
| 2024 | 0.5705 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | -20.8% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's 0.5705 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.4626 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP, 1.2× the median. (52 countries reporting)
- Sri Lanka's 0.5705 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP is above the median for South Asia, which is 0.4025 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP, 1.4× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where External debt stocks, total (DOD, current US$), per unit of GDP in Sri Lanka changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | +81.8% | 0.2781 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | 0.5055 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0.2791 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | 0.1897 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | 0.5055 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.6006 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | 0.4594 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | 0.7465 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.6462 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | 0.5371 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | 0.7312 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.5052 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | 0.4009 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | 0.6122 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.5056 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | 0.3698 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | 0.6306 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.684 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | 0.5705 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | 0.792 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
- 35 Serbia 0.577 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP compare
- 36 Moldova 0.5762 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP compare
- 37 Kazakhstan 0.5748 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP compare
- 39 Angola 0.5698 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP compare
- 40 Bulgaria 0.5216 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP compare
- 41 Eritrea 0.509 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP compare
More economy & growth data for Sri Lanka
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 04 - Annual real GDP -8.07 Percent per annum (2022)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 02 - Annual real GDP -7.82 Percent per annum (2022)
- SDRs holdings, US dollar, annual growth rate -66.71 % change on previous year (2025)
- SDRs holdings, US dollar, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- SDRs holdings, US dollar, per capita 0.0483 units per person (2025)
- SDRs holdings, SDR, annual growth rate -68.3 % change on previous year (2025)
- SDRs holdings, SDR, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- SDRs holdings, SDR, per capita 0.0353 units per person (2025)
- IMF holdings of currency, US dollar, annual growth rate 33.41 % change on previous year (2025)
- IMF holdings of currency, US dollar, per unit of GDP 0.0295 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is external debt stocks, total (dod, current us$), per unit of gdp in Sri Lanka?
- External debt stocks, total (dod, current us$), per unit of gdp in Sri Lanka was 0.5705 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP in 2024, according to Statizoid (derived).
- What is the highest external debt stocks, total (dod, current us$), per unit of gdp recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 0.792 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP in 2022.
- What is the lowest external debt stocks, total (dod, current us$), per unit of gdp recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.1897 DOD, current US$ per US$ of GDP in 1970.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for external debt stocks, total (dod, current us$), per unit of gdp?
- Sri Lanka ranks 38th out of 122 countries with data for 2024.
- Is external debt stocks, total (dod, current us$), per unit of gdp rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is up 11.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sri Lanka data come from?
- The figures come from Statizoid (derived), published as part of External debt stocks, total (DOD, current US$), per unit of GDP. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 55 observations, free to reuse under Derived by Statizoid from the sources named on the page.
How this figure is calculated
External debt stocks, total (DOD, current US$) divided by GDP (current US$), matched on country and year. Neither publisher issues this ratio as a series; it is computed here from both.
External debt stocks, total (DOD, current US$) ÷ GDP (current US$)
Computed from
- External debt stocks, total International Debt Statistics, World Bank (WB)
- GDP Country official statistics, National Statistical Organizations and/or Central Banks
Statizoid computes this series; the underlying measurements belong to the publishers named above. The arithmetic is applied to every country and year where both inputs report, and nothing is estimated unless the page says so.
About this data
External debt stocks, total (DOD, current US$) divided by GDP (current US$), matched on country and year. Neither publisher issues this ratio as a series; it is computed here from both.